The Protections Given to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes

In one line

The Constitution protects the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in seven separate fields, and a good answer names the field and the article together.

In the wording a student can write in an exam: the protections fall under seven heads. IDENTIFICATION, by Presidential notification under articles 341 and 342, variable only by Parliament. EDUCATION AND ADVANCEMENT, articles 15(4) and 15(5), with the directive in article 46. EMPLOYMENT, articles 16(4), 16(4A) and 16(4B), read with article 335. POLITICAL REPRESENTATION, articles 330 and 332 for the legislatures, 243D and 243T for panchayats and municipalities, and article 334 for the period. TERRITORY AND LAND, article 244 with the Fifth and Sixth Schedules and grants under article 275(1). SOCIAL DISABILITY, article 17 abolishing untouchability, with the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. And MACHINERY, articles 338, 338A and 164(1).

Head by head

Identification. Article 341(1): the President may, with respect to any State or Union territory and after consultation with the Governor where it is a State, BY PUBLIC NOTIFICATION specify the castes, races or tribes, or parts of or groups within them, which shall be deemed to be Scheduled Castes in relation to that State. Article 341(2): PARLIAMENT may by law include or exclude, and save as so provided the notification SHALL NOT BE VARIED by any subsequent notification. Article 342 does the same for the Scheduled Tribes. The lists are STATE-SPECIFIC, which is why a person may be a Scheduled Caste in one State and not in another.

Education and advancement. Article 15(4), special provision for the advancement of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, overriding article 15 and article 29(2). Article 15(5), the same as to admission to educational institutions including private ones, aided or unaided, other than minority institutions. And article 46, the directive that the State shall promote WITH SPECIAL CARE the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections and IN PARTICULAR of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall PROTECT THEM FROM SOCIAL INJUSTICE AND ALL FORMS OF EXPLOITATION.

Employment. Article 16(4), reservation for a backward class not adequately represented; article 16(4A), reservation in promotion with consequential seniority, confined to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; article 16(4B), the carried-forward backlog as a separate class. Article 335: the claims of members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration CONSISTENTLY WITH THE MAINTENANCE OF EFFICIENCY OF ADMINISTRATION in the making of appointments, with provisos permitting relaxation of qualifying marks and of standards of evaluation.

Political representation. Article 330, reservation of seats in the House of the People. Article 332, reservation in the Legislative Assembly of every State, EXCEPT for the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam, with separate provision for those districts. Articles 243D and 243T, reservation in panchayats and municipalities in proportion to population, with not less than one-third of those seats for women of those classes, and reservation of chairperson offices.