Twenty-three years after Goa’s tribal communi ties secured Scheduled Tribe status, the fight for political reservation has entered a more confrontational phase, with tribal leaders warning the government that they will return to the streets if the promised formalities are not completed within two months — and vow ing to ensure the demand is settled before the 2027 Assembly elections. Braving heavy rain for nearly three hours, a mas sive gathering of tribal community members as sembled at Azad Maidan, Mardol, on Thursday fora rally organised by the United Tribal Association Alliance (UTAA), with leaders of the tribal move ment, including leaders from the ruling dispen sation, joining the call for reservation before the 2027 Assembly elections. The message from the rally was blunt — the com munity has waited long enough and will resume its agitation if the govern ment fails to complete the pending formalities with in the next two months, as it has reportedly assured the tribal leadership.
The political awkwardness for the government was un derscored by the presence of Priol BJP MLA Govind Gaude, who publicly urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant not to be swayed by those opposing political reservation for STs. “Are 23 years not enough? What more does the govern ment want?” Gaude asked, making it clear that the demand was not for political patronage but for representation guar anteed by the Constitution. Gaude said tribal communities were Goa’s indigenous communities and had suffered injustice despite decades of agitation. The community, he stressed, was “not begging for reservation but demanding a constitutional entitlement”. He also turned the spotlight on the political establish ment, accusing successive governments of seeking tribal votes while failing to resolve a demand that has remained pending for more than two decades. “Those responsible for bringing us onto the roads, we will have to bring them onto the roads,” Gaude warned. His intervention was significant because the reservation demand is no longer confined to opposition parties or trib al organisations.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Gaude questioned why the issue had taken so long to move forward despite Sawant having been Chief Minister for several years. While acknowledging the Chief Minis ter’s recent visit to Delhi in connection with the matter, he argued that sustained efforts should have yielded greater progress by now. He also said the tribal leadership would approach the President of India if necessary, making clear that the com munity intended to pursue the issue beyond the state gov ernment. The anger at the rally was rooted in a long history of mo bilisation. UTAA president and former minister Prakash Velip recalled the community’s 2002 march towards the Assembly, subsequent agitations and the Balli agitation of May 2011, during which two tribal youths lost their lives. “Despite securing ST status in 2003, we have gone through four Assembly elections without political reserva tion,” Velip said. “We have been assured that the remaining formalities will be completed within two months. If the deadline is missed, UTAA will restart its agitation,” he added.
For the tribal leadership, the issue is therefore no longer about another assurance. It is about whether the govern ment will finally translate years of promises and adminis trative processes into actual political representation before Goa goes to the polls in 2027. UTAA vice-president Adv John Fernandes echoed the warning, saying the community would not hesitate to re turn to the streets if the promised formalities were not completed within two months. GAJUVED Federation president Govind Shirodkar traced the movement further back, crediting tribal leaders, in cluding former minister Vasu Paik Gaonkar, with creating awareness that helped secure OBC status and later ST sta tus for the community in 2003. “Our constitutional right to political reservation was de nied, so UTAA was formed in 2008. During the UTAA agita tion in 2011, two ST youths sacrificed their lives. Of our 12 demands, some have been fulfilled, but the main demand for political reservation is still pending.” Cortalim MLA Anton Vas, too, backed the demand, saying reservation for ST communities was a necessity and urging the community to remain united until it achieved its objective. “We have been demanding our constitutional rights for the last 23 years, and the Chief Minister has now assured us that they will be fulfilled before the 2027 elections. Today’s meeting is to show unity and solidarity.
We should forget our differences and unite until we achieve victory.” The rally also sought to counter any attempt to portray ST reservation as a zero-sum contest between commu nities. Gaude argued that tribal struggles in the past had helped secure benefits for other disadvantaged sections as well, citing the role of former chief ministers Dayanand Bandodkar, Shashikala Kakodkar and Ravi Naik in extend ing benefits to tenants and other communities.
But the central message from Mardol remained firmly political: after 23 years, tribal leaders want a deadline, not another assurance. With the 2027 elections drawing closer, the UTAA has effectively put the government on notice. If the promised formalities are not completed within the next two months, the tribal leadership has made it clear that the streets will once again become the battleground — and this time, the community says it intends to push its demand all the way to securing constitutional political representation in the Assembly.
