MARGAO, APRIL 21
The Salcete Scheduled Tribes Association has urged the census authorities to accurately include the ST communities including Gawda, Kunbi and Velips in the ongoing population census.
In a memorandum submitted to the Deputy Collector, Margao, Association President Luis Alex Cardozo said the census enumerators ought to be properly instructed not to record the ST communities in the general category as that would only mete out injustice to these communities.
He said the enumerators should suo moto inquire whether the people belong to the Gawda, Kunbi and Velip communities and record the exact community in the proper column.
Cardozo made the request after he came across enumerators who hardly bothered to inquire whether a particular household owners actually belongs to the ST community or not. He raised apprehensions that grave injustice will be done to the ST communities if they are not included in the population census in the proper column.
“The enumerators should not include these communities in the general category or even in the OBC category. This will only cause irreparable loss to the cause of the ST movement and would deny the fruits of their long drawn struggle”, he said.
