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cheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (November 2012) This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can. (October 2010) The Scheduled Castes (SCs)[1] and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) are two groupings of historically disadvantaged people that are given express recognition in the Constitution of India. During the period of British rule in the Indian sub-continent they were known as the Depressed Classes. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up around 15% and 7.5% respectively of the population of India, or around 24% altogether, according to the 2001 Census.[2] The proportion of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the country's population has steadily risen since independence in 1947. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 lists 1,108 castes across 25 states in its First Schedule,[3] while the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 lists 744 tribes across 22 states in its First Schedule.[4] Since Independence, the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (all three categories combined together constitute about 60 percent of India's population) were given provision of "Reservation" policy. The reservation policy became an integral part of the Constitution through the efforts of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. He participated in the Round Table Conferences and fought for the rights of the Oppressed and Depressed Classes. The Constitution lays down general principles for the policy of affirmative action for the SCs and STs.

Contents

1 History 2 Constitutional framework for safeguarding of interests o 2.1 National commissions 2.1.1 History 3 Distribution 4 Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan 5 Prominent personalities of SC and ST communities 6 See also 7 Notes

8 External links

History
From the 1850s these communities were loosely referred to as the "Depressed Classes", or "Adivasis" (literally, original inhabitants). The early part of the 20th century saw a flurry of activity in the British Raj to assess the feasibility of responsible self-government for India. The Morley-Minto Reforms Report, MontaguChelmsford Reforms Report, and the Simon Commission were some of the initiatives that happened in this context. One of the hotly contested issues in the proposed reforms was the reservation of seats for the "depressed" classes in provincial and central legislatures. In 1935 the British passed the Government of India Act 1935, designed to give Indian provinces greater self-rule and set up a national federal structure. Reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes was incorporated into the act, which came into force in 1937.[5] The Act brought the term "Scheduled Castes" into use, and defined the group as including "such castes, races or tribes or parts of groups within castes, races or tribes, 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".[6] 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. After independence, the Constituent Assembly continued the prevailing definition of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and gave (via articles 341, 342) the President of India and Governors of states responsibility to compile a full listing of castes and tribes, and also the power to edit it later as required. The actual complete listing of castes and tribes was made via two orders The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950,[7] and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1958[8] respectively.

Constitutional framework for safeguarding of interests


The Constitution provides a framework with a three pronged strategy[9] to improve the situation of SCs and STs. 1. Protective arrangements - Such measures as are required to enforce equality, to provide punitive measures for transgressions, to eliminate established practices that perpetuate inequities, etc. A number of laws were enacted to implement the provisions in the Constitution. Examples of such laws include The Untouchability Practices Act, 1955, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, etc. 2. Affirmative action - provide positive preferential treatment in allotment of jobs and access to higher education, as a means to accelerate the integration of the SCs and STs with mainstream society. Affirmative action is also popularly referred to as reservation.

3. Development - Provide for resources and benefits to bridge the wide gap in social and economic condition between the SCs/STs and other communities.

National commissions
To effectively implement the various safeguards built into the Constitution and other legislations, the Constitution, under Articles 338 and 338A, provides for two statutory commissions - the National Commission for Scheduled Castes,[10] and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.[11] The chairpersons of both commissions sit ex-officio on the National Human Rights Commission. History In the original Constitution, Article 338 provided for a Special Officer, called the Commissioner for SCs and STs, to have the responsibility of monitoring the effective implementation of various safeguards for SCs/STs in the Constitution as well as other related legislations and to report to the President. To enable efficient discharge of duties, 17 regional offices of the Commissioner were set up all over the country. In the meanwhile there was persistent representation for a replacement of the Commissioner with a multi-member committee. It was proposed that the 48th Amendment to the Constitution be made to alter Article 338 to enable said proposal. While the amendment was being debated, the Ministry of Welfare issued an administrative decision to establish the Commission for SCs/STs as a multi-member committee to discharge the same functions as that of the Commissioner of SCs/STs. The first commission came into being in August 1978. The functions of the commission were modified in September 1987 to advise Government on broad policy issues and levels of development of SCs/STs. In 1990 that the Article 338 was amended to give birth to the statutory National Commission for SCs and STs via the Constitution (Sixty fifth Amendment) Bill, 1990.[12] The first Commission under the 65th Amendment was constituted in March 1992 replacing the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the Commission set up under the Ministry of Welfare's Resolution of 1989. In 2003, the Constitution was again amended to split the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two separate commissions - the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

Distribution
According to the 61st Round Survey of the NSSO, almost nine-tenths of Buddhists in India belonged to scheduled castes of the Constitution while one-third of Christians belonged to scheduled tribes. Major part of scheduled castes were Hindus by religion but belonged to castes and tribes having low population. The Sachar Committee report of 2006 also confirmed that members of scheduled castes and tribes of India are not exclusively adherents of Hinduism.

Religion Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe Buddhism 89.50% 7.40% Christianity 9.00% 32.80% Sikhism 17.0% 0.90% Hinduism 22.20% 9.10% Gond 15.90% Jainism 2.60% Islam 0.80% 0.50% Percentage of each religion's adherents that belong to a scheduled caste/tribe. (Not the distribution of religions among the scheduled castes/tribes.)

Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan


The strategy of Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) of 1979 is an important intervention that mandates a planning process for social, economic, and educational development of Scheduled Castes and for improvement in their working and living conditions. It is an umbrella strategy that ensures the flow of targeted financial and physical benefits from general sectors of development for the benefit of Scheduled Castes.[13] It entails a argeted flow of funds and associated benefits from the annual plan of States / Union Territories (UTs) at least in proportion to the SC population i.e. 16% in the total population of the country / the particular state. Presently, 27 States / UTs having sizable SC populations are implementing Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan. Although the Scheduled Castes population, according to 2001 Census, was 16.66 crores constituting 16.23% of the total population of India, the allocations made through SCSP in recent years have been much lower than the population proportion. The following table provides the details of total State Plan Outlay, flow to Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) as reported by the State / UT Governments for the last few years, especially since the present UPA government has been in power. 20042005 108788.9 17656 2065.38 11.06 68.3 5591 20052006 136234.5 22111 16422.63 12.05 74.3 5688 20062007 152088 24684 21461.12 14.11 86.9 3223 2007-2008* 155013.2 25159 22939.99 14.90 91.2 2219

HISTORY OF SC, ST, AND OBC PEOPLE Generally brahminical people say that Indian history is SANATHAN (beginning is out of reach to history). But that is nonsense. Indian history begins with Indus valley civilization.

1: Indus Valley Civilization:


It flourished between 2800BC to 2000BC. It was built by the Mulnivasi people(sc, st, and obc) of this country. It was an urban civilization, Harappa, Mohenjadaro, Lothal, etc. were the towns built by them. These towns had Underground drainages, Swimming pools, Market yards, Well-designed streets, Multi-storeyed houses, trade used to be there in this civilization. These mulnivasi people are comparatively dark in complexion. Indus valley people are basically agriculturists and Peace loving people. They lived in Permanent settlements, and followed Maternal System (mother based). They followed Gana System, which had later developed India into 16 Mahajanapadas. These people were Literates (Language not decoded yet), and worshiped Mother Goddess.
Bull is their chief animal.

2: Aryan invasion:
***Aryans are present day BRAHMINS, KSHYATRIYAS, AND VYSHYAS in India.*** Aryan Invasions took place between 2000BC to 1000BC. They came in batch after batch from the regions of Central Asia (Present Iran), through the north west corner of India. Aryans are basically Pastoral Nomadics with Barbaric, Cunning and Cruel Mind. These people are fair in complexion. They followed Paternal System and Worshipped Indra, Agni etc. They spoke Sanskrit language. They brought Horse with them, which was not known to Indians(mulnivasis) till then. Aryans daily life include Yagnas, Sacrifices, Alcoholism, Sexual immorality.

3: Enslavement of Mulnivasis(aboriginal Indus people) in the Varna System:


Battles between Mulnivasis(Indus people) and Aryan invaders started. Nagas only could resist them successfully who established Maghadha kingdom (Under Sisu Naga in 642 BC). With Horse and Sharp weapons as advantages, the cunning Aryans started defeating the Mulnivasis. Aryans gave insulting names like Dasa, Dasyu, Rakshasa, Asura, Pisacha, chandala, etc. to the defeated Indus people(mulnivasis). Aryans slowly got grip over the northern parts of India.
While invasion was in progress, Aryans divided themselves into three Varnas namely Brahmins, Kshatriyas & Vyshyas, so as to facilitate a better division of power.

They formulated a stupid theory saying that Brahmins came from the mouth of Brahma, Kshatriyas came from the shoulders of Brahma, Vyshyas came from the thighs/stomach of Brahma. (note:This is not accepted by science. Does any body with a little bit of commonsence believe this foolish theory?) By this theory, Brahmins reserved all religious rights, Kshatriyas reserved the rights to rule, and Vyshyas reserved the rights over economy. They developed the Concept of Dwijatva(twice born-again a foolish theory) after Upanayana, and Brahmins started claiming more rights, by declaring themselves as next to Brahma, the creater. Brahmins reserved all the religious rights. Battles between Brahmins and Kshatriyas over religious rights started. Battles between Vasishta V/s VishwaMitra, Parashurams extermination of Kshatriyas 21 times are the examples of such battles. Brahmins won over the Kshatriyas and placed them in the newly invented 4th Varna called Shudra. So now the number of varnas became four, namely Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vyshya and Shudra. This is called CHATURVARNA system. Brahmins boycotted Kshatriyas Religiously and denied Upanayana to them.

They pushed the previously defeated Indus valley people( Mulnivasis) also into the fourth Shudra Varna and made them as slaves. So by now the Shudra varna contains of native defeated people(mulnivasis) as well as the defeated kshatriyas.
The Brahmins wrote RegVeda around 1500 BC. Slokas of RgVeda are nothing but the Prayers by Aryans to Indra to help them defeat the native people(Mulnivasis).

Purusha Sukhta, the 10th chapter of RgVeda described the origin of Varna system. (As a creation of Brahma) Purusha Sukta gave religious sanctity to Varna System. According to RgVeda, Shudras must do slavery to the other three varnas Brahmins by declaring Vedas as unquestionable, made Mulnivasis as slaves and exploited them brutally.

4: Revolution by Buddha:
Buddha was a Sakyan mulnivasi who are now recognized as OBCs by the Mandal Commission. He was the first Social Revolutionary in the world. He questioned the Sanctity of Varna system, which is enslaving the Shudras. He opposed Vedas for propounding and supporting the Varna System. He rejected the theories of God, Soul and Rebirth and Karma etc., which were designed to make us(mulnivasis) slaves. He opposed Yagnas & Sacrifices, which forms the daily life of the Aryans. He established Bikkhu Sanghas to awaken the society. He was the first man to use the word Bahujan to indicate Shudras(mulnivasis) who are Majority people. By his famous Four great truths, he identified Brahmanical social order of Varna System as the root cause of all evils. Three Saranas proclaimed by him were aimed at keeping the knowledge as the foundation of the society.

With the Buddhas revolution, Shudras started getting awakened and educated. They got united again, and started protesting the varna system. Gradually with the help of Buddhas teachings, they became very powerfull and as a result, Chandra Gupta Maurya who belongs to the Naga clan (Nagas are Mulnivasi) could use this opportunity and established Mauryan Dynasty in the year 325 BC.

Under Chandra Gupta Maurya,


Yagnas were banned Animal Sacrifices were banned Varna System was banned Brahmins lost all the relevance and were forced to join Chandra Gupta Mouryas military for livelihood . Asoka became king in 269 BC and declared Buddhism as state religion He spreaded education among the Shudras Propagated Buddhism to the nook and corner of the country and even outside India Punished Upper Varnas for following Varna System Erected rock edicts all over the country explaining the importance of moral values Brahminism suffered a heavy loss under Asokas rule.

As a result of contributions of Buddha, Chandra Gupta mourya, and Ashoka, shudras are elevated, and they became well educated.

In due course, Brihadrath (shudra, great grand son of ashoka) became king in the year 185 BC. But by that time Pushya Mitra Shrunga, a Brahmin could become the army Chief of Mauryans.

5:Counter Revolution by Pushya Mitra Shrunga:


Pushya Mitra Shrunga, being a Brahmin, and army chief, planned a coup to dethrone the Shudra rulers. Gradually he succeeded in empowering all the Brahmin solders in Mouryan empire. He beheaded(cut head off) and killed the king Brihadrath in the court hall and announced himself as the king of entire India . He murdered 70,000 Buddhist Monks in a single day. Also he destroyed many Buddhist Viharas. By this he terrorized the mulnivasis. Re-introduced the Varna System and made Shudras again as slaves.

Announced gold coins to who ever kills a Buddhist monk and brings his head. Under his rule, cunning Brahmins joined Buddhism and started diluting it. Pushya Mitra decided to divide the vast population of Shudras for fear of another revolt like Buddha. He converted Varna into Caste System by restricting people to their professions. To defend his act of kinghood, which is contrary to his Varna dharma, Manus code was introduced. (according to varna system a Brahmin should not handle weapons. But Pushya mitra being a Brahmin, is doing that.) So in Manu Smrithi he made them write that a Brahmin also could take to weapons in the unavoidable circumstances.

6: Manus Code and Caste System:


Manus Code said Shudras dont have the right to Education, Weapon and Wealth. It also said all women are Shudras. (note: when Aryans invaded India, it is believed that only Aryan men came on horses, but not the Aryan women. So the Aryan men took native women(mulnivasis) to keep their race flourish. There fore, they said all women are shudras. So Aryans believe that the child of an Aryan man and a native women is impure. So to purify them, they do a ceremony called UPANAYANA which is considered to be the second birth of an Aryan) Manu Smrithi is full of Prohibitions and extreme Punishments to Shudras. Shudras lead a horrible life under caste system. Shudra Buddhists could not bear the torture, and out of fear got scattered and became broken men. This happened in three main ways. 1. A Large section of these broken men, out of fear got surrendered to Brahmins. 2. Some had fled to the interior areas like Hills and Forests so as to protect their Identity. 3. The Arya Brahmins defeated the remaining Shudras. The surrendered broken men were assigned Shudra identity and various professions like barbers, weavers, washer men, cattle rearers, etc etc . Also called as dastakars.

These Dastakars are now constitutionally called as Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The broken men, who fled to the jungles, were called as Adivasis and constitutionally as Scheduled Tribes (STs) The defeated broken men were thrown away to the outskirt of villages. Due to lack of food, they started eating dead animal flesh. For eating such dead cattle, these were dubbed as Untouchables and now constitutionally as Scheduled Castes (SCs) So, the present SC, ST & OBCs are the Mulnivasis of this nation and belong to ONE BLOOD and ONE RACE. Now Genetic (DNA) evidence supports this fact.

7: Religious Converted Mulnivasis:


During the 600-year rule of Mughal Muslims from 1150 AD to 1750 AD, some Sufi saints also have come to India to propagate Islam religion. At that time, most of the Dasthakars (OBCs) who were inside the shudra circle and still without basic rights, have got the opportunity to get released from the slavery of Arya Brahmins. They got converted to Islam. During the 200-year rule of Britishers from (1750 1950), Christianity was propagated in India, which they brought along with them. Most of the Untouchables in south India and Adivasis of North India have got converted to Christianity. Around 1530 AD, Guru Nanak found Sikh religion with the slogan of One Caste, One Religion, One Identity and One Culture. Sikhism was found to counter the Caste System and Brahmanism. Taking this opportunity, most of the native people in and around Punjab got converted to Sikhism. Also after 1956, following the footsteps of Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar, many SC, ST and OBCs got converted to Buddhism. Same is the situation in Jainism. Thus during different points of time in the history, the Mulnivasi SC, ST & OBCs got converted to different religions. But these religious converted Mulnivasi people are dubbed and propagated as Minorities by the Brahmanical forces. These converted mulnivasis also have forgotten their social roots in this country and are unable to counter the strategies of the Brahmanical forces.

Hence, the present SC, ST, OBC & RCM(religious converted minorities) are the Mulnivasis of this country and belong to ONE BLOOD and ONE RACE. And they are MULNIVASIS and the rightfull owners of India .

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