Nomadic Tribes Survey
A national survey of de-notified tribes is being carried out under the auspices of KHS for the state of Rajasthan. The funds for this survey are being channelled and disbursed through us to ensure proper accounting of all expenditure.
Madan Meena is the Rajasthan state co-ordinator and has to analyse the data. He is travelling constantly checking that the very complex questionnaires are being filled-in accurately. Some of these tribes are officially in the lowest category Scheduled Castes and Tribes which can claim various benefits from the state, and some are classified as OBC or Other Backward Castes. One issue that has emerged is that members of one tribe are getting false caste certificates made so they can claim to belong to a different tribe which is eligible for more benefits!
A Kanjar family being surveyed, illustrating the public nature of the event.
The Bagaria are considered to be beggars, treated as untouchables, and live on the outskirts of villages. The little girl (right) in this picture goes into the village everyday to beg to support her younger brother, her grandfather, and a mentally retarded uncle. Her father died of a snake bite, and her mother abandoned them. With so much responsibility she does not even dream of going to school.
Members can log in and see the first report for October 2013 on this page, which makes fascinating but sobering reading.
The report was submitted in June 2015 but has not yet been published by the Government. Until it is, no action can be taken.
