With caste survey, Telangana govt clears sub-categorisation of SCs, may queer Congress pitch

The House adopted both the caste survey report and the sub-categorisation move, with the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi as well as BJP supporting it.

Calling himself “extremely proud” of the move, Reddy said the 59 sub-castes among SCs would be divided into three groups – Group I, which will get 1% reservation within the 15% quota for SCs; Group II, to be given 9%; and Group III that will have 5%. There will be no creamy layer exclusion within the SC quota, he said.

The move by the Congress government though is set to attract opposition from the dominant SC Mala group, which has been fighting legally against sub-categorisation. Given their dominance, the Malas generally corner the SC quota in educational institutions and government jobs, which could change with sub-categorisation.

On the other side are the Madigas, who have been demanding quotas within SC reservation to ensure the benefits are spread evenly. In the absence of sub-categorisation, Manda Krishna Madiga had told The Indian Express in a recent interview, “Madigas were relegated to the margins.”

On Tuesday, as the Assembly took up the government proposal on sub-categorisation, several Congress leaders, including Kadiyam Srihari, demanded that the overall quota for SCs be increased to 18%, to increase the overall basket. “The caste survey shows that the SCs comprise over 17% of Telangana’s population. It is only apt that the Congress government increases the percentage of reservation to SCs, as promised, to 18%,” Srihari said.

The sub-categorisation move by the Reddy government could also queer the pitch for the Congress nationally as the party has chosen to remain mostly silent on the issue. In 2024, soon after the Supreme Court cleared sub-categorisation within SCs, the Congress had held consultations in states ruled by it on the issue. There was not much clarity barring that all were agreed that there be no creamy layer exclusion among SCs.

Meanwhile, Dalit leaders and parties with SCs as their primary vote bank came out against sub-categorisation, fearing a ploy to divide the SCs and weaken them.

Floating the sub-categorisation proposal Tuesday, Revanth Reddy said: “While the one-member commission appointed by the government recommended exclusion of creamy layer from reservation for SCs, the government has decided to retain it.”

Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, a Dalit leader, said that soon after the Supreme Court order in favour of sub-categorisation, Telangana had decided to bring it. “SCs cannot be considered a homogenous category. Hence sub-categorisation is just,” he said.

The move showed “the commitment of the government to do justice”, Narasimha said. “For this, you need a leader with vision and humanism… We are going to rewrite history by approving sub-categorisation with a proportional balance. The sub-categorisation is not against any group, we are all one family.”

Several Dalit groups held celebrations under the Congress banner in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana following the tabling of the sub-categorisation proposal.

BRS leader and party working president K T Rama Rao said his party also supported the move, and had been calling for SC sub-categorisation since 2001. He hailed Manda Krishna Madiga “and his fight for sub-categorisation” in his address.

Manda Krishna Madiga leads the Madiga Reservation Poratta Samithi, which has been fighting for sub-categorisation for three decades. Recently, he lent support to the BJP in the hope that the Union government will implement sub-categorisation.

BJP MLA Payal Shankar said the party supports sub-categorisation of Dalits.