Vulnerable Sections: Scheduled Castes

Scheduled Castes

• The Scheduled Castes (SC) are defined under Article 341 of the Indian Constitution, and they comprise about 16.6 % of India’s population (2011 Census). 
• Punjab, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh have the highest share of the SC population.
• Literacy Rate – 66.1 % (Men – 75.2 %, Women – 56.5 %), Sex Ratio – 933.

Issues Related to Scheduled Caste in India

• Social Discrimination
  • Untouchability: Despite legal abolition, untouchability persists in various forms, particularly in rural areas.
  • Segregation: SCs often face segregation in schools, villages, and public spaces, impacting their social inclusion.
  • Stigmatisation: The perception of SCs as inferior leads to social stigmatisation and impacts their self-esteem and social interactions.
• Economic Inequality
  • Poverty: A significant portion of SCs live below the poverty line, lacking access to basic amenities such as clean water, sanitation, and adequate housing.
  • Employment: SCs are often relegated to low-paying, menial jobs and face discrimination in hiring, wages, and working conditions.
  • Landlessness: Many SCs are landless or own very small plots of land, limiting their agricultural productivity and economic independence.
• Educational Disparities
  • Access to Education: SCs have lower enrollment rates and higher dropout rates in schools due to financial constraints, social exclusion, and lack of awareness.
  • Quality of Education: SC students often have access to poorer quality educational institutions and face discrimination from teachers and peers.
  • Higher Education: Representation of SCs in higher education is low, and they face challenges in gaining admission to prestigious institutions despite reservation policies.
• Health Issues
  • Access to Healthcare: SCs have limited access to healthcare services due to economic barriers, geographic isolation, and discrimination in healthcare facilities.
  • Health Indicators: SCs have poorer health indicators, such as higher infant mortality rates, lower life expectancy, and higher prevalence of malnutrition and diseases.
  • Sanitation: Poor sanitation and lack of clean drinking water disproportionately affect SC communities, leading to various health problems.
• Political Underrepresentation
  • Political Participation: Although there are reserved seats for SCs in the Parliament and state legislatures, their effective participation and influence in politics remain limited.
  • Local Governance: At the local level, SCs often face opposition and discrimination when contesting elections or holding positions of power in Panchayats and Municipalities.
• Violence and Atrocities
  • Caste-Based Violence: SCs are often victims of caste-based violence, including physical assaults, sexual violence, and even murders.
  • Atrocities: There are numerous cases of atrocities against SCs, such as forced displacement, social boycotts, and destruction of property.
  • Impunity: Perpetrators of violence against SCs often go unpunished due to bias in the law enforcement and judicial systems.
• Legal and Institutional Barriers
  • Implementation of Laws: Although there are laws to protect SCs, their implementation is often weak, and enforcement agencies may be biased.
  • Judicial Delays: SCs face delays and obstacles in getting justice due to lengthy legal processes and systemic discrimination.
• Cultural Marginalisation
  • Cultural Practices: SCs are often excluded from mainstream cultural practices and face discrimination in religious and cultural institutions.
  • Language Barriers: Linguistic differences can also contribute to the marginalisation of SCs in various regions of India.
• Psychological Impact
  • Mental Health: Continuous discrimination and violence have severe psychological impacts, leading to issues such as depression, anxiety, and trauma among SC individuals.
  • Self-Esteem: The pervasive discrimination impacts the self-esteem and confidence of SC individuals, affecting their personal and professional lives.

Government Measures to Empower SCs

• Pre-Matric Scholarship to SC Students & Post-matric Scholarship to SC Students: It covers approximately 55 lakh students per year, studying at the post-matriculation or post-secondary stage, right up to PhD.
• Young Achievers Scholarship Award Scheme for Vibrant India (PM-YASHASVI): The Central Government is contemplating setting up a Rs 7,200-crore national scholarship scheme for meritorious students which will absorb all the existing scholarship schemes under PM YASHASVI.
• National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation: Provides credit facilities to beneficiaries amongst Safai Karamcharis, manual scavengers and their dependents for income generating activities. To promote mechanised cleaning, it provided concessional finance to the tune of Rs.31.96 Crores to 21 ULBs in various States(2019-20).
• Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission: To promote innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions.
• ASIIM (2020): Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission (ASIIM) by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment supports 1000 Startups of SC Youth over the next 4 Years via a venture capital fund.
• Prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Act 1989-
  • The Act has been enacted keeping in view the express constitutional safeguards enumerated in Articles 15 (Prohibition of Discrimination), 17 (Abolition of Untouchability), and 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty) of the Constitution, with a twin-fold objective of protecting the members of these vulnerable communities as well as to provide relief and rehabilitation to the victims of caste-based atrocities.
  • In the amended SC/ST Act (2018), a preliminary inquiry is not a must and no prior approval is also required for appointing authorities for senior police officers to file FIRs in cases of atrocities on SC and ST.