Currently, Scheduled Castes (SC) get 15% reservation and Scheduled Tribes (ST) get 7.5% reservation in the country. After the decision of the Supreme Court, only within this 22.5% reservation for SC and ST castes, the state governments will be able to decide a separate quota for the weaker sections of SC and ST.
Suppose in a state, SC castes A, B, C and D get reservation. Now the government can set a quota for C and D castes from this 15% quota. The same will be applicable in 7.5% reservation for ST.
The Supreme Court has given permission to the state governments to increase the quota within the quota. However, in its decision it has also made it clear that states cannot take decisions based on their own will and political ambitions. If this happens then their decision can be judicially reviewed.
If any state gives quota within the quota to any caste, then it will have to prove that it has been done on the basis of backwardness. It will also be seen that 100% quota of the total reservation of any SC-ST is not given to any one category only.
Political impact of the decision
Indian politics is very much based on caste. From East to West and from North to South… there is talk of castes only. Recently the discussion on OBC politics had intensified, but after the decision of the Supreme Court, Dalit-tribal politics is also likely to intensify. It is believed that after this decision, Dalits and tribals will no longer remain a single group. Different classes will arise within it and then a new kind of politics related to it will start.
Political parties of different states do politics of Dalits and tribals. For example, Mayawati’s BSP in UP does politics of Dalits. Samajwadi Party has gained recognition by doing backward class politics. Even in Bihar, the politics of Lalu Yadav-Nitish Kumar is based on caste politics. Due to the decision of the Supreme Court, big changes can be seen in politics here and different political leadership of different sections of SC-ST can emerge here.
How many Dalits and tribals in which state?
– Uttar Pradesh: Dalits in the state are divided into Jatavs and non-Jatavs. Jatavs constitute 12% and non-Jatavs 10% of the total population. Jatavs constitute 56 percent of the total Dalit population. Apart from Jatavs, other sub-castes of Dalits include Pasi (16 per cent), Dhobi, Kori and Valmiki (15 per cent) and Gond, Dhanuk and Khatik (5 per cent). At the same time, among non-Jatav Dalits there are many sub-castes including Valmiki, Khatik, Pasi, Dhobi and Kori.
– Bihar: Caste census was conducted here only last year. According to its data, out of more than 13 crore population of the state, 27% is backward class, 36% is extremely backward class, 19% is scheduled caste and 1.68% is scheduled tribe. Earlier the upper castes had influence in the politics of Bihar, but then OBC politics started. The politics of the new EBC category i.e. extremely backward class created after the caste census had intensified. But now when there will be talk of quota within quota, the politics of Dalits and tribals can also intensify.
– Maharashtra: There are more than three dozen castes of Dalits. Among them, Mahar and Matang are prominent. People of Mahar caste are more educated and socially-politically advanced. When Dr. Ambedkar adopted Buddhism in 1956, most of the people of Mahar caste became Buddhists. Matang is the second largest Dalit community after Mahar. At the same time, Gond and Bhil are two big tribal communities. Gonds are in majority in Vidarbha, especially in Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts, while Bhils are in majority in Nandurbar, Nashik and Dhule districts.
– Rajasthan: 59 castes are Dalits in the state list. The largest community among these is Meghwal, most of whose population is settled in Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer and Jodhpur. Bairavas and Jatavs have dominance in eastern Rajasthan. Meenas are the most influential tribal community and have a significant impact on dozens of assembly seats. Whereas, Bhils are settled in Banswara and Dungarpur districts.
– Odisha About 23 percent of the state’s population is tribal and 17 percent is Dalit. There are 62 tribes and 13 other primitive tribes in the state. The largest number are Khonds, who are settled in Raigarh, Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Koraput of southern Odisha. Santhal is the second largest tribal community, while Gond is at third place. 93 castes are Dalits in Odisha. Among these, Paan is the largest community followed by Dom caste. Dhoba, Ganda, Kandra and Bauri castes also have a significant influence.
-Chhattisgarh: More than 30 percent of the state’s population is tribal. Gonds are the most influential among the 43 tribal communities and constitute 55% of the tribal population. After these, Kanwar is 11% and Oraon is 10%. There are 44 castes called Dalits, who have about 13 percent share in the state’s population. Castes like Bairava-Raidas have the maximum influence.
– Madhya Pradesh About 16 percent of the state’s population is Dalit. The largest community among Dalits is the leather working community. Balai is the second largest community living in Malwa region. At the same time, ST population in MP is 21 percent. The largest tribal community is Bhil. Gond is at number two.
– West Bengal: Rajbanshi is the largest Dalit community, whose population is 18 percent. He has influence on 20 seats of the North Bengal Assembly. The Matua are the second largest community, dominating districts like North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Howrah, Cooch Behar, North and South Dinajpur and Malda. The third largest community is the Bagri, who are settled in Bankura and Birbhum.
– Gujarat: 27 castes are Dalits. Among these, Wankar is the most influential, who constitute about 35-40 percent of the SC population of the state. After Wankar, the second largest community is Rohit, whose share is about 25 to 30 percent. At the same time, the largest community among the tribals is Bhil, whose share in the ST population is about 43 percent. There is a sizeable population of Bhils in Dang, Panchmahal, Bharuch, Banaskantha and Sabarkantha. Halpati is the second largest community which is in Surat, Navsari, Bharuch and Valsad.
– Assam More than 12 percent of the total population of the state are tribals. 15 communities in Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills districts have Scheduled Tribe status. Apart from these there are 14 more tribes. Bodo is the largest tribal community, which is also the most powerful politically. Karbi is the third largest tribal community.
– Uttarakhand: More than 55 percent of the population here are Thakurs and Brahmins. OBCs constitute 18 percent, while the share of SC-ST is 22 percent. Harijan and Valmiki are the two largest Dalit castes. Whereas, Jaunsari and Tharu are the largest tribal communities in the state.
– Tripura There are 19 tribes in the state, which constitute more than 30 percent of the total population of the state. Debbarma is the largest tribal community. Debbarma community has also ruled Tripura. There are 34 castes called Dalits in the state, whose population is 18 percent. Das, Baidyakar, Shabdakar, Sarkar have dominance among Dalits.