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‘Demand for quota caused tension’

BHUBANESWAR: A fact-finding committee headed by Additional Advocate-General of Rajasthan Sardar G. S Gill here on Thursday said demand for reservation status by dalit community who embraced Christianity in Orissa’s Kandhamal district had ignited communal tension.

The committee said demanding Scheduled Tribe status on the basis of speaking Kui language was important factor behind the long hatred prevailing between tribals and Pana community who were “converted “ to Christianity.

“A commission should be appointed to inquire into whether Kui is a language or a caste, whether Kui should be deleted from Entry No. 31 of the list of Scheduled Tribes and whether Panas of Kandhamal should be considered a tribe,” the five-member committee recommended.

It said the matter should also be inquired into from the angle of encroachments and possession on the land of tribal people by non-tribal people. “Deployment of para-military forces should continue for some time and in the meantime efforts should be made at the social level to restore amicable relations between the various sects of society,” the committee said.

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‘Demand for quota caused tension’

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