Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The protests by tribal students, which spread to numerous cities across the state of Maharashtra, including Pune, Nagpur and Nashik, have ended in victory for the demonstrators.
Last Saturday, the state government formally accepted the students’ demands; they had been on hunger strike for 17 days, having begun their protest in the Manjari neighbourhood of Pune. The protests attracted the attention of the Bombay High Court and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who wrote an open letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, urging him to intervene.
The local government subsequently signed an agreement with the protesters, thereby bringing the demonstrations to an end. Fadnavis met with seven representatives of tribal groups from Nagpur, Pune and Nandurbar, to whom he promised to address all their demands by drawing up and presenting an action plan within three months.
The protests began on 13 August, following the deaths of three tribal girls from snake bites at a school in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. The incident shocked the tribal communities, who rallied to demand greater protection and safety for their people.
Numerous demands were put forward, including improvements to conditions in hostels and boarding schools (ashram shaalas), which are often unsafe and lack adequate food, sanitation facilities and medical care, as well as compensation for the families of students who died in these facilities. The demands also include the introduction of support schemes and incentives for students to help them cope with inflation.
The students have also opposed amendments to the Government Resolution (GR) concerning new regulations for the facilities and services of hostels intended for tribal communities.
The GR, issued on 5 August, proposed setting the maximum age limit for enrolment at 26 – a limit that had not previously existed and was considered discriminatory by the protesters. Following the protests, the government initially raised the limit to 30, before finally repealing it on 25 August. On several occasions, the authorities have attempted to amend or introduce new regulations, only to be forced to withdraw them in the face of immediate public opposition.
The tragedy of the Gadchiroli girls and the controversies surrounding the GR have fuelled widespread discontent amongst the tribal population, which is also linked to the scandal over recruitment to government posts reserved for these communities.
According to the allegations, over 12,500 people are said to have secured employment using forged certificates. In India, a percentage of government posts is in fact reserved for members of tribes recognised by the Constitution and belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Under state regulations, individuals who pass the competitive examination and belong to this group must submit, within six months, a certificate attesting to their membership.
Many students accuse the government of failing to monitor the situation adequately and of not carrying out the necessary checks to verify candidates’ eligibility.
Regarding the matter, Fadnavis has assured the students that the government will collect the necessary data and take immediate action against those responsible, who will be dismissed if found to be without valid certificates. In the meantime, the government has committed to putting in place all the necessary measures to launch a new recruitment drive, with the aim of filling 12,500 government posts within the next six months.
The scandal is not a new phenomenon, but a structural problem that has existed in India since the 1990s. In 2018, according to state data, over 11,700 civil servants were found to have secured their posts using invalid tribal certificates. In 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that, in such circumstances, the recruitment must be deemed invalid and ordered the dismissal of those responsible.
Despite the ruling, the practice has continued and, in the absence of adequate checks by the states, some staff remain in post without meeting the legal requirements.
