Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936 had used term SC instead of depressed classes

• Politicians first like British divided Hindu in Castes & now are dividing Indians in the name of Religion
• Let all Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist & Jain compete with each other as a Unit

DAYA SAGAR
In principle, Indian Elders while framing the Constitution of India might have been of the view that (i) over the centuries some people had been discriminated on the basis of professions they held ( mainly due to jobs majority of that group/ class/community kept on performing also kept them under regular economic stresses )(ii) such people had been hence ‘unfairly’ pushed socially and educationally to the wall under pressure of the other sects/ communities ‘particularly’ from amongst the masses that practice Hindu religion (iii) and hence they needed some extra support from the society / government for some time in a Democratic Republic like India.

Ranganath Mishra Commission Report ( 2007) had also in principle carried a similar opinion .The report says group as Schedule Caste mentioned in Art 15 is religion & caste based and arises out of the practices of untouchability among Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists.{ 1[15(4) Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.< 1Added by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, s. 2. >] [2(5) Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 shall prevent the State from making any special provision, by law, for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in so far as such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of article 30 <2Ins. by the Constitution (Ninety-third Amendment) Act, 2005, s. 2, (w.e.f. 20-1-2006). > .]So is the case for exceptions as are there in Art-16 as regards jobs with government. (16-3 : Nothing in this article shall prevent Parliament from making any law prescribing, in regard to a class or classes of employment or appointment to an office 1[under the Government of, or any local or other authority within, a State or Union territory, any requirement as to residence within that State or Union territory] prior to such employment or appointment. (4) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State. 2[(4A) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for reservation 3[in matters of promotion, with consequential seniority, to any class] or classes of posts in the services under the State in favour of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequately represented in the services under the State. 4[(4B) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from considering any unfilled vacancies of a year which are reserved for being filled up in that year in accordance with any provision for reservation made under clause (4) or clause (4A) as a separate class of vacancies to be filled up in any succeeding year or years and such class of vacancies shall not be considered together with the vacancies of the year in which they are being filled up for determining the ceiling of fifty per cent. reservation on total number of vacancies of that year.] < 1.Subs. by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch., for “under any State specified in the First Schedule or any local or other authority within its territory, any requirement as to residence within that State”. 2.Ins. by the Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995, s. 2. 3.Subs. by the Constitution (Eighty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2001, s. 2, for certain words (w.e.f. 17-6-1995). 4.Ins. by the Constitution (Eighty-first Amendment) Act, 2000, s. 2 (w.e.f. 9-6-2000) ].
It had been the Hindu who was pointedly accused the most of discriminating against some of the fellow Hindu on caste basis and such like behaviour has been named as ‘untouchability’ in relation to Hindu. British too hadadvocated such concepts in 1930s but that was more to weaken the uprising against the British rule particularly by fracturing thelargest segment ( more than 88%) of the native population i.eby dividing the Hindu in sects / groups/ castes. During British timessome groupsfrom amongst the Hindu was titled ‘Depressed Classes’ in the 1931 Census and it was only out of Hindu. The ” depressed” classes were mentioned for the first time as “Scheduled Castes in the Government of India Act, 1935 and the Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936. It was less for the welfare cause and more out of the British intentions to divide the Indians in more groups and even some senior community leaders working for the cause of Indian people living in depressed conditions due their socio- economic status were trapped in the game by British. Had it not been so, then surely the depressed classes would have been identified also out of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains ,Buddhists, etc as well but that was not done .
(The writer is a Sr. Journalist and Social Activist)