what is considered as a base to decide scheduled caste
Answers
Ranjiv Kurup
Answered June 17, 2019
That is an interesting question, because there is no word that is equivalent to the Portuguese term “caste” (meaning “race”) in any ancient text, or in Sanskrit, or in any Indian language, even today.
What I have discovered so far is that the “caste system” is of British Colonial origin, a project that they formally initiated with the first colonial census enumeration of 1871–72. [Risley, 1891].
We also know that the first time that a gazette was published regarding “scheduled castes” was in the Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936, but that did not specify the definition of “scheduled castes” other than to state that:
Subject to the provisions of this Order, for the purposes of the First, Fifth and Sixth Schedules to the Government of India Act, 1935, the castes, races or tribes, or parts of or groups, within castes, races or tribes specified Parts 1 to IX of the Schedule to this Order shall, in the Provinces to which those Parts respectively relate, be deemed to be scheduled castes so far as regards members thereof resident in the localities specified in relation to them respectively in those Parts of the Schedule.
Para 3 of this order gives a hint of their objectives in creating scheduled castes:
Notwithstanding anything in the last preceding paragraph -
no Indian Christian shall be deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste;
in Bengal no person who professes Buddhism or a tribal religion shall be deemed to be a member of any scheduled caste;
and if any question should arise as to whether any particular person does or does not profess Buddhism or a tribal religion, that question shall be determined according to the answers which he may make, in the prescribed manner, to such questions as may be prescribed.
And if you take a look at the schedules attached to this order, it is divided into 9 different regional groups designated as British Crown Territories within India (meaning, the Act did not apply to the 680 odd princely states or 2/5 of the population). Here are the regional groupings, essentially the three presidencies and the six British controlled provinces:
Madras
Bombay
Bengal
United Provinces
Punjab
Bihar
Central Provinces and Bebar
Assam
Orissa
Interesting! If you remember, the British took full control of the “independence movement”, and then carved out constituencies for the provincial councils.
Was the intent just to give “representation” in provincial councils based on the delimitations in the schedules here? Knowing the British, probably not! I think the reasons for creating the scheduled castes was two fold:
To create clearly identifiable “reserved constituencies” of “castes and tribes” who could be proselytized in due course, in order to create Christian majority provincial assemblies that would favour and support British rule.
To disenfranchise a list of over 150 “castes and tribes” the British has designated as “criminal tribes” or the “untouchables” under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, basically troublemakers, nationalists and those fighting the British for independence from colonial rule, and amended in 1897, 1911 and 1924.
Note: The criminal tribes act is a particularly incredulous and abominable piece of legislation that assumes that:
First, all persons born in a particular group, or “caste” are criminal by birth, and
Second, once a criminal, always a criminal
Answer:
According to the Constitution of India, under article 341(1), the President of India, after consultation with the Governor, may specify, “the castes, races, tribes or parts of groups within castes or races, which shall be deemed to be Scheduled Castes”.