The Lower house of the Indian Parliament or the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
The Bill adds communities in the list of scheduled castes in the states of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Tripura. It removes the Majhi (Nepali) community from the list in Sikkim.
List of communities under SC category that have been included in the Bill
- Kerala: Pulluvan, Thachar (other than ‘Carpenter’)
- Madhya Pradesh: Dahiya
- Odisha: Amata, Amath, Bajia, Jaggili, Jagli, Buna Pano
- Tripura: Chamar-Rohidas, Chamar-Ravidas, Dhobi, Jhalo-Malo
Article 341 of the Constitution empowers the President to specify castes with respect to any State or Union territory which will be deemed as Scheduled Castes through a notification. It also empowers Parliament to include or exclude any caste, race or tribe or part of or group within any caste, race or tribe from the list of Scheduled Castes in the notification.