Panel meets Dalit influencers, intellectuals over apex court’s sub-quota verdict

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Tuesday met with a delegation of Dalit activists and thought leaders from across professions to discuss their views and complaints on the August 1 judgement of the Supreme Court allowing State governments to sub-classify Scheduled Castes (SCs) for quotas.

The delegation of 17 people, which included lawyers, activists, academics, intellectuals and a representative of the Bhim Army, was assured by the chairperson of the NCSC, Kishor Makwana, that their concerns and objections over the judgement would be noted and escalated to the highest levels of the Union government.

BJP remains silent over top court verdict on sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes

In a post on X, late on Tuesday night, the NCSC said it met the delegation of SC intellectuals over the “controversial decision” of the Supreme Court. It added, “Everyone shared their concerns. Everyone opposed this decision unanimously.”

The meeting, arranged at the request of members of this delegation, lasted for close to 90 minutes and the chairperson has assured those part of the delegation that they can expect the NCSC to act on their complaints in the next few days.

Kush Ambedkarvadi, a political analyst and social media influencer, who was part of the delegation said, “We have also requested that the Centre be asked to review the judgement of the Supreme Court and that the NCSC should also be made a party to that.”

Another attendee said that because the judgement concerned a constitutional matter regarding SCs, the Supreme Court ought to have made the NCSC a party to the case and called for its expert views on the matter.

Samar Raj, a Delhi-based journalist with Bolta Hindustan, who was part of the delegation, told The Hindu, “We put our points before the chairperson. We opposed both the sub-categorisation and the suggestion of a creamy layer. We also registered our opposition against Justice Mithal’s comments that quotas should be limited to one generation.”

Mr. Raj said that more importantly, the people wanted a clear answer as to what the Centre’s intent is on sub-categorisation. “This is because, during the election, we saw many leaders of the government claiming that they intended to change the Constitution.”

Multiple people who attended the meeting said that except for a couple of voices in the room, most opposed sub-categorisation among Dalits in the strongest possible terms. “Even the couple who were talking about solutions for SC communities left behind, they were told of other options that can meaningfully help them advance,” one of the attendees said.

The delegation included several social media influencers, some of whom have over 1.5 lakh followers on platforms like X.