'Centre, Sikkim, should grant ST status to indigenous communities'
Gangtok, May 5: Calling upon the Central and Sikkim governments to consider granting the ST status to all the indigenous communities of the state in alignment with a constitutional provision, a resolution has affirmed that it would ensure lasting peace and prosperity.
"We recommend to the government of Sikkim and the government of India, that the Scheduled Tribe status be considered in alignment with the provisions of Article 371 (F) of the Constitution of India, for all the communities of Sikkim. This will ensure lasting peace and prosperity," said the Gangtok Resolution, adopted after a two-day Sikkim Summit for Tribal Status 2018 here on Friday.
Article 371 (F) of the Indian constitution deals with special provisions with respect to the state of Sikkim.
Out of the 20 indigenous communities in Sikkim, 11 Sikkimese Nepali communities are yet to get ST status.
The summit brought together leading scholars and policy makers to present their views on the decades-old demand.
The resolution, read out by Sikkim's lone Lok Sabha member P.D. Rai, reminded the authorities that the state had overwhelmingly voted to join the Indian union at a historic referendum on April 14, 1975.
The Resolution said that all the "tribes of the Sikkim Himalaya live in similar social and economic condition and endure similar hardship and challenges posed by the geo-political situation and the mountainous topography of Sikkim."
It said all the communities were recognised as tribes of the Himalayas by the British, while the erstwhile Sikkimese king, The Chogyal, had placed all of them in the same pedestal, and "gave them protection by providing them reservation in the State Council and employment".
"After the merger of Sikkim with the Indian union in 1975, a section of the Sikkimese people were recognised as STs and SCs of Sikkim, as per the prevailing Constitution of India and the rest, specially, the Sikkimese Nepali community were left out from this affirmative action."
Stressing that the remaining communities had the right to be recognised as STs, the resolution sought justice and rectification of the wrong done to them.
The resolution was signed among others by eminent anthropologists T.B. Subba and Sarit.K. Chaudhuri, former Ministry of Tribal Affairs Secretary Hrushikesh Panda, former Union Minister Kishore Chandra Deo, Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling's legal advisor K.T. Gyaltsen, constitutional law expert Shomona Khanna and Tibetologist-cum-Indo-China analyst Claude Arpi -- all of whom addressed the summit.
The event, inaugurated by Chamling on Friday, was organised by EIECOS - an association of the registered 11 indigenous ethnic communities of Sikkim - as also the Sikkim Commission for backward Classes and the state's Social Justice Empowerment and Welfare Department.
State governor Shriniwas Patil addressed the valedictory session.
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TN youth from UAE has tested negative for Mpox: Health Minister Subramanian
Chennai, Nov 2: A 27-year-old native of Thiruvarur district, who had arrived from Sharjah, has tested negative for monkey pox, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said here on Saturday.
Test results from both the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research here and the Pune-based National Institute of Virology have show negative for Mpox virus, the minister said.
Subramanian had earlier in the day told reporters that result was awaited for the sample that had been dispatched to the NIV while test result from King Institute ruled out monkey pox.
On October 31, upon his arrival at Tiruchirappalli airport from the UAE, during screening, the young man displayed fever symptoms and small skin lesions. Hence, he was taken to a government hospital.
Subramanian said the returnee had been frightened and hence left for his hometown of Valangaiman in Thiruvarur district. "This treatment is for his good and in order to prevent the spread of infection," the minister said.
Hence, he was brought back to the hospital by the authorities with police help and he has been receiving good treatment at the state-run facility. Further, Subramanian said that the test result from the government-run King Institute indicated Chickenpox and marked negative for presence of Mpox.
Screening at airports for passengers arriving from foreign countries is going on continuously in the state and international airports have dedicated isolated rooms.
Special wards are ready in government medical college hospitals, including those in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli, to provide treatment for Mpox, in case anyone tests positive for the infection, the minister added.
