Scheduled castes and tribes

Identification and procedures

The castes and tribes notified under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution of India are recognised as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. For the purpose of social justice, those scheduled castes and tribes are provided social security and adequate representation in education, employment, and governance, facilitating their upliftment and integration into mainstream society. 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. On the other hand, Scheduled Tribes (STs) are identified based on indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the larger community, and overall backwardness. 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.