The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2021

March 23, 2021

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Mr. Krishan Pal Gurjar, on February 13, 2021. The Bill amends the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950. The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on March 22, 2021.

The Bill aims to group seven Scheduled Caste communities in certain districts of Tamil Nadu under ‘Devendrakula Velalars’. This was one of the long-pending demands of sections of these communities.

The Bill replaces the entry for the Devendrakulathan community with DevendrakulaVelalar, which includes the communities that are currently listed separately within the Act.  These are: (i) Devendrakulathan, (ii) Kalladi, (iii) Kudumban, (iv) Pallan, (v) Pannadi, and (vi) Vathiriyan.  The separate entries have been omitted.  

The 1950 Order also includes the Kadaiyan community within the list of notified SCs in the state.  The Bill creates a distinction for the Kadaiyan community based on residence.  The separate entry for the Kadaiyan community is replaced with the Kadaiyan community from the districts of: (i) Tirunelveli, (ii) Thoothukudi, (iii) Ramanathapuram, (iv) Pudukottai, (v) Thanjavur, (vi) Tiruvarur and (vii) Nagapattinam.  Members of the Kadaiyan community living in other districts are included in the DevendrakulaVelalar grouping. 

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