Shinde’s placatory words fail to impress Dhangar protestors

Dhangar community continues to protest in Maharashtra for ST status; CM Shinde claims discussions with delegation were fruitful, but protestors demand written assurances.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s claims on Thursday that discussions with a Dhangar community delegation on reservation had been fruitful, failed to placate other community members who resolved to continue protests in different parts of Maharashtra, demanding inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list.

Earlier on Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Gopichand Padalkar, an influential Dhangar leader, led a delegation of community leaders which met Mr. Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and several ministers and top officials.

“The discussions were extremely fruitful. We are close to getting our demands fulfilled,” said Mr. Padalkar

The community is currently in the Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) category and has been agitating for inclusion in the ST category.

Dhangar leaders in Maharashtra contend that while their community brethren called ‘Dhangad’ in other parts of the country receive ST benefits, those in the State are denied because of a long-standing typographical error. 

Mr. Padalkar said the delegation urged the State government to issue a government resolution (GR) awarding certificates to community members which reflects the designation change from ‘Dhangad’ to ‘Dhangar’.

“We told the CM and other leaders and officials that governments in Telangana, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh government had already issued GRs granting ST reservation benefits to Dhangar communities in their respective states. All the Maharashtra government needs to do is change the word ‘Dhangad’ to ‘Dhangar’. This has already been accepted by the State government,” said the BJP leader.