Sikkim: Left out communities demand indigenous status from government

GANGTOK:

When Sikkim merged with India in 1975, several people from the pre-merger era were excluded from the list of indigenous communities belonging to the state.

To address the issue, the excluded communities convened a meeting at Chokasum Hall in Gangtok and formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC) on Friday.

During the meeting, the JAC unanimously passed the resolution to demand equal rights for those left out natives post-merger with India.

The JAC will also submit a memorandum to the Government of Sikkim for the inclusion of these people in the list of native people genuinely belonging to the state.

The demand by the JAC was prepared based on a petition filed by Prem Goyal to the 145th report of the committee of Rajya Sabha on August 13, 2013.

(Edited by Shankar Kumar Turha)

ALSO READ:

Also Read: Sikkim BJP president meets MoS Home; seeks addressal of pending demands