The State government has sent a formal proposal to the Union government to recognise the Siddis of Belagavi and Dharwad districts as Scheduled Tribes (ST).
The Siddis of Uttara Kannada are already listed as STs by the Union and the State governments.
This follows a request by the Belagavi district administration to the State government in 2018.
A spot inspection was held in this request by members of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in September last year. “They have sent a favourable report to the government. We are hopeful of a positive outcome,” a senior officer in the Deputy Commissioner’s office told The Hindu .
In reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on December 27, 2018, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Sudarshan Bhagat said that the Centre had received a formal proposal from the State government about the inclusion of the Siddis in Belagavi and Dharwad districts as STs. He pointed out that the application was as per regulations set by the national commission and the tribal affairs ministry. “The proposal now awaits clearance by the Registrar General of India,” the officer said. Once this is done, the Union government will issue a special order and include it in the Central gazette. After this, the State government will instruct revenue officials in Belagavi and Dharwad districts to issue ST certificates to Siddi applicants. This may take a few months, the officer said.
