Explained: What does including Tripura’s Darlong community in ST list mean?

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Tribes of Tripura

Tripura, the tiny Northeast state of 37 lakh people houses 19 tribal communities. These include Tripuri or Debbarma, Reangs or Brus, Jamatia, Noatia, Uchoi, Chakma, Mog, Lushai, Kuki, Munda, Kour, Oram, Santhal, Bhil, Bhutia, Chaimar or Sermai, Garo, Khasi, Lepcha and Halam.

Many of these communities are further divided into sub-tribes. For example, Kukis have nearly 17-18 sub-tribes within the community. It is an umbrella tribal community including many smaller clans like Khasi, Lushai, Hmars and other generic clans. In course of time, Lushai, Hmar, Garo etc. came out of Kuki as separate communities. Halam community also has several sub-tribes such as Rangkhawl, Ranglong, Dab, Chaimar or Sermai, Bong, Korbong, Harbong, Bongcher etc.

Who are Darlongs?

Darlong is a tribal community of 11,000 people. Despite its small population, the community has a high prevalence of education, cultural activities and members of the community are serving in different high positions in the local administration.

Darlongs, despite being Scheduled Tribes, were never given ST certificates. Since they were considered a generic tribe under the Kuki community, they were handed their tribal certificates as members of ‘Kuki’ community. The subsequent identity crisis among them, especially Darlong youths, who were equipped with modern education, culminated in the demand for a separate statutory identity of their own in 1995.

The group is a small tribal clan but has produced a high number of educated people proportionate to its population in the state. People from the Darlong community, like many other tribal communities, are now serving in high positions in the state administration, academia, and public services. Tribal musicologist and Rosem (tribal instrument) maestro Thanga Darlong was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award a few years back for his contribution to culture.

What was the demand?

Speaking to indianexpress.com, L Darlong, a veteran of the Darlong community in Tripura said, “We were never given our separate identity as Darlongs in official documents. We used to get ST certificates but as Kuki tribes. So, the demand arose for giving us recognition and granting honour to the identity. Our demand was fulfilled through the persuasion of Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb. We are grateful”.

Answering the confusion regarding benefits that would be available to Darlongs now due to the constitutional amendment in the Parliament, he said the inclusion of Darlongs as an official sub-tribe instead of a generic one within the Kuki community was a matter of recognition of the clan’s identity. “No additional benefit is going to be given to us.”

SK Darlong, president of Darlong Hnam Inzom (DHI), a major Darlong body in Tripura, said while people of the community were already getting ST benefits, inclusion of his community in the ST list as a Kuki sub-tribe is a matter of identity and recognition and pride.

The move to include them in the ST list followed a push from CM Biplab Kumar Deb. However, a bill to include Darlongs in the list of STs as a sub-tribe of Kuki community was first placed before the Parliament in December, 2016 by the then tribal affairs minister Jual Oram.

Tripura CPIM secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said the erstwhile Left Front government had earlier passed the proposal to include Darlongs in the ST list in the state assembly and had forwarded to the Parliament for its nod.

What does the amendment entail?

While discussing about the Bill in the House two days back, tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda said the Central government is committed to bring development to the tribal communities and said the legislation was put forth with the intention to include Darlongs as a Kuki sub-tribe since people of same communities live in hilly terrains as different sub-tribes and were excluded from the ST list since long. He said the inclusion would give justice to the Darlong community.

Why is tribal identity a big issue in Tripura?

Out of 37 lakh people of Tripura, nearly 30 per cent are tribals, who mostly live in areas under jurisdiction of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), spread in patches across all eight districts and covering 70 per cent of the state’s geographical area. The state, which was ruled by tribal kings for over 500 years till 1949, when it merged into the Indian Union, saw tribals become minority in their own state due to arrival of East Pakistani refugees who fled their country.

Tribal identity is a major issue in Tripura, which is also one of the major subjects dominating the state politics now. Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, has been demanding Tipraland – a proposed separate state for tribals, since 2009.

TIPRA Motha, floated by royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma last year, swept the tribal council polls months after the party was formed with the demand of Greater Tipraland – a proposed separate state for Tiprasa or Tripuris (tribal and non tribal) living in the state. However, Pradyot’s party also demands to govern Tripuris living in parts of Manipur, Assam and other NE states and parts of adjoining Bangladesh.

While most national parties including the BJP, Congress and CPIM don’t agree to these ethnic statehood demands, the issues have gained significant attention among tribal voters as tribal identity still resonates among them.

Other tribes

Tripura has a number of other small tribal clans, many of which are even ethno-linguistically endangered since there are very few speakers left. While there were not major demands of identity recognition from most of them, many have sought recognition of their respective tribal dialects since the last few years.

While the bill for including Darlongs in the list of Kuki sub-tribes was placed before the Parliament, the treasury and opposition benches found agreement in the House. Many opposition members also proposed a larger, state-wise process to comprehensively identify other Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes that might have not got their names enlisted specifically till now and include them in respective lists instead of going piecemeal.

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Centre’s tribal development plans

Union tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda informed the Parliament that his government has been making gradual and a steady increase in Scheduled Tribe component (STC) funds since the last few years. Allocation under the component of Rs 16,111 crore in 2014-15 rose to Rs 87,585 crore in 2021-22, he said adding his ministry had recently introduced a scheme of nearly Rs 7,000 crore to provide broadband and 4G connectivity in tribal hamlets under the STC funds. The central government is also currently providing benefits under Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana for integrated development in tribal villages spanning from health, education and drinking water.