A seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has recently suggested that the states can now sub-categorise the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in order to help the worst-off sections within it. A long standing constitutional directive that earlier identified the uniformity of these groups- based on socio-cultural history (like the clause of Untouchability for the SCs) and geographical alienation for the STs- has thus radically been altered. The judges have remarked that both the categories are heterogeneous as certain sections within them have achieved class mobility by utilising the profits of reservation policy. It initiated a heated debate over the idea of social justice, the mandate of reservation policy and its political fallouts.
The Constitutional Mandate
The modern Constitution makers had sincerely acknowledged that the Brahmanical caste system is the most oppressive order against the Untouchable castes. The Untouchables and Adivasis were denied the basic human entitlements and were forced to survive away from the modern developmental processes. Babasaheb Ambedkar provided the needed mantle to their plights and made them a crucial subject in the nationalist deliberation. He utilised modern political ideas and constitutional identities (like the Depressed Classes earlier and later the SCs) to organise the diverse Untouchable castes as a unified national bloc, demanding their participation in the modern institutions as crucial partners. He further proposed Buddhist religious conversion to escape the blot of Untouchability, inviting them to join the democratic processes as dignified individuals.
Though Ambedkar’s movement helped a significant section amongst the SCs to enter into the middle class domain, the constitutional means were insufficient in bringing the needed social reforms that could alter the conventional class inequalities and caste hierarchies. A vast section amongst the SCs and STs are still surviving in the most precarious socio-economic conditions. The Court has shown sympathetic concerns towards the worst-off social groups, however its prescription to bifurcate the SC/ST categories appears as a knee jerk reaction to a much deeper question of historical injustices and social exclusion.
The idea of social justice and its related policies, mainly the Reservation policy, has often been misunderstood as the state's welfare initiative to introduce new mobile-class amongst the marginalised social groups. Such superficial remarks about reservation policy as one of the poverty eradication measures has harmed the values of social justice more. The court in the current case also characterised the reservation policy as a job distributions program for the marginalised castes, neglecting its ethical objective. The mandate of the social justice policies is to democratise the public institutions by limiting the conventional control of certain social elite groups over state’s power and privileges. However, any reflection over the implementation of reservation policy will showcase that only a miniscule section amongst the SCs and STs have benefitted by the reservation policy, retaining the domination of social elites in the government sectors.
The Compromised Social Justice Agenda
In the recent past, there is a growing consciousness amongst the vulnerable social groups about their precarious socio-economic conditions and have demanded effective policy reforms to ensure their equitable participation in the developing economy. The BJP-led central governments have not only neglected these demands but also carried strategic interventions to break the unity of the oppressed groups. In the general elections of 2024, it is often analysed that the marginalised social groups were disheartened by BJP’s such unsympathetic attitude, especially in states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, the SCs and STs have not voted for the BJP but have supported the INDI alliance significantly. It now appears that to derail the powerful social movement for social justice, such tactical rupture of ‘sub-categorisation’ is orchestrated by the ruling elites.
The top judiciary decided not to discuss the complex and corrupt implementation process of the reservation policy. Such investigation would reveal that the presence of the SCs in the state institutions is overtly negligible in the group A and B posts, whereas they are more segregated into the lower positions, mainly into the menial and hazardous jobs (like sanitation workers). The idea of creamy layer amongst the SCs and STs is therefore a mistaken attribute, as it typecasts or vilifies a small number of beneficiaries as dominant groups that appropriates the reservation policy more than the rest. Instead, the small reserved category candidates in the state institutions often face discrimination and harassment at the workplace.
The actual socio-economic conditions of the SCs (including the castes that are categorised as creamy layer) are deplorable and extremely vulnerable compared to the other Hindus. For example the cases of caste atrocities, violence and discrimination against the SCs in Maharashtra have doubled in the last one decade (1091 cases in 2012 to 2743 in 2022), including extreme cases of violence and rioting against the so called ‘creamy layer’ Mahar castes. The caste division between the SCs is meaningless for the general Hindu psyche as for the perpetrators of caste discrimination, the Dalits are overtly looked down as the lowest rung, unfit to enjoy equal social status. The division amongst the SCs has wrongly manifested that certain caste groups have escaped the Brahmanical caste order and are enjoying the benefits of middle class status.
Expansion of Social Justice Measures
Distinct from such quick technical solutions offered by the judiciary, the Dalit-Bahujan movements have suggested new momentum and reforms in the agenda of social justice. The immediate need is to revive the agenda of social justice for the SCs and STs by initiating effective welfare measure in the spheres of education, health and other livelihood issues. Such initiatives shall be target oriented, mainly to improve the socio-economic conditions of the worst-off Dalit and Adivasi groups.
Second, the state and central governments shall showcase their readiness to implement the reservation policy effectively and immediately in all the institutions of the state, including the fulfilment of backlog vacancies. Third, it is equally required that the social justice policies shall be expanded in other spheres of economy regulated by the state, especially in the contractual appointments, single administrative posts (like state secretaries and Vice Chancellors) and in the institutions marked as ‘super speciality’ courses and professions (especially in the medical field or in judiciary). This will introduce diverse SC/ST groups as a crucial work force, generating substantive empirical data to showcase the diversity amongst the beneficiaries of the reservation policy.
Finally, the government shall initiate effective affirmative action policies to ensure equitable participation of the marginalised social groups in the market economy. It is visible that the representation of the SCs, STs and the OBCs in the private sector is restricted mainly into the low-paid jobs, whereas the positions of power and privileges (like the CEOs, top executives, managers, etc.) are dominated by the professionals belonged to the social elite strata. It is necessary that the state takes more initiatives to promote a strong entrepreneurship and business class amongst the SC and ST groups, making them integral part of global economic development.
Such expansion of social justice ideals with substantive welfare measures towards building an inclusive economic order may allow the marginalised social groups to avoid such skirmishes and tensions occurred due to the Supreme Court’s order on sub-categorisation.
