11/09/2025
Ethnographic Reports and the Politics of Truth
Hon'ble CM Prem Singh Tamang Golay leads Sikkim’s historic ethnographic breakthrough
By Yougan Tamang, Press Secretary to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Sikkim.
“I also feel that if this type of exercise was done 20 years back, the 12 left out communities would not only have been given the Scheduled Tribe status by now but would have also immensely benefited from this inclusionary initiative of the Government of India” : Shri. Prem Singh Tamang Golay, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Sikkim during the valedictory meeting of the Sikkim State High Level Committee on August 18, 2025 at New Delhi.
The recognition of the 12 left-out communities of Sikkim as Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution of India has been a demand echoing across decades. Earlier attempts to address this question were made, but too often they ended as reports consigned to archives rather than tools of transformation. The lack of political urgency, the half-hearted approach, and the weak intellectual rigour of those years created more questions than answers, sowing doubt even in a just and genuine cause.
The advent of the government under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Prem Singh Tamang Golay in 2019 marked a turning point. The mistakes of the past were not to be repeated. From the very beginning, the government placed this long-neglected demand at the centre of its priorities. The Chief Minister and the Sikkim Legislative Assembly unanimously passed resolutions not just to advocate, but to act. The formation of the Sikkim State High Level Committee was a conscious step toward correcting the course of history, bringing all communities together with scholars, experts, and policy makers to build a case on solid intellectual ground.
What followed was unprecedented. In a span of just nine months, under the chairmanship of Prof. B. V. Sharma, Director of the Anthropological Survey of India, the Committee prepared the most comprehensive, field-based, and authentic ethnographic reports in Sikkim’s history. These volumes are not merely academic documents, they are living repositories of culture, ecology, and history. They meticulously address every gap and every query previously raised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Registrar General of India. For the first time, the reports go beyond the five conventional criteria of primitive traits, cultural distinctiveness, geographical isolation, backwardness, and shyness of contact. They draw parallels with other Northeastern states, contextualise Sikkim within national frameworks, and provide practical, evidence-backed recommendations.
The breadth of expertise brought together is striking, eminent anthropologists, social scientists, and governance experts such as Prof. Mahendra P. Lama, Prof. Virginius Xaxa, Dr. Satyabrata Chakrabarty, Prof. Sarit Chaudhury, Prof. Nupur Tiwari, Shri Rangan Dutta, Prof. AB Ota, Prof. Sandhya Thapa contributed, alongside representatives of the 12 communities themselves. This inclusivity ensured that the reports were not only scientifically robust but also socially owned. The insistence of the Hon’ble Chief Minister that community representatives scrutinise the final drafts and provide declarations of ownership was both a political calling and a moral commitment, ensuring that the voices of the people are embedded in the scholarship.
The reports do more than argue for constitutional recognition, they reframe Sikkimese identity in intellectual, cultural, and ecological terms. They recount the unrecorded histories, the displaced traditions, and the hidden legacies of the 12 communities, restoring to them their rightful place in the story of Sikkim and India. They also outline replicable processes, offering a model for policy-making that is rooted in consultation, research, and inclusivity.
The difference between past and present could not be clearer. Where earlier efforts lacked conviction, today’s leadership has brought credibility, rigour, and urgency. Where past reports failed to convince, today’s ethnographic volumes have emerged as authoritative and compelling. And where the old approach was casual, the present one is comprehensive, built to withstand scrutiny in corridors of Delhi.
Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Prem Singh Tamang Golay has repeatedly underscored the importance of convincing both the technical officials and the political leadership at the Centre. Backed by unanimous resolutions of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, representations have been made to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, and Hon’ble Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Jual Oram in the recent past. The effort is unflinching, the resolve insurmountable.
The ethnographic reports are not just documents; they are a declaration of Sikkim’s intellectual heritage, a defence of its cultural integrity, and a roadmap for justice long denied. They prove that when backed by serious scholarship and political will, governance is not rhetoric but reality.
The preparation of these ethnographic reports is the result of tireless and consistent hard work by many. We must acknowledge the inspiring leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Prem Singh Tamang Golay, whose commitment has been dedicated to the betterment of the 12 left-out communities. Equal appreciation is due to the nodal agency of this entire exercise, the Department of Social Welfare, Government of Sikkim under the guidance of Secretary Smt. Sarika Pradhan, along with all its officials. Gratitude is also extended to the Members of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, our Members of Parliament in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, eminent anthropologists, social scientists, and experts, as well as the officials of the Chief Minister’s Office and the dedicated representatives of the 12 left-out communities. Their collective perseverance has transformed this historic aspiration into a comprehensive reality.
Headline Politics and the Poverty of Vision
While the Government of Sikkim has achieved a landmark intellectual and cultural breakthrough with the preparation of comprehensive ethnographic reports for the 12 left-out communities, the howling opposers have chosen to trivialise this achievement by reducing it to the cost of food and lodging. Governance is not an exercise of pettiness, it is about vision, priorities, and the courage to correct historical wrongs. Ironically, the very leader now shouting from the sidelines was once part of a government along with his better half that presided over decades of confusion without conclusion, producing reports that served more as dust-collectors than instruments of justice.
The recent antics of the so called opposition are a perfect example of ‘performative politics’ or more accurately, ‘headline politics’. Four volumes (with parts) of rigorous ethnographic research compiled over nine months by experts, scholars, and representatives of the 12 communities seems make no sense to them, but their spectacle politics seems to rise above it all. The recent live gimmick is a deep insult to the entire communities of Sikkim, whose leaders and members worked tirelessly to ensure their voices were embedded in this landmark exercise. What it reveals is the poverty of imagination and the desperation of a party scrambling for relevance.
Worse still, in their political frustration, the so called leader stooped so low as to brand the elected heads of community organisations as “brokers.” This shameful remark is unbecoming of someone who proclaims day and night to be a reformist. Reformers elevate discourse; they do not drag it into the gutter. Community organisations in Sikkim have long been the custodians of identity, culture, and unity. They elect their leaders democratically, work tirelessly for the welfare of their people, and shoulder responsibilities that go far beyond petty politics, safeguarding traditions, reviving indigenous knowledge, mobilising youth, and building bridges with government. To dismiss these contributions with the label of “broker” (दलाल’ in Nepali/Hindi) is to belittle their sacrifices, insult the faith of the people, and reveal nothing but political desperation.
The ethnographic reports prepared by the 12 left-out communities in partnership with the Sikkim State High Level Committee stand as a milestone in Sikkim’s history. Detailed, inclusive, and authentic, they address every technical query raised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Registrar General of India. For the first time, Sikkim has produced documents that are both academically sound and politically credible, documents capable of advancing a demand that has languished for decades. To dismiss them as irrelevant by any measure is an act of intellectual dishonesty.
This so-called opposition needs to be reminded that governance is not about scoring headlines. It is about laying down foundations of scholarship, inclusivity, and justice that no one can dismiss. While they obsess over meals and accommodation, the present leadership has delivered history and justice. The ethnographic reports are not an indulgence, they are an investment in the future of our people, a declaration of Sikkim’s intellectual seriousness, its cultural integrity, and its political will to secure what was denied for far too long.
