The Report of the Advisory Committee on the Revision of the Lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

The Advisory Committee on the Revision of the Lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was constituted by the Department of Social Security, Government of India in June 1965. B.N. Lokur, then the law secretary to the central government, was its chairperson. The Committee was tasked with advising the government on proposals by the states and union territories (UTs) to revise existing Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) lists in a “rational and scientific manner.” It advised the government on whether SC/ST status given to a caste or a tribe living in a particular area of a state or UT should also be given to people from those groups in other areas of the state or UT, or in other states or UTs. The report contains the revised state-wise list of SCs and STs. It also has the names of groups that the Committee felt should be included or excluded from the lists, and the proposals that the Committee rejected. Creating these lists involved examining the historical and scientific background of over 800 tribal communities, and assessing their social, educational and economic conditions. Eligibility was evaluated based on “primitive traits, distinct culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and backwardness.”