Scheduled Castes

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has asked the Union Home Ministry and Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha to submit a detailed report on the status of the Gottikoya tribals, who were displaced from Chhattisgarh due to Maoist violence and are now reportedly living in neighbouring states in difficult conditions, excluded from social security benefits. The Commission has requested the presence of the Home Ministry's secretary and the chief secretaries of the states concerned at a meeting scheduled for December 9 to discuss the issue, recommending a prompt policy decision to provide necessary support to the community. In a letter sent to the ministry and the states on Friday, the Commission said it had received a petition in March 2022 stating that members of the Gottikoya community, who had relocated from Chhattisgarh to neighbouring states in 2005 to escape "violence between Maoist guerrillas and Indian security forces", have been facing significant ...

The previous BJP government had argued that the benefits of the reservation in the state had accrued to Jatavs

Over 47,000 complaints have been received by the National Commission for Scheduled Caste in the last four years, according to official data, with atrocities against Dalits, and disputes related to land and governments jobs being the main issues. As per information shared by the NCSC in response to an RTI filed by PTI, 11,917 complaints were received in 2020-21, 13,964 complaints registered in 2021-22, 12,402 in 2022-23 and 9,550 complaints so far in 2024. Speaking to PTI about the data, NCSC chairperson Kishor Makwana said the most common complaints received by the commission are related to atrocities against the Scheduled Castes community, followed by land disputes and issues related to services in the government sector. "In a bid to address the complaints speedily, from next month, me or my members would be visiting the state offices and looking into the issues faced by the people there," he said. Makwana added that he is holding hearings four times a week to meet people and list

The Supreme Court has dismissed a batch of pleas seeking review of its judgment which held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes for granting reservation. A seven-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices B R Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma said there is no error apparent on the face of the record. The top court also rejected applications for listing the review petitions in open court. Justice Trivedi, who had written a separate dissenting judgment in the case, was also part of seven-judge bench which dismissed the pleas seeking review of the majority verdict. "Having perused the review petitions, there is no error apparent on the face of the record. No case for review under Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules 2013 has been established. The review petitions are, therefore, dismissed," the order dated September 24, which w

The Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office of NITI Aayog has sought proposals from consultancy firms to support the evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes

In the second of a three-part series, Business Standard looks at sizeable variations in education levels and employment within SC sub-categories in Tamil Nadu

Ever since the Opposition INDIA bloc demanded a caste census, the BJP leadership had taken to talk of welfare of the four 'castes', namely, women, the poor, farmers, and youth

Recent SC order allowed states to implement sub-classification of reservations

She alleged that the central government is not serious about making necessary amendments in the matter despite the Bharat Bandh

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday backed the day-long Bharat Bandh called by some groups over community-based reservation, noting that "public movements" put a check on "unbridled government". The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister took to social media platform X to share his views on the issue. "The mass movement to protect reservation is a positive effort. It will instill new consciousness among the exploited and deprived and will prove to be a shield of people's power against any kind of tampering with reservation. Peaceful movement is a democratic right," he posted in Hindi. "Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar had already warned that the Constitution will only work if the intentions of those implementing it are correct. When the governments in power will tamper with the Constitution and the rights given by it through fraud, scams and scandals, then the public will have to take to the streets. Public movements put a check on unbridled government," Yadav ...

The Bahujan Samaj Party on Wednesday extended support to the day-long Bharat Bandh called by some Dalit and Adivasi groups to protest against the Supreme Court's recent verdict on the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs). The party also accused the BJP and the Congress of colluding to end reservation. It said these parties and others should understand the necessity of reservation and not play with it. "BSP supports the Bharat Bandh because there is anger and resentment against the Supreme Court's August 1 decision regarding the sub-classification of SC/ST and the creamy layer among them due to the conspiracy against reservation by parties like BJP and Congress and their collusion to make it ineffective and eventually end it," BSP president Mayawati said in a post in Hindi on X. "In this regard, the people of these classes will submit a memorandum to the government today as part of the Bharat Bandh and strongly demand that the changes made in reservation be abolished through

BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday said the Congress, which won Lok Sabha seats by promising to protect reservation, seems to be in favour of sub-classification within SCs and STs and is yet to raise its voice against the issue of exclusion of the creamy layer in these communities from the benefits of quota. On August 1, the Supreme Court held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and batted for the creamy layer be excluded from reservation. "The national president of the Congress (Mallikarjun Kharge) said before disclosing the party's stand on sub-classification of SCs and STs, his party will consult NGOs and lawyers and others. This makes it clear that Congress is in favour of sub-classification," Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said in a series of posts on X in Hindi. "The Congress has spoken in a vague manner about the creamy layer issue. Despite it having 99 MPs, no voice was raised in Parliament

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Union Minister's remarks came days after the Supreme Court ruled that states have the power to sub-classify Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs)

Earlier, a Supreme Court seven-judge bench-led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud ruled that states are allowed to make further sub-classifications within SCs and STs for reservations

Apex court recognises disparities within Schedule Castes

The BJP may not have taken a categorical stand at the national level on the Supreme Court's landmark decision allowing states to create sub-categorisation within the SCs and STs, but several of its leaders are of the view that the verdict can help the party boost its outreach to the more disadvantaged sections of Dalits. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has assiduously cultivated the numerically-weaker Scheduled Castes (SCs) in many states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, over the years, and the apex court's verdict may allow the party to promise these communities with their most coveted wish -- their fair share in government jobs and schemes, they said. The erosion of Dalit votes that hit the BJP in the recent Lok Sabha polls has sent its brain trust to the drawing board, as the party looks to reinvigorate its outreach to the community after the opposition's allegation that the Narendra Modi government wanted to change the Constitution found some traction in the ...

Reservation quota: Holding placards, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members of RJD, CPI(ML) raised slogans against the BJP and JD(U) outside the Parliament on Thursday

Lok Sabha MP Chandra Shekhar Azad on Friday introduced a private member bill in Lok Sabha seeking reservation for the SCs, STs, and the OBCs in private sector, educational institutions, and other establishments that employ at least 20 people and have no government financial interest. The bill seeks to extend reservation benefits, currently meant only for public sector, to the private sector. The bill was formally titled the Reservation for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes in Private Sector Act, 2024. Under the proposed legislation, the Central government must incentivise private sector entities to implement reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs through special concessions and facilitate lower interest loans through nationalised banks. The bill also seeks presentation of an annual report detailing the actions taken under the Act in both houses of Parliament. The Central government will be mandated to create rules to ensure the effective ...

Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Caste Welfare Minister Nagar Singh Chouhan on Monday threatened to resign from his post after he was divested of the Forest and Environment portfolio, which has been allocated to new inductee and Congress turncoat Ramniwas Rawat. Chouhan said his wife Anita Singh Chouhan would also quit as Ratlam MP if BJP organisational leaders failed to respond "positively" to his concerns. The Forest and Environment Ministry held by Nagar was allocated to Rawat on Sunday. "My voice was not heard. I will first talk to organisational leaders and decide the next step. I will decide in a day or two after talking to the party organisation. If I feel I should not stay on the post, I will resign along with my wife Anita," Chouhan, a prominent tribal leader, told PTI over the phone. He said tribals form 23 per cent of the population in Madhya Pradesh. "This is the first time tribals have been given leadership, but now the Forest Department, which is closely associated with ...