.National Academy for Dalit: Govt drops move to divide dalits into sub-groups

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Govt drops move to divide dalits into sub-groups

May 26, 2011,

NEW DELHI: The move to divide dalits into sub-groups seems headed for cold storage, amid indications that the Centre is apprehensive of the political consequences of the proposal which has polarized the volatile community along sub-castes.

The social justice ministry has recalled its earlier proposal to amend the Constitution to facilitate division of the SC list as per wishes of some states. Itwill now seek the views of states on the entire issue. This is set to put off the sensitive move by a few years.

The sub-categorisation of SCs was mooted as a solution to the grievance that powerful dalit communities had cornered reservation benefits disproportionately to their population. The division of SCs into sub-groups, with each bloc assigned a fraction of the 15% dalit quota, would ensure better distribution of benefits, it was argued.

Cabinet sources said the social justice ministry has proposed that the Centre consult the states on the sensitive issue and then hold discussions with political parties to hammer out the way forward.

This is an about-turn from the earlier proposal which said that Article 341 of the Constitution should be amended to enable states to seek division of the SC list in their territory. The proposal said a state assembly could pass a resolution seeking sub-categorisation and send it to the Centre for Parliament's assent.

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had in 2004 struck down sub-categorisation in Andhra Pradesh, forcing the state to ask the Centre for a constitutional amendment to overrule the apex court order.

For an issue which has polarized the supposedly homogenous SCs into stronger and weaker blocs across the country, the Centre now wants to tread carefully lest it be caught between the warring factions. Sub-categorisation is seen to harm stronger SCs like Chamars in the north and Malas in Andhra Pradesh because they enjoy claim over the entire 15% quota for dalits. The sub-categorisation would limit the bloc to a fraction of the 15% quota earmarked for them.

Dalit activists have dubbed it a ploy to pit SCs against each other and break their consolidation under identity-based political platforms like BSP.

The National Commission for SCs, chaired by PL Punia, has also been strongly opposed to the move to amend the Constitution. It said, "Instead of dividing SCs, the state government (AP) should devise proper mechanism to empower the poorest of the poor among SCs through special schemes aimed at their social, educational and economic empowerment," it said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-drops-move-to-divide-dalits-into-sub-groups/articleshow/8577554.cms

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Population of Dalit as Per GOI

SCHEDULED CASTES

According to the 2001 Census, the Scheduled Castes population in India is 166,635,700 persons, constituting 16.2 per cent of the country’s total population. Being rural people, four fifth (79.8 per cent) of them live in rural areas and rest one-fifth (20.2 per cent) live in urban areas. The sex ratio of 936 females per thousand males is slightly higher than national average of 933 sex ratios.

The highest percentage of Scheduled Castes population to the total Scheduled Castes population of the country live in Uttar Pradesh (21.1 per cent) followed by West Bengal (11.1 per cent) and Bihar (7.8 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (7.4 percent) and Tamil Nadu (7.1.percent). In fact, more than 57 per cent of total Scheduled Castes population inhabit in these five States. Proportionately, the largest proportion of population of the Scheduled Castes to total population of the State is in Punjab (28.9 per cent), followed by Himachal Pradesh (24.7 per cent) and West Bengal (23 percent). In Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Pondicherry proportion of SCs population is exactly equal to the National average of 16.2 per cent. The smallest concentration of the Scheduled Castes population is in the North-Eastern tribal States such as Mizoram (with negligible or only 272 persons) followed by Meghalaya (0.5 per cent) and Arunachal Pradesh (0.6 per cent).

As per the 2001 Census, there are 22 districts where the Scheduled Castes population is 30 per cent or more. In majority of the districts (i.e., 273 districts) the concentration of SCs population to the total population is between 10 to 20 per cent. In Nagaland, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, no Scheduled Caste is notified.

SCHEDULED TRIBES

According to the 2001 Census, the total population of the Scheduled Tribes in India is 84,326,240 persons, constituting 8.2 per cent of the total population of the country. 91.7 per cent of them lives in rural areas, whereas, only 8.3 per cent inhabit in urban areas. The sex ratio of Scheduled Tribes population at 978 females per thousand males is higher than that of the total population of the country as well as that of Scheduled Castes.

Madhya Pradesh accounts for the highest percentage of Scheduled Tribes population to total STs population of the country (14.5 percent) followed by Maharashtra (10.2 per cent), Orissa (9.7 per cent), Gujarat (8.9 per cent), Rajasthan (8.4 per cent), Jharkhand (8.4 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (7.8 per cent). In fact, 68 per cent of the country’s Scheduled Tribes population lives in these seven States only. The proportion of the Scheduled Tribes to the total population of the States/Union territories is highest in Mizoram (94.5 %) and Lakshadweep (94.5 %) followed by Nagaland (89.1 %), Meghalaya (85.9 %). Within the major states Chhattisgarh (31.8%) has the highest percentage of Scheduled Tribes population followed by Jharkhand (26.3%) and Orissa(22.1%). These proportions are in the lowest in Uttar Pradesh (0.1 %), Bihar (0.9 %), Tamil Nadu (1.0 %) and Kerala (1.1%).

As per the 2001 Census, there are 75 districts where Scheduled Tribes population is 50 per cent or more as per the 2001 Census. In majority of the districts (i.e., 403 districts), the concentration of Scheduled Tribes population to its total population is less than 20 percent.

Dalit and Education

Dalit children, being disproportionately poor, most heavily suffer the ills of an inequitable and ineffective education system in India. The Indian constitution pledges to provide free and compulsory education for all children up to age fourteen. However, in 1993 only 16.2% of primary school age Dalit children in were enrolled in school as compared to 83.8% of primary aged children from non-scheduled castes.29 According to the India Education Report, school attendance in rural areas in 1993-94 was 64.3% for Dalit boys and 46.2% for Dalit girls, compared to 74.9% among boys and 61% girls from other social groups30 Dalits lagged behind the general population by as many as 15 percentage points in literacy, and according to the 1991 Census, barely 24 per cent of Dalit women were literate. Statistics also show that Dalit children are more likely to drop out than their non-Dalit counterparts, particularly in the early elementary stages. Education represents one way to break out of cycles of poverty and distress, but it is also a by-product of such economic conditions. Even when Dalits are allowed access to school, Dalit students face substandard conditions. Ninety-nine percent of Dalit students come from government schools that lack basic infrastructure, classrooms, teachers and teaching aid. In contrast, it is common for non-Dalit children to seek private tutoring or to access private education of generally better quality. The motivation to do so comes from the fact that most primary government schools are considered low quality. Few Dalits are able to access such supplementation to their education; this furthers the education gap. Once enrolled, discrimination continues to obstruct the access of Dalit children to schooling as well as to affect the quality of education they receive. Source: Ellyn Artis, Chad Doobay and Karen Lyons: Workshop on Human Rights: From Grassroots Courage to International Influence, The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, January 2003

National Academy for Dalit (NAD)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Govt drops move to divide dalits into sub-groups

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