Community Empowerment by Dr. SBM Prasanna, Dr. K Puttaraju, Dr.MS Mahadevaswamy (books under 200 pages TXT) 📕

affirmative action for SCs and STs. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes comprise about 16.6 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, of India '​s population (in accordance with the 2011 census). The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 lists 1,108 castes across 29 states in its First Schedule and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 lists 744 tribes across 22 states in its First Schedule.

It is clear from the secondary source information that since the 1850s these communities were loosely referred to as Depressed Classes, with the Scheduled Tribes also being known as Adivasis ("original inhabitants"). The early 20th century saw a flurry of activity in the Raj assessing the feasibility of responsible self-government for India. The Morley-Minto Reforms Report, Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms Report and the Simon Commission were several initiatives in this context. A highly contested issue in the proposed reforms was the reservation of seats for representation of the Depressed Classes in provincial and central legislatures. Moreover,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. The reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes was incorporated into the act, which came into force in 1937. The Act introduced the term "Scheduled Castes", defining the group as "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 discretionary definition was clarified in The Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936, which contained a list (or Schedule) of castes throughout the British-administered provinces.

Further after independence the Constituent Assembly continued the prevailing definition of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, giving (via articles 341 and 342) the president of India and governors of the states a mandate to compile a full listing of castes and tribes (with the power to edit it later, as required). The complete list of castes and tribes was made via two orders: The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, respectively.

Objectives of the Study:

To examine the percentage of Scheduled Caste, ScheduledTribe, other backward classes and others in each religion, ta examine the notable people among Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes and backward classes, to examine the percentage of reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes in Indian economy.

Analysis:

Table1: The percentage of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other backward classes and others in each religion:

Distribution of each religion by caste category 2004/05

Scheduled Caste

Scheduled Tribe

Other Backward Classes

Others

Total

Hinduism

22.2

9.1

42.8

26

100

Muslim

0.8

0.5

39.2

59.5

100

Christians

9.0

32.8

24.8

33.3

100

Sikhs

30.7

0.9

22.4

46.1

100

Jains

0.0

2.6

3.0

94.3

100

Buddhists

89.5

7.4

0.4

2.7

100

Zoroastrians

0.0

15.9

13.7

70.4

100

Others

2.6

82.5

6.2

8.7

100

The above table provides information about the percentage of Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes, other backward classes and others among various religious groups.

Table 2: Notable people among Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes and backward classes:

B. R. Ambedkar

economist, political leader, writer

K. R. Narayanan

Tenth President of India

BabuJagjivan Ram

Former Deputy Prime Minister of India

G. VenkatSwamy

Former Cabinet Minister, Textiles and Labour

K. G. Balakrishnan

Former Chief Justice of India, chairman of national human rights commission

RamkrishnanSuryabhanGavai

Former MP, Governor of Kerela and Bihar

SushilkumarShinde

Cabinet Minister for Home Affairs

Mayawati

Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh

BirsaMunda:

Indian independence advocate and tribal leader

J. ShivashanmugamPillai

Indian National Congress politician. First Dalit mayor of Madras city (1935) and first Dalit speaker of the Madras Legislative Assembly

DamodaramSanjivayya

First dalit chief minister of a state and first dalit president of the Indian National Congress

Kanshi Ram

Founder of BahujanSamaj Party

G. M. C. Balayogi

Former Speaker of the LokSabha

ShibuSoren:

Former Chief Minister of Jharkhand state

S. Ashok Kumar

Judge, Madras High Court and High Court of Andhra Pradesh

Ram Vilas Paswan:

President of the LokJanshakti Party

BangaruLaxman

Former President of BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP)

Lala Ram Ken

Member of the seventh and eighth Parliaments

VinooMankad

Cricketer who played in 44 test matches for India

Damodar Raja Narasimha

Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

J. Geeta Reddy

Leader of the Legislative Assembly, AP

BethaSudhakar ("Pichhakottudusudhakar")

Comedian, Tollywood character actor

LankapalliBullayya (1918–1992)

First dalit university vice-chancellor (Andhra University, 1968–74)

Jwala Prasad Kureel

MP of the sixth LokSabha; member of Janata Party serving Ghatampur (UP) LokSabha constituency

PL Punia

Chairman, National Commission for SC/ST

 

Thol. Thirumavalavan

President Viduthalaiciruthaikatchi and member of parliament from 2009 from Tamil Nadu.

Meira Kumar

Speaker of the 15th LokSabha formed in May 2009 (daughter of BabuJagjivan Ram: Former Deputy Prime Minister of India from Indian state of Bihar)

A.P. Anil Kumar

Minister for Tourism and Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Castes in the Indian state of Kerala

The above table provides information about notable people who have belonged to Scheduled caste, Scheduledtribes, backward classes and their contribution to the nation.

Table 3: As per Government of India percentage of reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes.

Category as per Government of India

Reservation Percentage as per Government of India

Scheduled Castes (SC)

15%

Scheduled Tribes (ST)

7.5%

Other Backward Classes (OBC)

27%

Total constitutional reservation percentage

49.5%

General (Open to all including SC/ST and OBC)

50.5%

The above table provides information about the percentage of reservation for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes as per Government of India.

Measures taken by the government to improve the conditions of SC and ST:

The Constitution provides a three-pronged strategy to improve the situation of SCs and STs:

Protective arrangements: Such measures as are required to enforce equality, to provide punitive measures for transgressions, to eliminate established practices that perpetuate inequities, etc. A number of laws were enacted to implement the provisions in the Constitution. Examples of such laws include The Untouchability Practices Act, 1955, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, etc.

Affirmative action: Provide positive (preferential) treatment in allotment of jobs and access to higher education as a means to accelerate the integration of the SCs and STs with mainstream society. Affirmative action is popularly known as reservation.

Development: Provide resources and benefits to bridge the socioeconomic gap between the SCs and STs and other communities. Major part played by the Hidayatullah National Law University.

National commissions

To effectively implement the various safeguards built into the Constitution and other legislation, the Constitution under Articles 338 and 338A provides for two statutory commissions: the National Commission for Scheduled Castes,and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. The chairpersons of both commissions sit ex officio on the National Human Rights Commission.

Constitutional History

In the original Constitution, Article 338 provided for a special officer (the Commissioner for SCs and STs) responsible for monitoring the implementation of constitutional and legislative safeguards for SCs and STs and reporting to the president. Seventeen regional offices of the Commissioner were established throughout the country. There was an initiative to replace the Commissioner with a committee in the 48th Amendment to the Constitution, changing Article 338. While the amendment was being debated, the Ministry of Welfare established the first committee for SCs and STs (with the functions of the Commissioner) in August 1978. These functions were modified in September 1987 to include advising the government on broad policy issues and the development levels of SCs and STs. Now it is included in Article 342. During 1990, Article 338 was amended for the National Commission for SCs and STs with the Constitution (Sixty fifth Amendment) Bill, 1990.The first commission under the 65th Amendment was constituted in March 1992, replacing the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the commission established by the Ministry of Welfare's Resolution of 1989. During 2003, the Constitution was again amended to divide the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two commissions: the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. Because of the spread of Christianity and Muslim among schedule caste/Tribe community converted are not protected as castes under Indian Reservation policy. Hence, these societies usually forge their community certificate as Hindus and practice Christianity or Islam afraid for their loss of reservation.

Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan

The Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) of 1979 mandated a planning process for the social, economic and educational development of Scheduled Castes and improvement in their working and living conditions. It was an umbrella strategy, ensuring the flow of targeted financial and physical benefits from the general sector of development to the Scheduled Castes. 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. Twenty-seven states and UTs with sizable SC populations are implementing the plan. Although the Scheduled Castes population according to the 2001 Census was 16.66 crores (16.23 percent of the total population), the allocations made through SCSP have been lower than the proportional population.

Conclusion:

It is evident from the above data and information that the percentage of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes increasing and they have engaged in nation building activities. The Government of India took several measuresto safeguard the intersts of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes.

Suggestion:

The people of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes should be aware about the specialized Government schemes to get the benefits and theycan enhance their standard of living and they can contribute more for the development of the Indian Economy.

References:

Census of India 2011, Primary Census Abstract,Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Government of India (October 28 2013).

"Scheduled Caste Welfare - List of Scheduled Castes". Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.Retrieved 16 August 2012.

Text of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, as amended

Sachar, Rajindar (2006). "Sachar Committee Report(2004-2005)" (PDF). Government of India.Retrieved 2008-09-27.

 

Economic viability of alternative crops to tobacco – A study of karnataka state

Srinivasa.C.V* & Dr.Shivanand Nari**

*Research Scholar, Dos in Economics, MGM, Mysore

**Associate Professor of Economics, Karnatak University, Dharwad

Tobacco cultivation in India

Tobacco is an important commercial non-food crop in India. It occupies a prime place in the Indian economy as it considerable, contributes to agriculture farm income, employment and industrial sector. Besides, it is an important source a revenue to the government through central excise and exports. In India, tobacco is produced and consumed both in the form of manufactured and unmanufactured products. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh are the major tobacco cultivation states in the country accounting for over ninety percent of the area and output of tobacco in the country. The crop is cultivated practically in all parts of the county. The cultivation of tobacco has now extended to Bihar, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively. The various types of tobacco grown in India are Flue cured Virginia, Bidi, Chewing, Natu, Hookah, Cigar, Cherrot and Snuff. Indian tobacco scenario is wholly characterized by fluctuations in the total area under tobacco cultivation and levels of production.

The production of tobacco is more than requirement, why means the illegal producers are more in number when compared to the legal producers. This illegal producers are producing tobacco without having license and not taken any kind of permission from the respective authorities.

Tobacco cultivation in Karnataka

Bidi, FCV and Chewing are the important types of tobacco grown in Karnataka. The FCV tobacco grown in transitional zone has a great demand due to its superior quality and low nicotine content. The main area of producing FCV tobacco in Mysore district, which includes Hunsur, H.D. Kote, Periyapatna, Nanjangud and K.R. Nagar taluks respectively and also some parts of Hassan and Chamarajanagar districts. The bidi tobacco grown in light soil area of Nippani area in Belgaum district and to a small extent in Raichur and Bellary has got demand even outside the state due to its quality and aroma. The chewing tobacco is cultivated mainly in Tumkur, Dharwad and Chitradurga districts in small area.

Alternative crops are economically viable with the tobacco

Tobacco is a commercial crop, having very high financial returns with very less cost of cultivation compared to other crops. For example, the commercial crops such as ginger, turmeric, sugarcane, banana, potato and others in comparison of tobacco need more capital, labour, time