Applicability of Bihar’s Mahadalits model to T.N. divides opinion

Opinion stays divided amongst serving and retired policymakers over the applicability of the Mahadalits model of Bihar for addressing the demand for re-categorisation of a gaggle of six castes as Devendra Kula Vellalars in Tamil Nadu.

Senior officers who observe the difficulty carefully are of the view that the State authorities ought to take the consent of the Centre within the occasion that it agrees with the place of the proponents of the demand.

However, a former secretary of the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department feels that based mostly on the Mahadalits model, the Tamil Nadu authorities can situation an govt order with out making an attempt to alter the State’s listing of Scheduled Castes.

The situation at hand is that sections of individuals belonging to six castes — Kudumban, Pallan, Devendrakulathan, Kadaiyan, Pannadi and Kalladi — would love to have the generic identify, Devendra Kula Vellalars. Their demand is being thought of by a committee of State authorities officers.

Another demand

There is yet another demand, which pertains to the elimination of their castes from the Schedule. But this isn’t being addressed by the panel.

The clue that the Mahadalits instance of Bihar offers to Tamil Nadu is that the federal government there, with out the Centre’s sanction, took a call in 2007 to name sure SCs ‘Mahadalits’.

Till date, this has not been authorized by the Central authorities. But the absence of the Union authorities’s approval is not any bar to the Bihar authorities in implementing a quantity of welfare schemes for the Mahadalits.

Still, C. Chellappan, former member of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, is of the view that it will be correct for the Tamil Nadu authorities to receive the Centre’s nod if it accedes to the re-categorisation demand, as in any other case, this may increasingly get caught in a severe authorized battle.

But the supporter of the Bihar model says the State authorities, whereas issuing its order, can stipulate that the proposed generic identify will be talked about in caste certificates in respect of those that request for it.

Former police officer V. Kamaraja and Sholavandan legislator K. Manickam imagine the State authorities is totally empowered to act on this regard.