NCST gives its nod for inclusion of Tamaria community in ST list of Jharkhand
NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has given its nod for the inclusion of the Tamaria community of Jharkhand in the list of scheduled tribes in Jharkhand. In September, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs had sought the comments of the commission on the inclusion of the Tamaria or Tamadia community as a synonym for ‘Munda’ in the list of scheduled tribes of Jharkhand. The Centre had also forwarded a study report by Dr Ramdayal Munda Tribal Welfare Research Institute received from the Jharkhand government in this context.
“The NCST has now recommended Tamaria or Tamadia community be included in the list of STs in Jharkhand,” said an NCST official.
The matter was considered by the NCST in June as well. At that point, the commission had observed the proposal was not following the prescribed guidelines for inclusion of a community in the scheduled tribes’ list. The NCST had recommended the ministry conveys its decision on the proposal and then refer it to the commission along with the comments of the Registrar General of India (RGI), according to the minutes of the meeting of the Commission. The RGI has supported the proposal of the Jharkhand government.
According to the comments received by the Commission, published literature suggests Tamaria is a sub-group of both Munda and Bhumji tribes belonging to the same ‘racial stock’, and both are notified as scheduled tribes in Jharkhand. Anthropologists have substantiated the fact that Tamaria is one of the divisions of Munda, according to the comments of the office of the Registrar General of India.
One of the suggestions points out a section of Mundas may eventually be called Tamaria Munda and that ‘Tamaria’ is a territorial name derived from Tamar region of Jharkhand’s Ranchi district. Munda is the third largest tribe in Jharkhand constituting 14.8 per cent of the total ST population the state.