Tribals to embark on Statewide stir for hike in quota

Hyderabad: A tribal group from Telangana State, under the banner of ‘All Universities Tribal Scholars and Students’ is embarking on a Statewide movement to put pressure on the K Chandrashekar Rao government to fast-track its earlier commitment to enhance reservation for tribals that would be proportionate to their population.

This was resolved during deliberations held in the city on Tuesday as part of a Round Table Conference on ‘Tribal Reservation-Telangana State’. Several university students and faculty members participated in the conference. They all voiced a common opinion-an increase in the quota based on their population.

In the undivided Andhra Pradesh, the tribal population was estimated at 6.6 percent while it stands at 9.34 in the Telangana State. According to Venkatesh Chowhan, a research scholar at University of Hyderabad, and convenor of the conference, the government had done precious little in this direction.

It was time they acted upon their promises so that the tribals could expect suitable employment opportunities, he said. Veteran journalist and active member of the committee, U Sambashiva Rao, criticized the government for its failure to live up to expectations.

He said there should be systematic shift whereby the tribals would also be treated on par with the Backward Castes and Scheduled Castes, whose reservations have been increased correspondingly while tribals have been left languish without any enhancement in quota either in academics or jobs.

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