A New Phase of Dalit Politics in India has just Begun

By Dr. Gyan Pathak

With quota within quota notification for Scheduled Caste (SC) reservation in Telangana, a new phase of Dalit politics in India has just begun. The gazette notification has made Telangana, the first State in India to implement sub-categorization of Scheduled Caste reservation which coincided with Dr B R Ambedkar’s 135th birth anniversary.

The move has a political value of potentially pan-India ramification. Bihar will be the first state to undergo the impact in forthcoming election later in 2025 itself. It is because the state has already been undergoing Dalit and Mahadalit politics for almost two decades, though the sub-category “Mahadalit” among Dalit is not constitutionally valid term, for subclassification of Scheduled Castes.

In 2007, Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar had introduced the Mahadalit category on the recommendation of the Bihar State Mahadalit Commission to included 18 SC communities in this category out of 22. Over a dozen schemes were launched for Mahadalits which included land, housing, scholarship, educational loan and school uniform etc, though it was not possible for giving separate reservation quota for them within the quota given to Scheduled castes under the Constitution of India. Only two Paswan and Dusadhs were left out. However, by 2018 Dalit politics in Bihar changed al little, and the difference between Dalits and Mahadalits ceased to be for all practical purposes in administration and programmes.

Dalit leader and LJP Supremo Ram Vilas Paswan was against such categorization, and after his death, his son LJP Supremo Chirag Paswan was also against such categorization, and during 2020 Vidhan Sabha election in Bihar, he had accused Nitish Kumar of dividing the Dalit communities. Currently, both the LJP(RV) led by Chirag and JD(U) led by Nitish are with BJP, which is against subcategorization of SCs.

Now come to Telangana, where Congress is the ruling party. By allowing subcategorization of the Scheduled Castes, Congress has signalled a shift on its stand on reservation politics in general and Dalit politics in particular. Telangana assembly had passed the SC sub-categorisation Bill on March 18, 2025, which was based on a decision of seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India on August 1, 2024, that had suggested subcategorization of SCs and STs, as it was being done for the OBC category to wean out creamy layer for reservation benefits.

The Telangana gazette notification included not only the Telangana SC (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act, 2025, but also a set of rules governing its implementation. Under the new legislation the sub-committee has classified 59 sub-castes among SCs into three Groups. There are 15 sub-castes in Group I, 18 sub-castes in Group II, and 26 sub-castes in Group III. According to the gazette notification, 1 per cent reservation in education and employment has been provided for Group I, 9 per cent for Group II, and 5 per cent for Group III.

“The group quotas included 33 per cent reservation for women. If vacancies are not filled due to unavailability of SC candidates, they will not be given to candidates from other community but carried forward,” said the chairman of the sub-committee N Uttam Reddy adding, “Congress government has done what no other party could. All parties extended verbal support for SC categorisation, but none took it to implementation. We have done it legally, inclusively, and with full preparedness.”

It should be noted that the Congress has been demanding caste census for entire India, for a couple of years as part of its OBC politics, on which the BJP led centre does not agree. Bihar had conducted a caste census under CM Nitish Kumar when he was part of Mahagathbandhan (later INDIA bloc)in the state which included the opposition RJD and Congress. Nevertheless, he switched over to join hands with the BJP, and is part of NDA now.

Some other states, such as Karnataka led by Congress, have conducted caste census. The result has surprised all, and it would necessitate the entire reservation spectrum in the state. Andhra Pradesh had initiated Caste Census under YSRCP government, and the present ruling TDP Supremo Chandrababu Naidu also supports Caste Census. Telangana has released its Caste Census data. Caste Census data released so far by some states have sparked several controversy and concerns.

OBC reservation politics has impacted India’s entire political landscape since the implementation of Mandal Commission report on August 6, 1990, which gave 27 per cent reservation to these communities. Creamy layer concept was introduced within the OBC reservation in 1992, following the Supreme Court judgement in the IndraSawhney case. The Caste Census is likely to impact the OBC politics further.

The concept of creamy layer did not apply to SC and ST categories. The Supreme Court verdict of August 1, 2024, allowed sub-quotas within overall quota for SCs. Four out of 7 judges in the Bench had advocated for exclusion of the ‘creamy layer’ among SCs and STs. The verdict opened the door for sub-classification within the classified SCs, STs, and OBCs on the basis of ‘more backwardness’ relative to other castes in the group.

PM Narendra Modi, on August 9, 2024, had assured a delegation of BJP MPs belonging to SC and ST communities that no ‘creamy layer’ distinctions would be applied for SCs and STs. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had told the Lok Sabha that the ‘creamy layer’ principle was not part of the Supreme Court’s recent judgement on subcategorization within the SC quota.

Even the Union Cabinet had at that time asserted that the principle of creamy layer does not apply to reservation for SCs and STs. In the Cabinet briefing, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced this and said, “This government is committed to the Constitutional provisions given by Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar. There is no provision of creamy layer in Babasaheb’s Constitution. The Cabinet’s well thought decision is that it is only as per Babasaheb’s Constitution that reservations for SC/ST should be provided.”

Nevertheless, the Telangana decision on subclassification of SCs and implementation of quota within quota, is politically significant, for Dalit politics in particular, and reservation policy in general. It would impact the entire political spectrum across the country, states, and political parties – both national and regional. Dynamics of SC, ST, and OBC politics is now changing. (IPA Service)

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