Lok Sabha Passes Bills Modifying SCs, STs Lists in Jammu and Kashmir

The Lok Sabha approved two Bills aimed at revising the lists of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Jammu and Kashmir. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024, includes the Valmiki community as synonymous with Chura, Balmiki, Bhangi, and Mehtar communities in the SC list for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Bill proposes amendments to the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order of 1956, which identifies the castes classified as Scheduled Castes in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar, responding to the debate on the Bill, emphasized the equality established in Jammu and Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370, which conferred special status to the former state. He noted previous administrations' exploitation of Scheduled Caste individuals solely for electoral gains and clarified that his government was not discontinuing pre-matric and post-matric scholarships for SC students.

Additionally, the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aiming to include four communities -- Gadda Brahmin, Koli, Paddari Tribe, and Pahari Ethnic Group -- in the ST list for Jammu and Kashmir.

During the debate on the Bill, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda highlighted that the revocation of Article 370 under the BJP government conveyed a message of national unity, reinforcing India's solidarity "from Kashmir to Kanyakumari."