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Description
The Indian constitution (1949) created broad categories of underprivileged groups in the Republic of India that were to be the object of special administrative and welfare efforts. Three categories were named, though not clearly defined: Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other Backward Classes. Very roughly, these were comprised respectively of (1) Untouchables or Harijans; (2) virtually all Adivasis or tribes; and (3) other economically disadvantaged groups not included in (1) or (2). In 1981, India had an estimated 105 million Scheduled Caste members and 52 million people in Scheduled Tribes. The category of other Backward Classes, always nebulous and fluctuating, is difficult to enumerate.
