SHILLONG, April 23: The United Hajong Community Development Organisation (UHCDO) has flagged concern over the purported risk of Hajongs losing their reservation benefits as Scheduled Tribes (ST) due to the Meghalaya government’s alleged move to merge their quota in the 5 per cent category.
“It is worth questioning the state government, as to why and how the job reservation quota of the Hajong community has been merged into 5% quota, which is specifically allotted to other tribes and Scheduled Caste, even though they had been recognised as an ST community from 1950,” president of the UHCDO, Bakul Ch Hajong, said in a statement issued here.
He went on to point out that the Other Tribe category comprises tribal communities who were recently included in the state’s ST list as per Amendment of the Constitution Scheduled Tribe’s Order Act, 1987, and clubbed with the other tribes communities of erstwhile undivided Assam, who had been staying in Meghalaya after the separation from Assam state and attainment of statehood.
“The existing job reservation quota which is in practice are 40% for Garos, 40% for Khasi and Jaintias, 15% for General and 5% vacancies in favour of Other Tribes i.e., Koch, Rabha, Boro and other tribals of the North Eastern States, including Scheduled Caste community. However, at present, the Hajongs, unlike in the past, are being provided with government jobs and higher education simply out of the mercy and consideration of the recruitment commission. Therefore, Hajongs are neither provided with any specific job reservation quota or accommodated in the existing job reservation policy with clarity,” the UHCDO president said.
Censuring the state government, the Hajong organisation said that the community has been deprived for decades of their fundamental rights and constitutional provision as an ST, which, according to the UHCDO president, is mainly because “the community has remained economically and socially backward and has been facing adverse consequences for several decades”.
The organisation had raised the issue of alleged quota deprivation with the government in 2019 when it submitted a memorandum seeking omission of Hajong community from the Other Tribes category, to which it did not receive any reply from the authorities.
The organisation then moved the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Government of India, in 2021 to inquire into the matter.
Soon after, a letter was received by the organisation from the Commission wherein it requested the Chief Secretary of Meghalaya to furnish the facts on the matter. However, the matter still hangs fire as both the state government and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes allegedly failed to shed light on the Hajong community’s issues.
“The UHCDO reiterates that the Hajong community is not part of the Other Tribes category, and hence it should be recognised exclusively as a Scheduled Tribe community of the state of Meghalaya as notified in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950,” the organisation said.
