The community is not mentioned in the recommendation proposed by the Registrar General of India which means the Union Cabinet has not taken the right decision. A movement was held in the State for Gauda, Kunbi, Dhangar and Velip communities to be bestowed with tribal status. Prof Hussain Khan from the Anthropology Department of Dharwad University has studied these community groups in detail. Gaudas, Kunbis and Velips made their way into the tribal community through OBC status which enabled them to be benefitted from schemes of the Central government. However, the Dhangar community still awaits their rightful status despite the 'double-engine' government being in power. The Modi-led Central government has approved the proposal to include 12 tribes from 5 States in ST category. The proposal was presented to the Union Cabinet after discussion with the Registrar General and inter-ministerial consultation. Disappointingly, the Dhangar community in Goa is not included in the list which leaves Goa's herding caste on an uncertain quest for when the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India will send the proposal to the Union Cabinet next. The approval includes several tribal groups from Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Central government as per the Constitution's clauses 341 and 342 implements statutory procedures.
After recommending to the President, a particular tribe is included in ST category as per the 1950 Presidential Order. The people belonging to this tribe are then eligible for special benefits including reservation. Even if a State government is intending to omit a caste from this list it has to carry out the statutory procedure by writing to the central government. The caste's history of existence, customs, traditions, unique characteristics of their culture etc are taken into consideration. The demographics of the respective tribe, whether they are tribals, scheduled or from hilly region, whether they are in the mainstream of the society, their social backwardness, education and other matters are thought through to define their backwardness. There is no concrete criteria to include or omit a tribe from the list of Scheduled Castes which is why this matter is pending in the Supreme Court. If a State authority intends inclusion of a particular tribe or a caste into ST category then the state government is required to create a detailed report consisting of scientifically done study by a high-level committee or a commission.
The proposal with this report is then sent to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Once scrutinised, the proposal is sent to the Director General of National Registration and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes for further procedure. The proposal is sent to the Cabinet for approval once proven to be eligible as per the legal criteria. The proposal is then presented in the Parliament as an Amendment Bill. And after this lengthy and rigorous constitutional journey, it is finally sent to the President for approval and the notification is issued regarding including the tribe in ST category as per the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.
There are 705 Scheduled Tribes in the country which constitutes 8.6% of the total population; that is more than 10 crore of people. Hence, the demand of the Dhangar community should be taken into consideration. The Dhangar community in Goa call themselves as Dhangar-Gavli and the tribe's demand in the neighbouring state of Maharashtra is similar. The struggle for the same by this tribe in Maharashtra has been ongoing for the last several years. They are currently classified as nomadic tribes and are given 3% of reservation quota. The responsibility of creating the scientific report to include them in the ST category was given to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. However, the study group and experts from the institute expressed unfavorable remarks to include them in ST. The Maharashtra government can now conduct the study through a high-level committee or commission to recommend the demand to the Union government. However, this procedure will take a long period of time which by default keeps the issue's future in Goa undetermined.