Dhangars to revive demand for reservation as tribals

The Dhangar community in Mumbai is demanding inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe category for reservation benefits, leading to protests and clashes.

MUMBAI With the heightened demand for Maratha reservation amid hunger strike and protests, the Dhangar community has stood up to re-energise a long-pending demand of including them in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.

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On Friday morning, after submitting a memorandum demanding reservation, a member of the community, Shekhar Bangale, flung bhandara (turmeric powder that is used in religious functions) on state revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, at the government guest house in Solapur. A video clip of the incident has been doing the rounds on various social media platforms.

Soon after, Vikhe Patil’s security guards and supporters caught hold of Bangale and thrashed him. “It happened suddenly, but I have directed them not to initiate any police action against the person,” the minister told reporters after the incident.

Later, Bangale told reporters, “If we don’t get reservation, I will not hesitate to blacken the face of ministers.”

The Dhangars (shepherds, traditionally) want to be included in the ST category so that they become eligible for reservation. Currently, they are a part of the Nomadic Tribe (NT) and get 3.5% reservation in government jobs and education with other castes in NT. If added in the ST category, they will get 7% reservation.

In the run up to the assembly elections in 2014, Devendra Fadnavis had promised them the privilege, which was eventually forgotten.

Earlier, on Wednesday, activists from Yashwant Sena went on an indefinite hunger strike demanding reservation, in Chondi, Ahmednagar.