Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

The Scheduled Castes (SCs; ) and Scheduled Tribes (STs; ) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognised in the Constitution of India and the groups are designated in one or other of the categories. Punjab had the highest percentage of its population as SC (~32%), while Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep had 0%. The term was popularised by the Dalit leader B. R. Ambedkar during the independence struggle. Therefore, the constitutionally recognised terms "Scheduled Castes" (Anusuchit Jati) and "Scheduled Tribes" (Anusuchit Janjati) are preferred in official usage, as these designated terms are intended to address socio-economic disabilities, without reimposing those social stigmas and issues. In September 2018, the government issued an advisory to all private satellite channels asking them to refrain from using the derogatory nomenclature 'Dalit', though rights groups have come out against any shift from 'Dalit' in popular usage.

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes comprise about 16.6% and 8.6%, respectively, of India's population (according to the 2011 census). The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 lists 1,108 castes across 28 states in its First Schedule, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 lists 744 tribes across 22 states in its First Schedule.

Since the independence of India, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were given reservation status, guaranteeing political representation, preference in promotion, quota in universities, free and stipended education, scholarships, banking services, various government schemes and the Constitution lays down the general principles of positive discrimination for SCs and STs.

Definition

; Scheduled Castes

Article 366 (24) of the Constitution of India defines the Scheduled Castes as:

; Scheduled Tribes

Article 366 (25) of the Constitution of India defines the Scheduled Tribes as: The process of including and excluding communities, castes, or tribes to/from the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes adheres to certain silent criteria and procedures established by the Lokur committee in 1965. For Scheduled Castes (SCs), the criteria involve extreme social, educational, and economic backwardness resulting from the practice of untouchability. The scheduling process refers back to the definitions of communities used in the colonial census along with modern anthropological study and is guided by Article 341 and 342. Per the first clause of Article 341 and 342, the list of Scheduled communities is subject to specific state and union territory, with area restrictions to districts, subdistricts, and tehsils. Furthermore, members of Scheduled Communities are entitled based on religious criteria: Scheduled Castes must be adherents of Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism, whereas Scheduled Tribes can belong to any religion to be recognised as Scheduled. The Hindu concept of Varna historically incorporated occupation-based communities. who constitute modern-day Scheduled Castes, were considered outside the Varna system.

Since the 1850s, these communities were loosely referred to as Depressed Classes, with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The early 20th century saw a flurry of activity in the British authorities assessing the feasibility of responsible self-government for India. The Morley–Minto Reforms Report, Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms Report and the Simon Commission were several initiatives in this context. A highly contested issue in the proposed reforms was the reservation of seats for representation of the Depressed Classes in provincial and central legislatures.

In 1935, the UK Parliament passed the Government of India Act 1935, designed to give Indian provinces greater self-rule and set up a national federal structure. The reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes was incorporated into the act, which came into force in 1937. The Act introduced the term "Scheduled Castes", defining the group as "such castes, parts of groups within castes, which appear to His Majesty in Council to correspond to the classes of persons formerly known as the 'Depressed Classes', as His Majesty in Council may prefer". This discretionary definition was clarified in The Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936, which contained a list (or Schedule) of castes throughout the British-administered provinces. Similarly, The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) (Part C States) Order, 1951, and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) (Part C States) Order, 1951, listed 214 castes and 55 tribes. The 1950 orders applied to 16 states: Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, Punjab, West Bengal, Hyderabad, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin, while the 1951 orders addressed 10 states: Ajmer, Bhopal, Coorg, Himachal Pradesh, Kutch, Manipur, Tripura, and Vindhya Pradesh. Subsequently, the Presidential Scheduled List was modified in 1956 by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Lists (Modification) Order, 1956, to include other areas, newly formed states/UTs, and communities that had not been considered during the adoption of the Constitution of India. and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, However, the classification and maintenance of the list Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was initially intended to be a state matter during drafting of the constitution, concerns over political misuse led to the centralisation of authority under the Presidential Scheduled Lists. After 15 years since the order of listing Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the government adopted updated criteria for inclusion and exclusion based on the Lokur committee report of 1965.

Demographics

Historical population

{| class="wikitable defaultright col1center col2center col5center"

|+ Historical Populations of Scheduled Communities

! rowspan="2" |Census

! colspan="3" | Scheduled Castes

! colspan="3" | Scheduled Tribes

! Percentage !! Numbers !! !! Percentage !! Numbers !!

| 1881|| || || || 2.6% || 6,420,000 || —

| 1891|| || || || 3.3% || 9,110,000 || +41.9

| 1901|| || || || 2.9% || 8,180,000 || −10.2

| 1911|| || || || 3.2% || 9,590,000 || +17.2

| 1921|| 17.2% || 52,700,000 || —|| 3.0% || 9,070,000 || −5.4

| 1931|| 14.9% || 50,200,000 || −4.7 || 2.5% || 7,620,000 || −16.0

| 1941|| 12.6% || 48,810,000 || −2.8 || 2.3% || 8,790,000 || +15.4

| 1951|| 14.4% || 51,340,000 || +5.2 || 5.3% || 19,110,000 || +117.4

| 1961|| 14.7% || 64,410,000 || +25.5 || 6.9% || 30,130,000 || +57.7

| 1971|| 14.6% || 80,000,000 || +24.2 || 6.9% || 38,010,000 || +26.2

| 1981|| 15.8% || 104,750,000 || +30.9 || 7.8% || 51,620,000 || +35.8

| 1991|| 16.5% || 138,220,000 || +32.0 || 8.1% || 67,750,000 || +31.2

| 2001|| 16.2% || 166,630,000 || +20.6 || 8.2% || 84,320,000 || +24.5

| 2011|| 16.6% || 201,370,000 || +20.8 || 8.6% || 104,540,000 || +24

Current population

{|class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers static-row-header-text defaultright col1left hover-highlight sort-under-center"

|+Population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, by state, 2011 census

! rowspan=2|State and Union Territories || rowspan="2" |Total population of the State and Union Territories

! colspan="4" |Scheduled Castes

! colspan="4" |Scheduled Tribes

! No. of notified communities

! Total population !!% of total Scheduled Castes !! % of State and UT population !! No. of notified communities

In the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, and the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, no community is notified as Scheduled Castes; thus, there is no Scheduled Caste population.
In the states of Punjab and Haryana, and the Union Territories of Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry, no community is notified as Scheduled Tribes; thus, there is no Scheduled Tribe population.

! rowspan="2"|States and Union Territories !! colspan="3"|Scheduled Caste !! colspan="8"|Scheduled Tribe

! Hindu !! Sikh !! Buddhist !! Hindu !! Muslim !! Christian !! Sikh !! Buddhist !! Jain !! Others !! Religion not stated

| Andhra Pradesh (incl. Telangana)|| 13,848,473 || 2,053 || 27,552 || 5,808,126 || 28,586 || 57,280 || 890 || 608 || 644 || 810 || 21,129

| Arunachal Pradesh || || || || 97,629 || 3,567 || 389,507 || 245 || 96,391 || 441 || 358,663 || 5,378

| Assam || 2,229,445 || 1,335 || 541 || 3,349,772 || 13,188 || 495,379 || 387 || 7,667 || 424 || 12,039 || 5,515

| Bihar || 16,563,145 || 1,595 || 2,585 || 1,277,870 || 11,265 || 32,523 || 150 || 252 || 123 || 10,865 || 3,525

| Chhattisgarh || 3,208,726 || 1,577 || 63,966 || 6,933,333 || 8,508 || 385,041 || 620 || 1,078 || 312 || 488,097 || 5,913

| Goa || 25,265 || 7 || 177 || 99,789 || 531 || 48,783 || 20 || 62 || 18 || 12 || 60

| Gujarat || 4,062,061 || 1,038 || 11,348 || 8,747,349 || 34,619 || 120,777 || 1,262 || 1,000 || 1,266 || 3,412 || 7,489

| Haryana || 4,906,560 || 204,805 || 2,250 || || || || || || || ||

| Himachal Pradesh || 1,709,634 || 15,939 || 3,679 || 307,914 || 37,208 || 275 || 294 || 45,998 || 54 || 23 || 360

| Jharkhand || 3,983,629 || 669 || 1,346 || 3,245,856 || 18,107 || 1,338,175 || 984 || 2,946 || 381 || 4,012,622 || 25,971

| Karnataka || 10,418,989 || 2,100 || 53,903 || 4,171,265 || 44,599 || 12,811 || 802 || 472 || 1,152 || 665 || 17,221

| Kerala || 3,039,057 || 291 || 225 || 431,155 || 18,320 || 32,844 || 42 || 44 || 18 || 376 || 2,040

| Madhya Pradesh || 11,140,007 || 2,887 || 199,426 || 14,589,855 || 33,305 || 88,548 || 1,443 || 1,796 || 852 || 584,338 || 16,647

| Maharashtra || 8,060,130 || 11,484 || 5,204,284 || 10,218,315 || 112,753 || 20,335 || 2,145 || 20,798 || 1,936 || 93,646 || 40,285

| Manipur || 97,238 || 39 || 51 || 8,784 || 4,296 || 1,137,318 || 209 || 2,326 || 288 || 11,174 || 3,027

| Meghalaya || 16,718 || 528 || 109 || 122,141 || 10,012 || 2,157,887 || 301 || 6,886 || 254 || 251,612 || 6,768

| Mizoram || 1,102 || 9 || 107 || 5,920 || 4,209 || 933,302 || 62 || 91,054 || 343 || 751 || 474

| Nagaland || || || || 15,035 || 5,462 || 1,680,424 || 175 || 4,901 || 500 || 3,096 || 1,380

| Odisha || 7,186,698 || 825 || 940 || 8,271,054 || 15,335 || 816,981 || 1,019 || 1,959 || 448 || 470,267 || 13,693

| Punjab || 3,442,305 || 5,390,484 || 27,390 || || || || || || || ||

| Rajasthan || 11,999,984 || 214,837 || 6,772 || 9,190,789 || 13,340 || 25,375 || 663 || 445 || 622 || 1,376 || 5,924

| Sikkim || 28,016 || 15 || 244 || 40,340 || 369 || 16,899 || 72 || 1,36,041 || 125 || 12,306 || 208

| Tamil Nadu || 14,435,679 || 1,681 || 1,085 || 783,942 || 2,284 || 7,222 || 84 || 50 || 45 || 55 || 1,015

| Tripura || 654,745 || 69 || 104 || 888,790 || 2,223 || 153,061 || 250 || 1,19,894 || 318 || 768 || 1,509

| Uttar Pradesh || 41,192,566 || 27,775 || 137,267 || 1,099,924 || 21,735 || 1,011 || 264 || 353 || 410 || 2,404 || 8,172

| Uttarakhand || 1,883,611 || 7,989 || 916 || 287,809 || 1,847 || 437 || 364 || 1,142 || 7 || 9 || 288

| West Bengal || 21,454,358 || 3,705 || 5,207 || 3,914,473 || 30,407 || 343,893 || 1,003 || 220,963 || 876 || 774,450 || 10,888

| Andaman and Nicobar Islands || || || || 156 || 1,026 || 26,512 || 0 || 85 || 0 || 344 || 407

| Chandigarh || 176,283 || 22,659 || 144 || || || || || || || ||

| Dadra and Nagar Haveli || 6,047 || 0 || 139 || 175,305 || 242 || 2,658 || 15 || 12 || 4 || 54 || 274

| Daman and Diu || 6082 || 1 || 41 || 15,207 || 125 || 16 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 13

| Jammu and Kashmir || 913,507 || 11,301 || 183 || 67,384 || 1,320,408 || 1,775 || 665 || 100,803 || 137 || 1,170 || 957

| Lakshadweep || || || || 44 || 61,037 || 3 || 4 || 2 || 10 || 4 || 16

| Delhi || 2,780,811 || 25,934 || 5,564 || || || || || || || ||

| Puducherry || 196,261 || 33 || 31 || || || || || || || ||

! India || || || || || || || || || || ||