The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India issued today (August 1, 2024) the following statement:

The Communist Party of India welcomes the judgement of a 7-judge Supreme Court bench allowing sub-classification within Scheduled Castes to give separate quotas for more backward sections in a general sense. The Supreme Court stated that the Scheduled Caste category is not homogenous and intra-category variations exist due to different degrees of deprivations and consequent backwardness. This is also CPI’s long-standing understanding and by allowing sub-classifications, the SC has opened the way for those who stand more deprived and yet to get the benefits of affirmative action fully.

This judgement and its implications on society and polity must be treaded cautiously with proper scientific measurement of inequality, discrimination, backwardness and representation. In that sense, this judgement has made the exercise of conducting a thorough census with enumeration of caste an imperative. Without proper data on castes and their representation at different levels, it will be impossible to realise sub-classified quotas for different social groups. A census to gauge the current status of social and economic inequality in a country is immediately needed.

Thus, the CPI, while welcoming the SC’s recognition of intra-category inequalities, demands that a thorough caste census be conducted to understand the exact situation of different social groups and their representation at different levels, including the judiciary. Fruits of social justice should reach the most deprived and the CPI’s struggles to ensure that shall continue.

(Roykutty)

Office Secretary