Dalit, tribal bodies to participate in meet in Delhi

Meet is being organised in protest against a recent Supreme Court verdict that allows subclassification of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe lists, while also introducing the concept of a creamy layer within these categories

A two-day south Indian conclave of Dalit and tribal organisations that was held in Kottayam has resolved to join the upcoming national conclave in Delhi on January 24 and 25.

The Delhi conclave is being organised in protest against a recent Supreme Court verdict that allows subclassification of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) lists, while also introducing the concept of a creamy layer within these categories.

A consultative document issued by the South Indian conclave highlighted that 99% of the 1,800 Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe groups in India had not called for such subclassification. The document noted that the demand had been driven primarily by Madika, an organised community from Andhra Pradesh, and had gained prominence only since 1995.

While States such as Punjab and Haryana had passed laws concerning caste divisions, subclassification had never emerged as a significant demand. Importantly, none of the Scheduled Tribes had sought such sub-classification.

The conclave also stressed that the power to amend the SC/ST list was solely with Parliament. However, the recent court order effectively directed the States to enact laws that overstepped this authority. It warned that this decision would not only harm the Scheduled Castes across India but also embolden caste-based movements like the Madikas and ethnic movements such as Meiteis in Manipur.

The document cautioned that subclassification could erase the most marginalised and numerically smaller communities from the reservation system. To address this, the conclave decided to form a study group to produce a white paper on the state of reservation nationwide. This group would also outline strategies for reservation expansion and formulate policy proposals on reservation in the private sector.

Published - October 15, 2024 08:06 pm IST