‘4 of 59 castes cornered quotas’: In Rajasthan, SC, ST bodies sharpen pitch for creamy layer exclusion

Organisation meeting with CM Bhajanlal sharma in August 2025. (Parul Kulshrestha/File) 5 min readJaipurAug 30, 2026 02:55 PM IST First published on: Aug 30, 2026 at 07:07 AM IST “Every few months there is a picture that is posted on social media of a man cleaning sewage and open drains. This is to justify reservation. However, Valmikis that do this work do not get the benefits of quota properly while other groups among the Schedule Castes (SCs) have made generational wealth through reservation,” said Rajesh Panchoriya, state coordinator of Aarakshan Upvargikaran Sangathan, Rajasthan. The Sangathan has been spearheading a campaign in Rajasthan to press for sub-categorisation of the SCs and STs along with a creamy layer principle in the reservation regime, which seem to be getting resonance among a slew of castes and tribes across the state.Pitching for sub-classification of the SCs/STs to ensure more equitable distribution of quota benefits among the suppressed groups, several tribal and Dalit outfits have maintained that only a handful of SC/ST groups have been able to take advantage of the reservation provisions since Independence, with many others struggling to get quota benefits so far. According to Panchoriya, four of 59 SC castes in Rajasthan have “cornered” quotas. In 34 Assembly seats reserved for the SCs, only Kohli, Meghwal, Jatav and Bairwa are given most of their election tickets by major parties like the BJP and the Congress. In the 200-member state Assembly, 25 seats are reserved for the STs. Dalits and tribals account for 17.8% and 13.5% of the state’s population respectively. A Sanghathan member Vinay Mahar, an advocate at the Rajasthan High Court, said: “The Supreme Court’s August 2024 judgment in the State of Punjab & Others v. Davinder Singh & Others has allowed states to sub-classify SCs (and STs) for equitable distribution of reservation benefits. The ruling provides a constitutional basis for communities that remain severely underrepresented in education and government jobs to seek priority within the existing SC quota. The Supreme Court has said that any such sub-classification must be based on credible data and cannot be done arbitrarily. We have met leaders of other dominant SC castes of Rajasthan who are not in support of this categorisation but we are maintaining that this will be beneficial for everyone.” A tribal body Bheel Vikas Sansthan’s activist from the Hadoti region, Arvind Bheel, said: “More than 90% of reservations in the ST category are taken by Meena caste.There are many tribes who don’t even have one fourth class government official in their entire community. Bheels in Rajasthan suffer from malnutrition, Our villages don’t have proper supply of electricity. We have educational backwardness. But, we still don’t get adequate quota benefits. Hence, we have given a memorandum to the state government for sub-categorisation of the STs and implementation of creamy layer principle.” Several organisations, including the Sanghathan and some Valmiki outfits, are planning to hold an SC/ST mahapanchayat in Jaipur by this year-end in order to “make people aware about the benefits of sub-categorisation”. “Valmiki Samaj is the lowest category in social status. Other Dalit castes in villages also don’t invite us to their wedding functions, and practise untouchability towards us. There is no ‘roti-beti sambhandh’ of other SC groups with Valmikis. We are in dire need of upliftment and we will get what we duly deserve,” said Panchoriya. A Sagathan-led delegation had met Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma in 2024 and again in August 2025 to demand “quota within quota” for SCs / STs as per their sub-categorisation. They also met Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar in Delhi in September 2025 to press for their demands. In the wake of the Supreme Court Constitution Bench’s landmark August 2024 verdict, the central government and the political leadership across a broad spectrum supported the judgment allowing states to ensure internal equity for marginalised sub-castes through “quota within quota”, even as they have opposed the exclusion of creamy layer. In Rajasthan, however, both the ruling BJP and the principal Opposition Congress have yet to make their stand clear on the question of implementation of the SC/ST sub-categorisation. State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra alleged that “BJP wants to take away reservations from STs, SCs, OBCs and EWS”. Holding that the Narendra Modi government did not reach out to a fasting Sonam Wangchuk and students protesting at Jantar Mantar over the NEET paper leak for about a month, Dotasra said, “But soon after Reservation Hatao Andolan members reached Jantar Mantar, BJP Minister J P Nadda met them and assured them that the government would take appropriate action.” Holding that the BJP’s alleged divisive politics on the basis of caste and religion was not working anymore, Dotasra said, “So they are after reservation now and want to finish it off. We will make it an issue in the upcoming local body elections in the state,” he added. Rajasthan is headed for the three-tier panchayat and municipal elections during 9-11 September.