The social system of India is divided into numerous Jātis or castes. The castes which were once deemed elite by the Indian society are now classified as the high casts or general category. The other communities are categorized as lower classes or reserved communities. These communities can be divided into three categories.

Scheduled Castes (SC)

The Scheduled Castes are natives who were once thought-out as untouchables. After India got her Independence in the year 1947, the untouchables started describing themselves as the Dalits. Nowadays, the term ‘untouchable’ does not apply to anyone. In India, the 16% of present population are people of the SC category.

Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Communities/Other Communities (ST/OBC/OC)

Of the three caste divisions of the reserved categories, the Scheduled Tribe is the second one. Natives who belong to the Scheduled tribes are descendents of the tribal communities. In India, of the total population, 7% belongs to the ST group. This category of people did not agree to caste system. Instead, they preferred to dwell deep inside forests as well as mountains areas of India, far away from the chief part of the society. These people are also called as the Adivasis. This term means aboriginals. The third and final class of the system of castes is called as the Backward Classes or the Other Backward Classes. This category of people comprises of natives who belong to the Sudra Varna or the Sudra (lower) caste. These people were formerly considered as untouchables. They are now at present transformed from Hinduism into other religions. They also include tribes as well as nomads who traveled from one place to another.  In our country, the Backward Classes Division in the Ministry takes care after the guiding principles and development in addition to the implementation of programmes that are related to the social as well as economic empowerment of the Other Backward Communities.

Key Differentiators Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Communities/Other Communities

People from the Scheduled tribes were considered to be untouchables in ancient times. They named themselves as Dalits or Harijans (son of God). The people from the ST/OBC categories are either from the tribal communities in India or from the categories of people who were converted from Hinduism to other castes.