Consider the following statements :
- 1. The President of India may specify a ‘race’ to be treated under the Scheduled Caste category for all purposes under the Constitution of India.
- 2. The President of India may specify a ‘tribe’ to be treated under the Scheduled Caste category for all purposes under the Constitution of India.
- 3. Parliament by law can include a caste or tribe in the list of Scheduled Castes.
How many of the above statements is/are correct ?
Statement 2: “The President of India may specify a ‘tribe’ to be treated under the Scheduled Caste category…”. Article 341(1) also explicitly includes “tribes” in the list of groups that can be specified as Scheduled Castes, along with castes and races. While Scheduled Tribes are separately listed under Article 342 based on different criteria, Article 341(1) allows for the possibility of specifying a group socially identified as a ‘tribe’ to be deemed a Scheduled Caste if it meets the relevant criteria for SC inclusion (e.g., social disabilities analogous to untouchability). Therefore, this statement is also correct according to the text of the Constitution.
Statement 3: “Parliament by law can include a caste or tribe in the list of Scheduled Castes.” Article 341(2) states: “Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Castes specified in a notification issued under clause (1) any caste, race or tribe or part of or group within any caste, race or tribe…”. This power is explicitly vested in Parliament. Therefore, this statement is correct.
Based on the literal reading of Article 341, all three statements are correct.