Plea to President over tribal status for Jhodias
Rayagada: A delegation of Jhodia and Lanjia Saura communities met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi recently, and submitted a memorandum to her demanding allotment of tribal status to Jhodia community and inclusion of Lanjia Saura dialect in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
The delegation, led by Koraput MP Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka and Gunupur MLA Satyajeet Gomango, submitted the memorandum to the President over the fulfilment of their longstanding demands, Friday.
Ulaka said the President assured the delegation of taking steps to fulfil the demands. She also sought to know the initiatives made by the state governments at various points in time in this regard.
Earlier, a signature campaign was undertaken over the demands by Ulaka in which over 10,000 signatures were collected from Koraput, Kalahandi and Rayagada districts. Moreover, 5,000 signatures had also been collected from Tripura.
Notably, the Jhodia community in Koraput, Kalahandi, and Rayagada districts previously enjoyed equal status like the Paraja tribe, and classified under the Scheduled Tribes until 1997. However, they were later excluded from the tribal list and reclassified as a general category. Their demand for reallocation of tribal status has not been met despite repeated appeals to the governor, chief minister, and both state and Central governments.
Additionally, Saura language, spoken by more than 500,000 tribal people across Odisha and neighbouring states, has a rich heritage and a unique script called Saura Sompeng. However, it has not been included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The petition highlights that the language has been denied official recognition, government support, and preservation initiatives.
During the submission of the petition, representatives including Ramprasad Gomango, Ketan Sabar, Dinamasi Gomango, Oirumpi Sabar from the Saura community, and Neelakantha Jhodia, Sanducharan Majhi, and Dudheshwar Jhodia from the Jhodia community were present.
