Sunday, Apr 13, 2003
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Tamil Nadu
By K. Ramachandran
"Most of us seeking ST certificates for ourselves or our sons or daughters get only discriminatory orders, causing hardship," says the State general secretary of the Scheduled Tribe Employees Welfare Association, K. Kesavan. Prior to 1989, only tahsildars issued community certificates for STs. But since November 1989, the certificates could be issued only by revenue divisional officers. In other States, the tahsildars continued to issue the certificates. The RDOs never bothered to make real enquiries in the applicants' villages, but took arbitrary decisions. Or they kept the applications pending for years, Mr. Kesavan told a public hearing organised by the Association here today. A panel led by a former member of the State Human Rights Commission, R. Rathinasamy, heard individual and group complaints from the ST members. Mr. Kesavan said in Tamil Nadu, 36 groups listed STs "are a small minority and are easily discriminated against. The officials take the stand that once we come out of the traditional tribal areas, we will not be eligible to claim the status... Should we remain socially or educationally backward nor seek any employment." The STs in Tamil Nadu suffered for lack of political patronage and education or protection from exploitation. The office-bearers note that although as per revenue records, major ST communities, existed in almost all parts of the State, the RDOs repeatedly ask for old records, but they never accepted even 100-year-old documents. "... Without considering any of them, the RDOs summarily rejected the applications, saying such tribal communities did not exist in the particular area," says a government employee. Quoting instances, Mr. Kesavan said a railway employee, who was about to retire after a 35-year-service was sought to be proceeded against (a month or two before retirement) for producing a wrong ST certificate. The association went to court to ensure that he got terminal benefits. An ST employee of the Telecom department was struggling for months to get a community certificate for his sons. The Parameswarapuram panchayat in Tirunelveli district had been reserved for ST (in local bodies polls), but its residents were unable to get `Konda Reddy certificates. Anbu Chezhian, even after working in the State Bank for 20 years, was unable to get confirmation in the job, as his ST certificate was still "pending verification". A woman employee wrongly thrown out of job was yet to be reinstated despite specific court orders. In the Reserve Bank, 19 ST posts had remained unfilled for 20 years, again despite court and Human Rights Commission orders. The Union Minister of State for Tribal Afairs, Faggan S. Kulaste, had in a personal letter to the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, last year, urged her to direct all department heads to follow rules before terminating the services of any employee, give individuals sufficient time to prove his/her claim to membership of an ST group, and expedite the caste verification process, the association members said.
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