Kumhars (Potter) may soon join the list of scheduled castes

Allahabad: The government at the Centre will decide in two months whether or not the potter caste should be included in the list of scheduled castes as demanded in a petition to the Allahabad high court. The advocate representing the government at the Centre has given assurance to this effect to the court.

The bench hearing the petition consisted of Justices D B Bhosale and Sunit Kumar. The petitioner has made this demand in the light of socio economic conditions of the caste in Uttar Pradesh. The matter has been referred to the department of social justice and empowerment which will take the final call.

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An official of the Scheduled caste and Scheduled tribe institute told news persons here on Friday that a survey conducted by the state government recently recommended inclusion of 17 other castes in the list of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The castes include Kumhar, Mallah, Nishad and Kewat.

The list was sent to the central department a few months ago but it was “ put in a cold storage”, necessitating a petition the court . In view of the latest court’s order it is believed that the issue will be sorted out soon.