Over a month after the Telangana Assembly passed a resolution on including the Boya or the Valmiki community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list, the Andhra Pradesh government last week pushed through a similar resolution in the Assembly.

However Andhra Pradesh went further. The Andhra Stage Assembly on Friday, March 24 also passed a resolution urging that the Union Government include Dalit Christians in the Scheduled Castes (SC) list, with Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy saying that the social and economic status of people doesn’t change automatically just because they convert to another religion. The issue of granting SC status to Dalit Christians was discussed during the tenure of Jagan’s father Dr Y S Rajashekar Reddy. This is a long standing demand of the Dalit Christian community with the matter being challenged in the Supreme Court.

Earlier, the Congress government of undivided Andhra Pradesh had also urged the Centre to accept the recommendation. Though both the YSR Congress Party of the CM and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) jostled for their votes, in the last elections in May 2019 they shifted they backed the ruling party.

Currently, a committee headed by former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan is examining the issue of quotas for Dalit Muslims and Christians. The ideological fountainhead of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), however, has said recently that the current reservation system should not be tinkered with and quota should not be extended to Muslim and Christian Dalits since their religions claim to be egalitarian.

Meanwhile, after the Assembly passed the resolution on including Valmikis in the ST category, Reddy quickly reassured other tribal groups that the inclusion of the Boyas would not affect the existing quotas. In Andhra Pradesh, STs enjoy six per cent reservation. The CM said the resolution was introduced to fulfil a promise he had made to the community during a padayatra he undertook before coming to power in May 2019.

The CM allayed fears that including Valmiki community people from Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur, and Chittoor districts in the list would reduce the quota of STs of the tribal agency areas as a zoning system is in force according to the six-point formula that was agreed between leaders of undivided Andhra on September 21, 1973. The formula was aimed at a uniform approach for “accelerated development of the backward areas” of Andhra Pradesh and to provide “equitable opportunities” in education and government jobs in different areas of the state.

This inclusion of Boyas or Valmikis may only have a negligible impact on Group 1 jobs that come under the non-zoning category. It becomes negligible as only 386 Group 1 jobs have been notified in the last 10 years and the six per cent reservation only amounts to 21 or 22 posts.

The one-man Commission of retired IAS officer Samuel Anand Kumar who studied the social and economic conditions of the Boyas in the four districts and the ST Commission also agreed with this assessment, said the Chief Minister. State government jobs in the zoning system and districts constitute 99 per of the total jobs and the STs of the tribal agency areas would suffer no job loss because of the proposed inclusion of the group.

“The biggest fear of STs is a loss of jobs when other communities are added to the group. The zoning system may offset the inclusion of Boyas/Valmikis in the ST list, it remains to be seen what will happen in other sectors where there is no zoning system,” said ST leader V Ranga Rao.

The Boyas traditionally supported the Congress but as the grand old party’s electoral footprint shrank after the state’s bifurcation in 2014, they shifted to the YSRCP, backing it to the hilt in 2019. The TDP government had also proposed to include Boyas in the ST list. After losing power in 2019, when the demand for inclusion in the ST list was again raised by the community, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter, saying the community needs help, and requested the Centre to introduce a Bill in Parliament.

“The TDP tried to create divisions by proposing the resolution but not implementing it. We have passed the resolution and will implement it. Boya community is now fully with YSRCP,’’ said Tribal Welfare Minister P Rajanna Dora.

Consequently, on February 10 this year, the Telangana government passed a resolution in Assembly recommending to the Centre to include Valmiki Boyas in the ST list along with other caste groups such as the Pedda Boyas, Khaiti Lambadas, Mali Saha Bedars, Kiratakas, Nishadis, Bhat Mathuralus, Chamar Mathuras, Chunduwals, and Thalayaris.

CM K Chandrashekar Rao, who introduced the resolution, said the state government had accepted the recommendation of a Commission of Inquiry for Scheduled Tribes in 2016 for the inclusion of the Valmiki Boyas, Kirataka, and other groups and submitted the same to the Centre.

Since no response had been received from the Union government, the Assembly unanimously resolved to recommend to the Centre to include the communities in the ST list, said the CM, reading out the resolution. Besides, he also proposed that the Mali community living in the districts of Adilabad, Komram Bheem Asifabad and Mancherial be included in the ST list, given their socio-economic conditions.

A comprehensive report on this has been filed in The Indian Express.

Related:

Why Should Dalit Christians not get Reservations as Scheduled Castes, Notice to Centre: SC

The post Finally Dalit Christians in SC list, Valmikis as STs: YSR Jagan Reddy in Andhra appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Yesterday Sabrang India had reported that for the past 70 years, under the diktat of the Thakurs and Brahmins, the Valmikis (Dalits) from Fatehpur Shamsoi village in UP’s Sambhal district had been refused a haircut or a shave by the local barbers. The dominant upper castes believed that use of the same scissors and razors for people across castes will make the barbers’ tools of trade impure. When one barber last month offered his services to Valmikis he was bashed up by the Thakurs.

When the Valmikis lodged a complaint of discrimination with the police, the barbers had shut their shops and fled the village.

The Valmiki Dharm Samaj led by Lalla Babu Dravid launched a protest against this injustice and threatened that unless the upper castes took back their prohibition, the Valmikis will convert to Islam and become Muslims.

The conversion threat seems to have yielded immediate results. The administration has now swung into action and directed the Muslim barbers to extend their services to the Valmikis.

For the first time on Tuesday six of the barbers from Fatehpur Shamsoi reopened their shops to give haircuts and to shave Valmikis.

Two months ago, Asif Mehboob had announced that he would offer his services to people from all castes. Following this, a few Valmiki youth had had their haircut at his shop. But Asif had to go back on his words after being beaten up by some Thakurs.

The Valmikis then lodged a complaint with the police that the Muslim barbers were refusing their services out of fear of the Thakurs and Brahmins.

Following reports of the conversion threat published by Sabrang India and a few others, the SHO of Bhajoi, Ranjan Sharma offered police protection to the barbers and asked them not to refuse haircuts and shaves to members of the Valmiki community. The police protection has ensured the Thakurs and Brahmins can no longer dictate terms to the Muslim barbers.

There are around 15,000 Thakurs and Brahmins in Fatehpur Shamsoi village, while the Dalit population is around 2,000. In the past, the Valmikis had to trudge 15-20 kms to other places for a haircut or a shave.
 
 

The post Threat to convert to Islam helps: Barbers in Sambhal give haircuts to Dalits under police protection appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Representational Image. Photo credit: Chronic writer

Dalits from Sambhal district of UP have threatened to convert to Islam. They have warned that if atrocities against them continued they will abandon Hinduism and become Muslims.

Why are the Dalits from Sambhal so agitated? The reason is simple: Barbers in Fatehpur Shamsoi village are prohibited from extending their hair-cutting or shaving service to Dalits. The village is dominated by over 15,000 Thakurs and Brahmins while the Dalit population is around one thousand. Ever since Independence the Valmikis from the village are barred from availing the services of local barbers.

The Thakurs and Brahmins are of the view that since barbers use the same razors and scissors for all, the use of these instruments for Dalits renders them “impure”. Even today, the Valmikis from the village have to trudge 15-20 kms to Chandausi, Bhajoi or Islamnagar for their haircuts or for shaving of beards and trimming of moustaches.

When a Muslim barber agreed to offer his services to Dalits he was threatened by the upper castes. Fearful of the consequences, the barber backed out.
A month ago three Valmiki youth had had their haircut from a Muslim barber, Asif Ali. When they returned to Asif Ali for a shave, the latter was bashed up by the Thakurs. The Valmikis complained to the police but by the time the police arrived the barbers had shut their shops and fled the village.

Dalits from Sambhal are extremely agitated over this state of affairs. It is for this reason that they have threatened to change their religion. The president of the Valmiki Dharm Samaj, Lalla Babu Dravid has warned that if this ban was not lifted, Valmikis will desert Hinduism and turn to Islam.

Last Monday, Dravid along with a few other activists from the community went to Fatehpur Shamsoi and called a meeting of the village panchayat. The former sarpanch of the village, Sanjeev Sharma and the SHO, Ranjan Sharma were present.

At the meeting, Dravid warned that unless the Thakurs and Brahmins of the village lifted their ban concerning barbers within 24 hours, the Valmikis will leave Hinduism and become Muslims. The onus is now on the Thakurs and Brahmins of the village.

The upper castes have become emboldened ever since BJP’s Yogi Adityanath has become chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Atrocities against Dalits have been on the rise with the encouragement of rightwing Hindu extremists. The administration is perceived as doing little to call a halt to the atrocities. Because of this, the Valmikis have been provoked into talking of converting to Islam.
 
 
 

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