Will Gadiya Lohars take govt benefits?

While the government plans to have homes for all by 2022 with special focus on the homeless and marginalised, Gadiya Lohar — a nomadic tribe in Rajasthan — still revels in being homeless. Besides Rajasthan, they can easily be spotted in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana with their characteristic carts which they use as shelters.

The members of this tribe claim that their ancestors made weapons for the army of Rajput king Maharana Pratap. Legend says that when Maharana Pratap lost to Akbar, Gadiya Lohars vowed that they would neither live in pucca houses nor go back to their homeland.

Times have changed, but the Gadiya Lohars continue to honour the vow taken by their ancestors around 300 years ago. But this has made them lag behind. They cannot manage to get identity or voter cards made, which keeps them out of the purview of all government and development schemes.

"We travel and so our children cannot go to school. We have no homes, so cannot get any identification," said Bhanwar Lohar, who is currently halting in Bhilwara.

There have been several attempts to convince them to let go of the vow. Interestingly, the RSS has made nomadic tribes, commonly called Ghumantu Jatiyan, a priority. Efforts to convince them to move with times are also being initiated. BJP governments have been told to look into their interests.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat last month had asked chief minister Vasundhara Raje to look into the well-being of the nomadic tribes. This finally gives hope that the Gadiya Lohars will get an opportunity to share the benefits of the government schemes.