DT Lepcha, the Rajya Sabha MP from Sikkim, on July 29 urged the Central government to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to 12 left-out communities in Sikkim. Raising the issue in Parliament, Lepcha highlighted the categorization of Sikkimese people into three ethnic groups: Lepcha, Bhutia, and Nepali, noting that Sikkim is home to 20 indigenous tribes. “The earliest available census of 1891 notes the Nepali ethnic group as 63.3%, Bhutia as 16.06%, and Lepcha as 18.9%,” Lepcha informed Parliament. He pointed out that historically, the King of Sikkim recognized Bhutias, Lepchas, and Nepalis as tribes.
However, after Sikkim’s merger with India in 1975, the 1978 Constitution designated only Bhutia and Lepcha as Scheduled Tribes in Sikkim, leading to the loss of seat reservations for the Nepalis in the state Assembly. Although two communities from the Nepali ethnic group, Limbu and Tamang, were granted ST status in 2003, Lepcha emphasized that 12 communities remain unrecognized. Lepcha stressed the urgency of safeguarding the indigenous population, which is in decline. “The population will soon decline, and their political rights will be affected if not ‘safeguarded’,” he warned. He argued that granting ST status to the 12 communities would allow Sikkim to be declared a tribal state, similar to other Northeastern states, ensuring that only tribals occupy Assembly seats.
“A small population of just over 4.5 lakhs needs to be saved from being overwhelmed by the influx of people from other states,” Lepcha said, urging the Central government to address this critical issue to preserve the cultural and political rights of Sikkim’s indigenous communities.
