Mina or Meena? UPSC job advertisement reignites old dispute between two Rajasthan communities

JAIPUR: A row has erupted in Rajasthan over a recent UPSC job advertisement for the post of company prosecutor in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

The UPSC notification says only the Minas, classified as Scheduled Tribes in the Central list, are eligible for reservation in the recruitment exercise.

The “distinction” between the Minas and the Meenas has re-ignited the old dispute. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in a series of five tweets clarified that in his state there is no difference between the Minas and the Meenas.

He cited a government response in the High Court that the socalled two refer to only one tribe, and that the only difference was in the spellings.

The Meenas are a politically dominant tribe in eastern and southern Rajasthan and both the Minas and Meenas have for decades enjoyed ST quota in the state.

In the UPSC notification, only the Minas are said to be eligible for reservation as they are classified as ST in the Central list.

However, the Meenas have been kept out, although members of the community have for decades claimed that they are the same group as the Minas.

In Rajasthan both communities have been given ST certificates and enjoy reservation benefits in the ST category.

In 2018, the state government had even written to the Central Tribal Welfare Ministry to issue a clarification, but so far the Centre has not responded. The issue blew up in Rajasthan a few years ago.

Then CM Vasundhara Raje in 2014 had allowed the two to change their spellings.

The move triggered agitations by Meena leaders and the BJP government soon withdrew the order. In 2016, the Raje government said the dispute was “unwarranted”.