Becoming a Scheduled Tribe in India: The History, Process and Politics of Scheduling

Abstract

Scheduling a community as a Tribe in India is a complex process. Controversies generated by such processes have given rise to a number of ethnic-identity movements across the country. The latest is in the State of Manipur. What is the history of scheduling, who can be and cannot be a Scheduled Tribe in India, what are the legal procedures for applying for such a status, what are the critical cases that have come to the Supreme Court of India and what decisions have been made by the said court pertaining to claims and counterclaims. This article engages with these questions both from a historical and political perspective.