Why Governor’s move about reservations in government jobs hurts non-tribals

MUMBAI: While Gadchiroli is perceived to be an Adivasi-dominated district, official figures show it has less than 40% Adivasis and 11-12% scheduled castes. The other half is taken up largely by the Other Backward Castes —protesters demanding reservations say they comprise 40% — while the remaining 9-10% is taken up by the Special Backward Castes, Nomadic Tribes, and a sprinkling of “forward” communities.

Both the Lok Sabha seat and three Assembly seats are reserved for STs. At the heart of these protests lies a June, 2014, notification by the then Governor about reservations in government jobs. Citing the fact that the “social indicators in scheduled areas” (regions inhabited by “scheduled tribes”) are, on an average, “inferior to the social indicators in the state”, the notification reserved all posts in the class C and D category in government institutions for tribals. Earlier, the proportion of reserved jobs was split between OBC (6%), NT (8%), SBC, (2%) and ST (24%). But, in a single stroke, the governor’s notification sliced off reservation for other communities.