[8][9] In September 2018, the government "issued an advisory to all private satellite channels asking them to refrain from using the derogatory nomenclature 'Dalit', though rights groups and intellectuals have come out against any shift from 'Dalit' in popular usage".
[14] Since the independence of India, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were given Reservation status, guaranteeing political representation, preference in promotion, quota in universities, free and stipended education, scholarships, banking services, various government schemes and the Constitution lays down the general principles of positive discrimination for SCs and STs.
[17] In a broader sense, the term 'Scheduled' refers to the legal list of specific castes and tribes of the states and union territories, as enacted in the Constitution of India, with the purpose of social justice by ensuring social security, and providing adequate representation in education, employment, and governance to promote their upliftment and integration into mainstream society.
[22][23] For Scheduled Castes (SCs), the criteria involve extreme social, educational, and economic backwardness resulting from the practice of untouchability.
[24] On the other hand, Scheduled Tribes (STs) are identified based on indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the larger community, and overall backwardness.
[24] The scheduling process refers back to the definitions of communities used in the colonial census along with modern anthropological study and is guided by Article 341 and 342.
Per the first clause of Article 341 and 342, the list of Scheduled communities is subject to specific state and union territory, with area restrictions to districts, subdistricts, and tehsils.
The caste system as a stratification of classes in India originated about 2,000 years ago, and has been influenced by dynasties and ruling elites, including the Mughal Empire and the British Raj.
A highly contested issue in the proposed reforms was the reservation of seats for representation of the Depressed Classes in provincial and central legislatures.
[36] In 1935, the UK Parliament passed the Government of India Act 1935, designed to give Indian provinces greater self-rule and set up a national federal structure.
It was an umbrella strategy, ensuring the flow of targeted financial and physical benefits from the general sector of development to the Scheduled Castes.
[57] It entailed a targeted flow of funds and associated benefits from the annual plan of states and Union Territories (UTs) in at least a proportion to the national SC population.
These functions were modified in September 1987 to include advising the government on broad policy issues and the development levels of SCs and STs.
Although the Constitution of India did not specify religious criteria, it was accepted by the Constituent Assembly that only adherents of Hinduism would be entitled to Scheduled Caste status.
However, converts to Christianity, Islam, or other religions not specified in the order and subsequent amendments are not entitled to Scheduled Caste status and are not counted as such in census enumeration.
[48] The demand for extending Scheduled Caste status to adherents of religions other than Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism has been rejected by the Office of the Registrar General of India, which became the validating authority in 1999.
[65][61] Although those converted SCs fall into the Other Backward Class category, which provides similar affirmative benefits except for political reservation.