G’BYE GOA: GAWDAS AND KUNNBIS By Valmiki Faleiro The near-identical Asuras/Gawdas and Kols/Kunnbis were the largest tribal grouping in ancient, pre-Aryan Goa. If the 1961 transition meant new freedom to Goans, for them it was a “Liberation” driven in reverse gear. They were recognised as ‘Tribu’ and enjoyed some privileges during the Portuguese regime. Those benefits vanished at the dawn of December 19, 1961. Together with Dhangars, Gawdas and Kunnbis then formed 30% of Goa. No political party, no government, and almost no politician in ‘democratic’ Goa cared about the welfare of her ancient tribals. Dayanand Bandodkar’s MGP government was asked early on by the Centre to enlist Goa’s tribals for inclusion in the constitutional list of Scheduled Castes/Tribes (SC/ST.) In fairness, Bandodkar and the Opposition Leader, Dr. Jack Sequeira, made enquiries, found mixed opinion among tribals themselves – and left the matter there. The Goa Government did not respond to Delhi’s request. In 1966, a study recommended their inclusion in the ST list, but nothing came of it. It was left to tribal leaders themselves, men like Anton Gaunkar, Chief Convenor of the ‘Goa State Scheduled Tribes Action Committee,’ and Dr. Kashinath Zalmi, former Minister and President of ‘Tribal Welfare Organization,’ to first enlighten their own and then demand inclusion in India’s Constitution. Gaunkar, as MLA, was the first in Goa’s history to table a Resolution for their ST recognition in 1995, which was adopted by the Goa Legislative Assembly. (With doggedly added follow-up in Delhi, he would qualify to be called the ‘Baba Ambedkar of Goa’!) The resultant State proposal met concurrence both with the Registrar General of India and the National Commission for SC/ST. The Registrar, however, did not recommend Dhangars, in view of the sparse data forwarded about them. The Committee on Petitions of the 13th Lok Sabha recommended the inclusion of Gawdas, Kunnbis and Velips to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, while urging the Centre to seek more information on Goa’s Dhangars from the State to further examine their case. Under Article 342, the SC/ST Amendment Act was adopted by India’s Parliament and, after Presidential assent, Goa’s Gawdas and Kunnbis and their common derivate, the Velips – Hindu and Catholic – were included in the nation’s list of STs in year 2002. Being tribals, Catholic Gawdas and Kunnbis lay beyond the scope of the Hindu religious order, being part of neither the Chatur-varna nor the Pancham-varna caste systems. Goa’s Department of Social Welfare had meanwhile set the cut-off date for purpose of ST quota admissions to professional colleges as February 19, 1968. But when the constitutional requirement of surveying Goa’s ST population began last year, the State Cabinet quietly changed the cut-off date from 19-Feb-1968 to 30-June-2002. The implication was obvious: the educational and employment benefits available to Goa’s original ST tribals would be heavily diluted to favour STs who migrated here between 1968 and 2002. So much for a government of Goans, by Goans, for Goans! Goa’s Gawdas, Kunnbis and Velips ought to thank small mercies. They at least stand a chance of availing ST benefits. Dhangars/Gonvllis who settled here much before them do not. The matter of sending additional info sought by the Centre gathers dust, even if one of their own, Babu Kavlekar, is currently the first ever Dhangar in the Goa Assembly – on the ruling side. Eventually, the Centre will have to accept the reality of existence of large number of Dhangars outside Goa, particularly in Maharashtra – a factor reportedly accounting for Delhi’s reluctance to accord ST recognition to Goa’s Dhangars in the first place. Heeding Kolhapur and Belgaum cobblers who migrated in 20th century Portuguese Goa, Hindu cobblers and fellow ‘untouchable’ Mhars in Goa were included in the Scheduled Castes list in 1968. But that reflected a grave injustice to their equally disadvantaged – economically and socially – Christian counterparts, especially Mhars. Only few Christian cobblers ply the trade. Most acquired other skills and are better off economically, but not as much as many Hindu cobblers I know, who also enjoy SC privileges … a case of eating your cake and having it too. Social justice, India-style! (ENDS.) The Valmiki Faleiro weekly column at: http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=330 ====================================================================== The above article appeared in the May 24, 2009 edition of the Herald, Goa
