Without caste certificates,many tribals in Gujarat carry ‘outsider’ tag

Department officials say that all those who cannot prove that they were in Gujarat before 1961 – the year the state came into being – will be considered outsiders and caste certificates will not be issued.

“The officials who have issued these certificates before 2007 are all incorrect,as there is a circular from the Gujarat government that states that such migrant tribes who are not from this state,will not get the benefit of being recognised as Scheduled Tribes,” said Dhani Rathore,the social welfare officer for Santrampur and Kadana talukas.

The term Vaghadiya has now become a curse for the Bhils,who mostly work as labourers in the construction business or in the brick kilns.

“Members of our community usually settle outside the periphery of the village or town,so we are referred to as Vaghadiya or Vaghaliya. It is true that our ancestors had come from Rajasthan,but that was 200 years ago,” said Kanubhai Asari,a community panch.

“Our children,their fathers and mothers,speak Gujarati and follow similar customs like all other Bhils. Is it fair that while my friends and I have these ST certificates,my son and his sons do not get it?” said Vithal,who wants his son to study engineering.

“My father did not know that the Scheduled Tribes certificate will be so important. When I passed my Class XII examination,I applied and got the certificate so that we could avail some benefits in the ration card and other things. But I did not study further. Today,there are seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes in higher educational institutions. With such a good percentage,my son would have also qualified for scholarship,” added Vithal.

Incidentally,two of Jigar’s cousins managed to get the caste certificate in 1996 and 1999. Not just cousins,but even in the case of siblings,there have been several instances where the elder brother or sister got the caste certificate,but the younger siblings who applied after 2008,were refused the same.

For instance,Payal Pandor,who secured 74 per cent in the SSC exams in humanities this year,was refused a caste certificate,while,her brother,Pusharat,a school dropout working as labourer,along with his father,has a certificate.

“I wanted the certificate so that I could apply to the PTC College here and avail some scholarship,” said Payal. She went to the Social Welfare Department in Godhra thrice with the hope that the department may consider her case,but in vain.

Despite being Bhil tribesmen,their applications are turned down by the officials when they fail to meet the requirements. They now plan to challenge it in the courts of Gujarat. “Apart from asking for proof whether we were recognised in 1961 when the Gujarat state came into being,we are also supposed to comply with one of the most absurd demands—we should marry within our own tribe. If found that we have not done so,our application would be rejected,” said Asari,while Payal sitting next to him was filling up the form about her lineage to see if one of her grandparents or great grandparents (both paternal and maternal) had married out of the community.

Meanwhile,Asari,with the help of RTI,managed to get an important document so that they can challenge this order in court. “As per Presidential Order made on August 10,1950,which was also cited in a Government Resolution (GR5-1099-2084-9 date: 19/12/2001),by the department of social justice,even for Scheduled Tribes that have migrated from outside (rest of India),government officials must give them certificates if and when necessary,” added Asari.