On Monday (3rd September), the Bhil community took out a rally in support of the creamy layer exclusion and the sub-classification of Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservation in Rajasthan. The community members reached the Mini Secretariat and sought that the benefits of classification be offered to the community’s underprivileged members immediately. After the sloganeering, the Rajasthan Samagra Bhil Varg Aarakshan Manch, District Branch Jhalawar, presented a memorandum to Collector Ajay Singh Rathore.
The Bhil community members started the rally from Radha Raman Mangalik Bhawan carrying saffron flags in their hands and reached the Mini Secretariat to hand a memorandum to the Collector. During the rally, heavy police force was deployed to uphold law and order in the area.
Bhil community took out a rally in Rajasthan in support of sub-classification & reservation within SC & ST community.
— Incognito (@Incognito_qfs) September 2, 2024
The best part is that only saffron flags were visible and no blue flag was in sight.
Bhil Tribe is one of the oldest tribe in India but they haven't got the… pic.twitter.com/yf8B3pBnVl
District President Jamnalal Bhil stated that on the 1st of August this year, the Constitutional Bench of 7 judges of the court made recommendations to the Government of India and the state governments to establish quotas within quotas to provide the advantage of reservation to castes that are under-represented or missed in SC/ST reservation. He said that the Bhil community respects and endorses these recommendations made by the Supreme Court adding that this will benefit the deprived communities of the ST reservation, such as Bhil, Garsia, and Saharia.
Meanwhile, Arvind Bhil of Bhil Samaj Samiti stated that the quota for the Bhil community in the ST reservation should be set separately based on their population in Rajasthan ensuring that the downtrodden people can take advantage of reservation and get into government jobs, improve their living standard and join the country’s mainstream.
Notably, on the 1st of August, a 7-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court ruled by a 6:1 majority that sub-classification of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes is admissible in order to give distinct quotas for more backwards within the SC/ST categories. CJI DY Chandrachud stated that the ruling contains six views. While six out of seven judges agreed that sub-classification is permissible, Justice Bela Trivedi dissented. Justice Trivedi opined that such sub-classification is not permissible.
The seven-judge Constitution bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela M Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma overturned the 2005 decision in EV Chinnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh, which ruled that sub-classification of SC/STs violates Article 341 of the Constitution, which grants the President the authority to prepare the list of SC/STs.
In his decision, CJI DY Chandrachud cited historical evidence to support his contention that scheduled castes are not a homogeneous entity. He opined that sub-classification does not violate the principle of equality established by Article 14 of the Constitution. Additionally, sub-classification does not violate Article 341(2) of the Constitution. Nothing in Articles 15 and 16 stops the State from subclassifying a Caste. The CJI had emphasised that the basis of subclassification must be supported by quantitative and demonstrable evidence from States.
Notably, right after the Supreme Court ruling, misinformation about it started spreading across social media. A Bharat Bandh was also called by the National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR) and other such bodies against the SC ruling. The protests were also reported to be backed by Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) among others. According to the protestors, the SC ruling undermines the earlier verdict of a nine-judge bench in the landmark Indira Sawhney case, which had set up the framework of reservations. However, the Supreme Court was of the view that the sub-classification of SC and ST castes would benefit the more backward caste groups within SCs and STs.
