'Dalits among Dalits': Why TN introduced internal reservation for an SC subcommunity

The Supreme Court judgment on Thursday (August 1) approving internal reservation in the Scheduled Caste (SC) category has ratified the Tamil Nadu government’s efforts to help quota benefits trickle down to the most backward or marginalised sections within the SC community.

In the case of Tamil Nadu, it is the Arunthathiyars, a Dalit community associated with scavenging (sanitary) work, though a fewsome of them are also artists, painters, and craftsmen, or engaged in leather tanning.

More powers to state

In the 6:1 majority verdict, the top court overruled the EV Chinnaiah judgment, which in 2005 had ruled that state governments cannot sub-classify SCs to provide reservation in admissions and jobs.

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who headed the bench, also said that SCs are not an integrated or homogenous group.

The Supreme Court also upheld the Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars Act, 2009 and the Punjab Scheduled Caste and Backward Classes Act, 2006.

It, however, asked state governments to justify the sub-classification on the basis of empirical data regarding the inadequacy of representation of the sub-class. “Sub-classification does not violate the principle of equality enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution,” the apex court said.

TN legislation backed by data

The history of the Tamil Nadu legislation shows that the state government had backed its case with data while drawing up a sub-quota for the Arunthathiyar community.

In 2009, the state government introduced the Internal Appropriation Act for the Arundhathiyar community and earmarked 3 per cent internal reservation within the 18 per cent reservation kept aside for the SC community in jobs and education.

It all started when the CPI(M) and the Aadi Thamizhar Peravai staged a series of protests in 2007-08, demanding separate reservation for the Arunthathiyars within the SC category. 

How the law came into being

The then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, late father of incumbent Chief Minister MK Stalin, appointed the Justice Janardhanan Commission to address their demands.

The Commission, in its report, said Arunthathiyars accounted for 16 per cent of the Dalit population as per 2001 Census, but remained at the bottom of the caste system. Internal reservation would be a solution for their upliftment, it said.

The report was produced after six months of surveying jobs, education, and the livelihoods of Arunthathiyars across the state. 

Based on the report, Karunanidhi convened an Assembly session, and the Bill for internal reservation was unanimously accepted by the legislators. The DMK government set aside 3 per cent of internal reservation for the Arunthathiyars within the 18 per cent reservation for Dalits. The Act came into force on April 29, 2009 as the Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars Act.

‘Giant step towards social justice’

Welcoming the latest judgment of the Supreme Court, many legal experts The Federal spoke to said the verdict has reassured state governments of their legislative powers, and emphasised the importance of the country’s federal structure.

P Wilson, a senior advocate and DMK MP, called the judgment a ‘historic’ one. “We really appreciate the verdict by the Supreme Court. This is one bigger step towards social justice and federalism and comes at a time when the BJP is trying to eradicate the diverse structure of the country," he told The Federal.

"State governments will be able to understand the ground realities and how internal reservation will empower subsects in the Dalit community. The observations made by the Supreme Court bench pertaining to sub-classification and steps to attain true equality were the basis for the Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars Act, 2009. It was crafted with the genuine interest to uplift Arunthathiyars," Wilson added.

'Dalits not a homogenous caste'

Experts have also lauded the Supreme Court’s observation that SCs are not a homogenous caste, and that sub-classification does not violate the principle of equality.

The judges said sub-classification does not violate Article 14 and Article 341(2) of the Constitution. Also, there is nothing in Articles 15 and 16 to prevent sub-classification of caste, they pointed out.

Further, the judges said only a few in the SC/ST category enjoy reservation, and there are sects within the SC/STs which have faced severe oppression for centuries and cannot be denied rights.

Three main divisions

Dalits in Tamil Nadu are split into three main castes – Pallar, Paraiyar, and Arunthathiyar. Although all of them face oppression from caste Hindus, the Pallar and Paraiyar communities have had better prospects in terms of education and job opportunities.

Several Arunthathiyars have even reported cases of discrimination against them by the other two Dalit castes.

However, after the internal reservation was introduced, several awareness camps were held to explain the split in quotas within the community.

Shades of casteism within SC community

Senior journalist Elangovan Rajasekaran, who has closely documented internal reservation for Arunthathiyars in the state, says Thursday's judgment has clearly addressed the homogeneity factor with a critical view.

He said that the graded shades of casteism that prevail among the Dalit community is no less harmful than that coming from Caste Hindus.

“The myth that Dalits are a homogenous sect has been busted now. This judgment has strengthened the internal reservation system. Initially, there were differences of opinion among Dalit leaders in Tamil Nadu, but in the course of time, they fell in line. Dalit leader K Krishnaswamy of Puthiya Tamizhagam Katchi even moved the court against the internal reservation," he said.

Elangovan noted that after the internal reservation got a legal stamp in 2009, Arunthathiyars started landing government jobs and admission in educational institutions. "We could also see the discrimination against them going down,” he said.

He added that there were also successful cases of Arunthathiyar students enrolling for medical education and youths getting government jobs after the reservation legislation came into force.

Struggles that led to internal quota

P Sampath, who headed the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF), a wing of the CPI(M), recalled how internal reservation took shape and became a reality in Tamil Nadu after a series of struggles.

The very idea of the legislation dawned upon activists after it was discovered that Arunthathiyars were being treated as untouchables within the SC community itself and barely had a shot at jobs and education.

Speaking to The Federal, Sampath said that the idea of internal reservation was a demand put forth by various Arunthathiyar organisations for many years. A survey by TNUEF members in 2007 on livelihoods also revealed that Arunthathiyars were treated as ‘Dalits’ among Dalits and couldn’t improve their livelihoods or educate their children.

Concerted efforts

“We organised a series of meetings in villages, road blockades, and conferences demanding internal reservation," recalled Sampath.

"Scores of Arunthathiyars shared their plight in these meetings. Many of them explained how they were forced into manual scavenging and worked as coolie workers in farmlands for several years. Their children could not compete even in the reservation category which was dominated by the other two sects of Dalits.

"When we raised the issue with Karunanidhi, he said we were already late in addressing the issue of Arunthathiyars and sought legal opinions to introduce the internal reservation. We were glad that the foundation for the internal reservation Bill was laid through our struggles,” he added.