India’s ST Inclusion Debate: Outdated Criteria, Bureaucratic Hurdles, and the Call for Equitable Reform

India’s ST Inclusion Debate: Outdated Criteria, Bureaucratic Hurdles, and the Call for Equitable Reform

C urrent Procedure, Criteria, and Challenges for Inclusion in India’s Scheduled Tribes (ST) List Current Procedure The Government of India considers the existing framework for granting ST status to communities as sufficient. The process involves:  1. Initiation : States/Union Territories (UTs) submit proposals to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) after consultations with marginalized communities.  2. Interagency Review :     - Registrar General of India (RGI) : Examines demographic, ethnographic, and historical data to verify tribal characteristics.     - National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) : Assesses eligibility based on socio-cultural and legal parameters.  3. Legislative Approval : Approved proposals are sent to the Union Cabinet, followed by Parliament, which amends the *Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950* through legislation.  Core Criteria (Lokur Committee, 1965) Communities must meet the following benchmarks:  - Primitive Traits : Retention of traditional practic…