Ahmedabad: Janjati Suraksha Manch-Gujarat, the tribal welfare wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), will hold a mega rally at the Ahmedabad riverfront titled ‘Sinh Garjana,’ demanding the delisting of converted tribals from the ST list.

The law expert in the subject of tribals and Judge Prakashbhai Uikeji, while addressing the press conference, stated that reservation benefits are not provided to converted individuals from the SC community. However, the provision of denying reservation benefits to converted ST community members was not included in Section 342 during the constitutional assembly. Many tribals were converted to Islam and Christianity between 1950 and 1970. At that time, Congress MP Kartik Uravji formed a joint parliamentary committee and proposed a bill to exclude tribals who converted to Islam and Christianity from reservations under Section 342. However, the bill has not been passed in Parliament to this day.

Janjati Suraksha Manch, established in 2006, advocates for research on Section 342. They argue that converted tribals cannot be considered STs, and providing them with reservation benefits goes against the principles of the constitution, as stated in Section 366 (25). Prakashbhai Uikeji emphasized that this issue concerns not only tribals but the entire Hindu society. DeshGujarat

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