On 1 August 2024, the Supreme Court of India came through with a landmark judgement. The judgement makes sub-classification with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes permissible, an issue that had been a matter of contention for a while.
The Supreme Court of India, on 1 August 2024, permitted states to create sub-classifications within SC and ST categories to offer wider protections to the most backward within these communities. The bench led by CJI Chandrachud reframed how the reservations may operate for the first time since 1950.
India has historically been a place with rampant discrimination, infamously home to the hierarchical division of the Varna system. As is a secret to nobody, the Shudras placed at the bottom of the hierarchy were exploited by the rest, i.e., the Brahmans, the Kshatriyas, and the Vaishyas. This exploitation and social exclusion of the lower castes continued into the modern era, with social practices like untouchability being very prevalent in Indian society. It was in this grim socio-cultural environment that the constitution makers of India, with B.R. Ambedkar, being a Dalit himself, made the upliftment and protection of lower castes and tribes a priority. They did so by introducing reservations, which would guarantee a share of representation for these often socially deprived and neglected communities in institutional and lawmaking positions, as well as providing them with an adequate livelihood.
Reservation overtime has had adverse effects in various dimensions, in both positive and negative senses of the word. Some benefitted greatly from these newly introduced safeguards, while others were further pushed to the periphery by those at the apex within their communities. The uplifted ones, having gained emancipation from socio-economic exploitation, held on to these reservations, keeping them away from others, much more marginalised within those communities who could benefit more from reservations. It’s hard to imagine one giving up their privileges if it keeps on benefiting them, precisely the case present here.
However, the watershed moment turned out to be the ‘Indira Sawhney vs. the Union of the India case,’ which brought about the principle of the creamy layer or the exclusion of the economically well-off sections from reservation in 1992. This was, however, only applicable to the Other Backward Classes (OBC), and the SC-ST communities were left unaffected by the ruling due to them being deemed a homogeneous group. There have been a number of cases over the years trying to overturn the decision, notable ones being the EV Chinnah vs. State of Andhra and the Punjab vs. Davinder Singh cases. These attempts ultimately turned out to be unsuccessful on the grounds of homogeneity.
This was all to change on 1 August 2024 with a 7 judge bench ruling with a majority of 6-1 in favour of sub-classification and the introduction of creamy layer amongst the SC-ST.
Sub-classification does not violate the principle of equality enshrined under Article 14 of our constitution.
These were the words of CJI Chandrachud, who led the bench that delivered the historic judgement on Thursday. A great deal of emphasis was put on empirical data and facts to identify and exclude the deemed necessary.
There have naturally been protests and a great deal of civil unrest, albeit very expected. It’s often tough to come to terms with giving up your privileges, even if it’s for the greater social good. The reality of representation of these communities often ends up being a farce and is none more evident than in educational spaces, with the same old privileged bunch filling up the “representation quota,” which when all is said and done takes us nowhere. The ones at the apex often end up in positions of power and shape policies that end up being very one-dimensional, helping the already rich and pushing the already backwards even further into the periphery of social neglect.
Classifying these communities with empirical data and a looming census would allow the lawmakers a great deal of flexibility in shaping laws, taking into account the needs of the various stratas of our populace. In a nation with as much rampant and normalised discrimination as India, with certain social backgrounds. Case in point, “Biharis,” having been given derogatory connotations, which as a society we should be ashamed of, it becomes a necessity that more is done to uplift the ones who actually are in need of it. Otherwise, we are going to be running in circles, going nowhere, and end up with the same sections in positions of power and stagnating the Indian society in the process, leaving us with a morally corrupt social psyche and an incompetent system. It’s almost as if not classifying would leave us with a society more homogeneous in educational spaces and positions of power than it already is.
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Featured Images credits: PTI
Yash Raj
