A NITI Aayog panel has recommended adding 179 communities to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) list at the Central government level. As per reports, the panels adds 85 communities for fresh inclusions, 46 communities are proposed for OBC status, 29 for SC status and 10 for ST status.
In addition, in a landmark ethnographic study, the Anthropological Survey of India and the Tribal Research Institute have classified 268 denotified, semi-nomadic and nomadic tribes across India.
Among the communities recommended for new inclusion in the SC-ST-OBC list, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number with 19 new additions. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh have 8 communities each.
The study also noted many inconsistencies in existing classifications. 63 communities earlier listed were deemed ‘untraceable’, believed to have assimilated into larger populations through migration or name change.
The ethnographic study was launched in February 2020.
In the context of the existing demand for a caste-based census by many political parties, the study is expected to add new dimensions of larger inclusivity and representations in the current classifications of SC-ST and OBCs across India.
