Goa Khabar : The Adivasi Congress Goa has submitted a detailed memorandum to the Hon’ble President of India, drawing urgent attention to the worsening atrocities, land displacement, and systemic denial of constitutional rights faced by the Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities of Goa. The memorandum also exposes the BJP government’s divisive and exploitative agenda, which is rapidly pushing tribals to the margins of society.
Chairman Ramkrishna Jalmi, in the memorandum, has warned that the BJP’s calculated policies and misuse of state machinery are “paving the way for a repeat of Manipur-like violence in Goa.”
NATIONAL LEVEL ATROCITIES:
• Rape and Murder of a Tribal Woman in Madhya Pradesh (23 May 2025) – A brutal act reflecting the state’s failure to protect tribal women.
• Sexual Assaults in Manipur – Shameful stripping of tribal women and engineered conflict between tribal groups has exposed BJP’s utter failure to maintain law and order and safeguard Adivasi lives.
The Adivasi Congress Goa has also sent letters to the Collector, North Goa, and Dy. Collector of South Goa appealing for protection of Adivasi and tribal rights in Goa and implementation of affirmative action both in letter as well as spirit. It also called for an immediate end to ongoing attempts to divide the tribal community on the basis of religion. The letter highlighted concrete instances of injustice and attempts to stifle the voices and rights of the community in Goa.
DIVISIVE AGENDA IN GOA:
• Adivasi Congress demanded a total ban on groups like the “Janjyati Suraksha Manch Goa” which are openly promoting religious discrimination by demanding delisting of Christian Gawadas from the ST list thus threatening tribal unity and constitutional status
DISPLACEMENT & LAND GRABBING SPONSORED BY THE STATE:
1. Khandepar Bandhara Project:
o Launched without Gram Sabha approval, based on fraudulent documentation.
o Used police and Section 144 to forcibly enter tribal lands.
o Adivasi homes and ecology were under threat until public outrage forced its cancellation.
o BJP tried to drown tribal voices with water and bulldozers.
2. IIT Project at Melauli:
o Police lathi-charged tribal women and youth protesting against land acquisition.
o The project was scrapped only after public resistance – not due to any conscience from the ruling regime.
3. Mega Housing Project at Karapur Sankali :
Vasanti Rama Salelkar, a woman belonging to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community and a lawful tenant of the property bearing Survey Nos. 202/0 and 173/45 situated in Karapur village, Bicholim Taluka, Goa, persistent acts of atrocities, threats, harassment, illegal dispossession attempts, and destruction of property perpetrated against her by a group of individuals in gross violation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) and my constitutional rights.
STRUCTURAL INJUSTICES & VIOLATIONS IN GOA:
1. No Political Reservation for STs in Goa since 2003 – Even after notification, BJP has failed to implement constitutional Article 332. The so-called “Readjustment Bill 2024” is just eyewash without intent.
2. Scheduled Area Not Notified under Fifth Schedule – Allowing mining and real estate interests to loot tribal land.
3. Forest Rights Act not implemented – Over 9,500 claims pending, no CFR rights granted.
4. Diversion of TSP/DMF Funds – ₹2,500 crore meant for tribal welfare is being looted by departments, only ₹300–₹400 crore actually spent.
5. ST Backlog in Government Jobs – Reservations ignored, rosters manipulated.
6. False Cases on Tribal Leaders – Activists like Ravindra Velip, Dr. Sameer Velip, and others targeted with false FIRs.
7. TAC Not Properly Formed – Interim body formed without any ST community reps.
TENANCY & MUNDKAR RIGHTS DESTROYED:
The BJP has quietly diluted the Goa Tenancy and Mundkar Acts, enabling landlords and PDAs to evict tribal families.
Thousands are still awaiting Sanads, while land conversions under Section 39A (formerly 16B) are pushing STs off ancestral lands.
DEMANDS RAISED IN THE MEMORANDUM:
• Immediate ban on Janjyati Suraksha Manch and similar communal organizations.
• Ordinance to reserve 4 ST seats in the Goa Legislative Assembly before the 2027 election.
• Notification of Scheduled Areas under Article 244(1).
• Fast-track approval of Forest Rights claims and tenancy Sanads.
• Presidential Commission of Inquiry into all tribal atrocities and land dispossession.
• Audit of TSP and DMF Funds for the last 5 years.
• Withdrawal of false criminal cases against ST leaders and activists.
ADIVASI CONGRESS WARNS:
“If the BJP continues to bulldoze tribal rights in Goa, the Adivasi Congress will launch a mass agitation across all talukas. We will not allow our forests, land, and future to be auctioned off to builders and cronies,” said Ramkrishna Jalmi.
