{"id":39622,"date":"2025-03-22T19:09:28","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T13:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=39622"},"modified":"2025-03-22T19:09:30","modified_gmt":"2025-03-22T13:39:30","slug":"scs-andhra-pradesh-sub-categorisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-03-2025\/scs-andhra-pradesh-sub-categorisation","title":{"rendered":"Sub-categorisation of SCs in Andhra Pradesh"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus :GS 2\/Governance&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved the one-member commission\u2019s recommendations on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/03-08-2024\/sub-classification-of-scs-and-sts-for-quota\"><strong>sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) <\/strong><\/a>to ensure equitable distribution of benefits.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The demand for sub-categorisation has been ongoing for over 30 years, with earlier efforts including the Justice Ramachandra Rao Commission in 1996.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sub-categorisation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It\u00a0 divides the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/03-08-2024\/sub-classification-of-scs-and-sts-for-quota\">SC category<\/a> into smaller sub-castes to ensure fair distribution of benefits, especially in reservations for education, employment, and affirmative action.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Historical Context &amp; SC Rulings<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 1975, Punjab issued a notification giving first preference in SC reservations to the <strong>Balmiki and Mazhabi Sikh communities<\/strong>, two of the most backward communities in the state.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This was challenged in 2004 after the apex court struck down a similar law in <strong>Andhra Pradesh in E V Chinnnaiah.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>SC held that SCs and STs form a single, indivisible class once included in the Presidential list under Article 341\/342.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Said States could <strong>not sub-classify or create quotas within SC\/ST reservations.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In <strong>2020<\/strong>, the Supreme Court\u00a0 ruled that the 2004 decision in E.V. Chinnaiah should be reconsidered, recognizing inequality within the SC list.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It\u00a0 acknowledged that there are &#8220;unequals within the list of SCs&#8221; and noted the concept of the &#8220;creamy layer&#8221; now applies to SCs, as established in the 2018 ruling in Jarnail Singh v Lachhmi Narain Gupta.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In\u00a0 2024, the Supreme Court<\/strong> allowed sub-classification within Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) to extend affirmative action benefits, with strict guidelines for its implementation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The ruling clarified that <strong>Article 341 does not prevent sub-classification<\/strong>; it only limits the President&#8217;s power to add or exclude SC groups.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments in Favour\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>States argued that some SCs\/STs are underrepresented despite reservation, leading to proposals for separate quotas within the SC\/ST categories.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>SCs are not a &#8220;homogeneous class&#8221;; some are more disadvantaged than others, justifying sub-classification.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Article 14 allows sub-classification to achieve substantive equality, addressing differences within SC\/ST groups.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It could lead to a caste census to assess representation and address inequities in reservation distribution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments against\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some argue that Sub-classification would open the door for political manipulation of reservations, violating the constitutional intent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It violates the Constitution by altering the President\u2019s list of SCs, which can only be changed by Parliament.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion and Way Forward\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>States might have the legal backing to sub-classify SCs, but it must ensure the process is backed by data and is fair, with judicial oversight to prevent misuse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sub-classification must be based on &#8220;quantifiable and demonstrable data,&#8221; not political motives, to ensure equitable benefits among different SC\/ST groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>States must devise a policy to exclude the &#8220;creamy layer&#8221; (wealthier members of backward classes) within SC\/STs from reservation benefits to achieve true equality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Source :TH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved the one-member commission\u2019s recommendations on the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) to ensure equitable distribution of benefits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39622"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39623,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39622\/revisions\/39623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}