Dalit, Adivasi bodies take to streets in protest against SC’s sub-quota decision

Dalit and Adivasi groups protest Supreme Court judgment, demand sub-categorisation clarity, law nullification, and caste census in India.

Coalition groups representing more than 21 Dalit and Adivasi associations nationwide held protest marches and rail and road blockades on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, against the Supreme Court’s August 1 judgment, demanding that the Centre clear its stand on sub-categorisation, bring a law to “nullify” the judgment, and conduct a caste census to reveal the “real situation” of different castes in India. 

Early in the day, Union Minister Chirag Paswan joined a host of prominent Opposition leaders from across parties to support the peaceful protests against the Supreme Court’s judgment allowing sub-categorisation of the SC quota, saying on Wednesday that he and his party — the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), an NDA ally — “morally supported” the protests against the “Supreme Court’s decision on SC-ST reservation”.

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While normal life was most affected in Bihar and Jharkhand, where the police resorted to baton charging protesters and using water cannons, other States like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Gujarat saw these outfits take out protest marches in several districts, with many protesters alleging manhandling and violence by the police in Uttar Pradesh.  

As the protests continued through the day, the central leaderships of principal Opposition parties — the Congress and the Samajwadi Party — expressed support for the protests while also maintaining their ambiguity on the core issue of sub-categorisation of SC and ST quotas; whereas smaller parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Azad Samaj Party, and Bharat Adivasi Party wholeheartedly opposed sub-categorisation, with many prominent Bahujan leaders in the north too supporting the protests.  

Congress leader Pawan Khera, in a statement, said, “People from SC/ST/OBC are always being kept anxious about one thing or the other and this anxiety about the Centre’s intent is there amongst them. And it is their right to protest peacefully against what they consider incorrect.” This came even as the ruling alliance in Jharkhand led by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, of which the Congress is a part, supported the protests.   

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