GANGTOK, : The Sikkim State High Level Committee (SSHLC) convened its meeting at
the Anthropological Survey of India conference hall, Kolkata on March 18 and
19, informs a press release from Social Welfare department.
It
was the third meeting of the SSHLC which was constituted by the State
government last November to work on the tribal status demand of the 12 left-out
communities of Sikkim. The first meeting was held at Gangtok, followed by the
second meeting at New Delhi this February.
The
Kolkata meeting, as per the release informs, focused on peer review of the
draft ethnographic reports prepared in collaboration with community members and
research assistants who conducted field surveys and gathered secondary data.
SSHLC
chairman Prof BV Sharma chaired the meeting which was attended by vice chairman
Prof Mahendra P Lama, MLA BS Panth, SSHLC members, and officials from Social
Welfare department.
Social
Welfare secretary Sarika Pradhan welcomed the dignitaries and emphasized the
importance of standardizing the reports through a structured peer review
process. She urged members to critically analyse the reports, identify gaps,
and suggest additional data to enhance their quality, the release mentions.
The
SSHLC chairman stressed the need for a rigorous review of the ethnographic work
and proposed dividing the committee members into three sub-groups to assess the
findings, methodologies, and broader implications of the reports.
At
the meeting, the SSHLC vice chairman underscored the importance of documenting
the voices, traditions, and lived experiences of the 12 left-out communities
seeking inclusion in the ST list. He urged members to focus on developing a comprehensive
and well-structured report through critical peer review.
For
the peer review process, the SSHLC members were divided into three sub-groups,
with each group reviewing the reports of four communities each.
On
March 18, the meeting reviewed reports of six communities, identifying gaps and
discussing necessary refinements. The next day saw the review of reports of the
remaining six communities.
The
SSHLC chairman urged the members to provide valuable inputs to strengthen the
reports, ensuring clarity and accuracy.
Prof
Lama made a PowerPoint presentation, outlining the structure and framework for
the final reports. The committee members were assigned specific
responsibilities based on their expertise to refine the reports for broader
dissemination, the release mentions.
The
second session on Day 2 included a Zoom meeting with community representatives,
ensuring that their perspectives were incorporated. The community members were
requested to submit additional inputs addressing identified gaps by March 21 to
the SSHLC member secretary.
The
members also decided that the final SSHLC meeting be held in Gangtok to finalize
and submit the final report.
“This
meeting marked a crucial step in standardizing the ethnographic reports and
ensuring their accuracy before final submission. The structured peer review
process, combined with community engagement and expert insights, is expected to
strengthen the case for ST inclusion for the 12 left-out communities,” the
release mentions.
