In India, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are communities that are accorded special status by the Constitution of India. These communities were considered 'outcastes' and were excluded from the Chaturvarna system that was the descriptive social superstructure of Hindu society in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years. These communities had traditionally been relegated to the most menial labour with no possibility of upward mobility, and subject to extensive social disadvantage and exclusion, in comparison to the wider community. The Scheduled Tribes were unable to participate in the community life of the Indian Society and were thus deprived of any opportunity for integration with the rest of the society and corresponding opportunities for educational, social and economic growth. The Scheduled Caste peoples are also known as Dalits; Scheduled Tribe people are also referred to as Adivasis. Gandhi used the terms Harijan and Girijan respectively. The Constitution of India was passed by the Constituent Assembly of India on November 26, 1949, and came into effect on January 26, 1950. ... Caste systems are traditional, hereditary systems of social stratification, enforced by law or common practice, based on classifications such as occupation, race, ethnicity, etc. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... In South Asias caste system, a Dalit; often called an untouchable; is a person of shudra; the lowest of the four castes. ... Ādivāsīs (आदिवासी), literally original inhabitants, or tribal people comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India. ... In South Asias caste system, an untouchable, dalit, or achuta is a person outside of the four castes, and considered below them. ... Ādivāsīs (आदिवासी), literally original inhabitants, or tribal peoples comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India. ...

History

The disadvantage faced by such a large section of Hindu society (SCs/STs together comprise over 24% of India's population, with SC at over 16% and ST over 8% as per 2001 census; this proportion has remained fairly stable for many decades) was not lost on everyone. Starting with the Christian missionaries and other Indian visionaries, the problems began to be brought out into open discourse as early as the 1850s. At this time these communities were loosely referred to as the Depressed Classes. 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... A missionary is traditionally defined as a propagator of religion who works to convert those outside that community; someone who proselytizes. ... // Events and Trends Technology Production of steel revolutionised by invention of the Bessemer process Benjamin Silliman fractionates petroleum by distillation for the first time First transatlantic telegraph cable laid First safety elevator installed by Elisha Otis Science Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species, putting forward the theory of evolution...

The early part of the 20th century saw a flurry of activity by the British Raj, at the insistence of the Indian reformists, to assess the feasibility of responsible self-government in India. The Morley-Minto Reforms Report, Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms Report, and the Simon Commission were some of the initiatives that happened in this context. The Maharaja of Kolhapur, aggressively promoted the cause of the depressed classes, demanding special representation in local and legislative bodies and led an agitation preceding the Montague-Chelmsford reforms. He argued this was necessary “To prevent Home Rule from culminating in oligarchy, we must have communal representation at least for ten years. It will teach us what our rights are.” (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... The flag of British India Map of British India, 1855 The British Raj (Raj in Hindi meaning Rule from Sanskrit Rajya) refers to the British rule between 1858 and 1947 of the Indian Subcontinent, or present-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Myanmar, during the period whereby these lands were under... Government of India Act of 1909 John Morley, the aging Liberal intellectual, (Secretary of State for India December 10, 1905 - November 3, 1910) and the Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, the Conservative practical administrator, (Governor-General of India (Viceroy) 1905–1910) recognized that cracking down on terrorism... The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms were reforms introduced by the British Government in India to introduce self-governing institutions gradually to India. ... The Indian Statutory Commission was a group of seven British Members of Parliament that had been dispatched to India in 1927 to study constitutional reform in that colony. ... Kolhapur   (Marathi:कोल्हापूर ) is a city situated in the south west corner of Maharashtra, India. ... Devolution or Home rule is the pooling of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ... Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). ...

This was also the time when the Depressed Classes had a politically and intellectually capable leader to champion their cause, in the form of B. R. Ambedkar. One of the hotly contested issues in the proposed reforms was the topic of reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes in provincial and central legislatures. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Marathi: बाबासाहेब भीमराव रामजी आंबेडकर) (April 14, 1891 — December 6, 1956) was a Buddhist revivalist, Indian jurist, scholar and Bahujan political leader who is the chief architect of the Indian constitution. ...

In 1935, the British passed The Government of India Act 1935, designed to give Indian provinces greater self-rule and set up a national federal structure. Reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes was incorporated into the act, which went into force in 1937. The Act brought the term "Scheduled Castes" into use, and defined the group as including "such castes, races or tribes or parts of groups within castes, races or tribes, which appear to His Majesty in Council to correspond to the classes of persons formerly known as the "Depressed Classes," as His Majesty in Council may prefer." This decidedly vague definition was clarified in The Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936 which contained a list, or Schedule, of castes throughout the British provinces. 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 24. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

After independence, the Constituent Assembly accepted the existent definition of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and gave (via articles 341, 342) the president and governors the responsibility to compile a full listing of castes and tribes, and also the power to edit it later as required. The actual complete listing of castes and tribes was made via two orders The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 respectively. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

See also

• List of Scheduled Tribes in India
• Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
• Forward Castes
• Backward Castes
• Other Backward Classes
• Backward-caste Hindu Saints
• Backward-caste Hindu Warriors

This is a full list of Scheduled Tribes in India, as recognised in Indias Constitution. ... In 1989, the Government of India enacted the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in order to prevent atrocities against SC/STs. ... Forward castes or Upper castes are terminology used in India to denote people from any religion who do not qualify currently for quota benefits of Government of India for Backward castes, scheduled castes and tribes [10] The Government of India does not publish a separate list of forward castes. ... Backward Castes people are generally a group of people in India who generally live off income derived from self employment on caste-dependent skills assignment. ... The Other Backward Classes (or OBCs) in India are a group of castes officially recognized as being traditionally subject to exclusion, while still having a higher status than scheduled castes or scheduled tribes. ... // Hinduism is religion founded 5,000 years ago with traditions dating back 10,000 years. ... // Ahilyabai Holkar - Daugther in Law of Malhar Rao, the Holkars were from the tribal Dhangar caste of Maharashtra. ...

External Links

• GLORIOUS CONTRIBUTION BY ‘BACKWARD CLASSES’ TO HINDUISM & INDIA - an article by a Backward-caste Hindu, N. Nirakar
• Hindu Deities, Sages and Saints Who were not Brahmins
• The Vedic Class System
• Bhakti as Protest
• Anti-Caste Information Page On caste, communalism, and class struggle.