Consider the following statements: 1. It is the Governor of the State who recognizes and declares any community of that State as a Scheduled Tribe. 2. A community declared as a Scheduled Tribe in a State need not be so in another State. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: B. Only Statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is WRONG. It is NOT the Governor who recognises and declares Scheduled Tribes. Under Article 342 of the Constitution, the PRESIDENT (with respect to a State, after consultation with the Governor) specifies the tribes or tribal communities to be Scheduled Tribes for that State. Subsequent inclusion or exclusion requires an Act of PARLIAMENT, not gubernatorial declaration. Statement 2 is CORRECT. The list of Scheduled Tribes is STATE-SPECIFIC. A community recognised as ST in one State need NOT be ST in another State. For example, Gond communities are ST in Andhra Pradesh and some other states but not in all states. This state-specific designation is a hallmark of Article 342. Source: Article 342 of the Constitution / NCERT Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work / Ministry of Tribal Affairs.