SSHLC recommendation to include 12 Left-out communities in ST list receives Assembly consent

GANGTOK,: Sikkim Legislative Assembly on Friday passed a resolution to ratify the final report of Sikkim State High-Level Committee (SSHLC), which recommends the inclusion of 12 left-out indigenous communities of Sikkim in the Scheduled Tribe list. 
The resolution was moved by Social Welfare minister Samdup Lepcha during a one-day sitting of the Third Session of the Eleventh Assembly.
“This resolution marks a historic step toward justice and recognition for our left-out indigenous communities,” Chief Minister P.S. Golay said. “Our government has approached this issue with sincerity, expertise, and a commitment to ensuring that every community in Sikkim receives its rights.”
During the discussion on the resolution, the Chief Minister stated that the final report of the Sikkim State High-Level Committee is a rigorous and comprehensive document, prepared through extensive field research, community-level consultations, and expert inputs from scholars and practitioners across various institutions.
He added that the report not only details the ethnographic profiles of the 12 left-out indigenous communities but also places them within the broader context of Sikkim’s unique history, its mountainous borderlands, and the longstanding contributions of Sikkimese communities to national security, peace and stability since the State’s merger with the Indian Union.
The report, he remarked, “reflects the essence of the term ‘Sikkimese’ and acknowledges the historical tribal identity recognised both during the Chogyal period and under the special provisions of Article 371F of the Constitution.”
The Chief Minister alleged that the previous government had left “unresolved and politically charged”. He said the present administration took decisive action by forming a committee of national experts in November 2024.  
With the Assembly’s approval secured, the State government will now submit the report to the Central government for consideration. The Chief Minister expressed confidence that “such a detailed, evidence-based submission would provide strong and adequate grounds for consideration” by the Registrar General of India and the Government of India.
Golay also touched upon the controversies surrounding the SSHLC meetings held in Delhi, urging critics not to politicise the matter. “This is not an issue for division,” he stated.
The discussion on the government resolution was also participated by ministers N.B. Dahal, Arun Upreti and Raju Basnet, and MLA Lok Nath Sharma.