The struggle for sub-classification of Scheduled Caste reservations, basically led by the Madiga community and the Dalit nomad and semi-nomadic communities of Karnataka for the last 35 years, has ultimately got a kind of closure. Karnataka state now joins the states of Telangana, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh in implementing this sub-classification, though delayed.Even though the Supreme Court judgement of August 1, 2024, provided long-awaited judicial affirmation of subclassification and the constitutional competence of the state government in providing the same, the Congress government of Karnataka led by Siddaramaiah took more than a year to implement it. The hurdles were three-fold. One, political pressure and the consistent lobbying from caste leaders who have hitherto enjoyed relatively more benefits made the process go slow. The second one is a little peculiar to Karnataka. There are 101 castes that come under SC classification in Karnataka. Among them are the Holeyas, Madigas, most marginalised Dalit nomadic castes, and a few relatively forward castes like Lambani, Bhovi, Korama and Koracha. But since the inclusion of these “touchable castes” were made prior to Independence in the Mysore province, and the same list was affirmed by the presidential declaration in 1950 and further affirmed and extended to the whole of Karnataka through the presidential declaration of 1976. Since the Supreme Court judgement of 2024 does not provide for exclusion of any castes in the existing list, “untouchability” is not considered as the sole criteria to be in the Scheduled Caste list in Karnataka.The third one is more confusing and also particular to Karnataka. Out of the 101 castes under the SC category there is Adi Karnataka (AK), Adi Dravida (AD) and the Adi Andhra (AA) categories. These three are not castes but caste groups. More problematic is the fact that in some districts, Holeyas identify as AKs and in some, Madigas. Same with AD and AA grouping. Since it is understood that the Madigas are less benefited compared to Holeyas, it had become utmost necessary to persuade and deconstruct the AK, AD, and AA groups into original Holeya or Madiga sections and discern their population and relative backwardness. To resolve these issues and collect empirical data to assess and quantify inter-se backwardness among the 101 castes, the Siddaramaiah government constituted a Commission under the chairmanship of retired judge of Karnataka high court, Justice Nagmohan Das. The Justice Nagmohan Das Commission after a thorough survey (except in Bengaluru) and relying on the available and provided data divided the 101 castes into five groups based on their relative social backwardness. The Most Backward Group A consisting of 59 Dalit nomadic and semi-nomadic castes constituting 4.97% of the population was recommended to be given 1% of reservation of the total 17% of SC reservation. Till 2020 it was 15%. In 2020, the then BJP government constituted a committee led by the same judge to look into possible increasing of SC reservation from 15% to 17% depending on the increase of their population from the 2011 census. The Das committee recommended a 17% increase and since then SCs are being given a 17% reservation. But recently a Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) judgement annulled the extra 2% reservation in a particular department citing the violation of 50% upper limit for SC-ST-OBC reservation. But that judgment was confined to that particular department only.The 18 Madiga and Madiga-related communities constituting 34.91% of the SC population were considered as More Backward and allotted 6% reservation. The 17 Holeya and Holeya-related communities constituting 28.63% of the SC population were considered as Backward Communities and were allotted 5% reservation. The four “touchable” castes – Lambani. Bhovi, Korama and Korcaha – and related communities constituting 26.97% of the SC population were considered as Less Backward and allotted 4% reservation. And lastly, the SC members who still continued to register their castes as AK, AD, and AA in spite of repeated reminders, for various reasons, constituting 4.52% of the population, were categorised as Group E and were given 1% reservation. The Das committee gave its report on August 4, 2025. A special cabinet meeting was to be conveyed to take a decision on this on August 16. But during this interval the Holeya and the Holeya-related communities raised serious objections about what the report had recorded as their population. They accused the commission of intentionally including the hitherto Holeya-related castes in Group B and Group A to reduce their population. On the other hand, the “touchable” castes also started to campaign against the report demanding 7-8% reservation for their group.It was only Madigas and the Dalit nomads who started to agitate to fully implement the report from Aug 11onwards. This was reflected in the cabinet meetings which were repeatedly postponed. A final decision was taken by the government in the late hours of August 19. The Siddaramaiah government essentially rejected the Das Commission report and its matrix of 1:6:5:4:1 and declared a matrix of 6:6:5 reducing the groups from five to three. The government classified the Madiga and Madiga-related communities as Group A and provided 6% reservation. Holeya and related communities were awarded an equal 6% reservation. But the government included the Dalit nomads who were considered Most Backward by the Das Committee into Group C consisting of “touchable” communities, who are considered as less backward communities. The E group which has residual AK, AD, and AA communities was dissolved and it was provided that those members could avail themselves of reservation either in Group A or B. A government order was also issued on August 25.However, the government’s formula and order have only sparked further dissatisfaction and anxiety. There are several reasons for this. The most significant among them is the grave injustice done by the government to the nomadic Scheduled Castes.Population or backwardness? The 1:6:5:4:1 formula proposed by Justice Das faced strong objections, with allegations that some sub-castes were inappropriately placed in certain categories to either understate or overstate their population. While some of these objections were tinged with casteist superiority, the primary concern was the fear that the already shrinking share would diminish further. Due to these reasons, each category became preoccupied with asserting their population numbers rather than advocating for priority to sub-castes within their own category that had not yet benefited from reservation.6:6:5 a violation of Supreme Court guidelines?The government’s 6:6:5 formula violates all principles of social justice and Supreme Court guidelines. The reasons are as follows:Under the principle of social justice, when classifying for reservation benefits, “unequals should not be treated as equals.” Castes with unequal levels of backwardness should not be grouped together. Moreover, castes grouped separately based on similar levels of backwardness must exhibit a high degree of uniformity in social backwardness.The Supreme Court’s order on internal reservation states: “… The Court while testing the validity of sub-classification must determine if the class is a homogenous integrated class for fulfilling the objective of the sub-classification. If the class is not integrated for the purpose, the class can be further classified upon the fulfillment of the two-prong intelligible differentia standard.” This means that when courts evaluate the validity of sub-classification formulas created by governments, they must check if the classification forms a homogenous group. If the group lacks uniformity, it must be further sub-classified.In this context, merging the 59 most backward Scheduled Castes with the relatively advanced “touchable” castes, which have benefited more from reservations, violates Supreme Court guidelines.A death sentence for nomadic castes For example, let’s compare the educational and representation status of the 59 castes classified under Group A by the Justice Das Commission with the relatively advanced “touchable” castes classified under Group D:MetricGroup AGroup DPUC Pass (%)6.649.12Graduates (%)3.665.07Engineering (%)0.931.23Residential School (%)0.500.84Hostel (%)0.190.28Scholarship (%)15.2620.09Government Jobs (%)0.861.29Source: Justice Nagamohan Das Report, page 324.As the table clearly shows, the 59 castes in Group A are the most backward among Scheduled Castes across all metrics, while the Group D castes are relatively advanced. Merging these two groups into one, as done by the government’s formula, violates the Supreme Court’s directive of not treating “unequals as equals” and creates a group lacking uniformity, which is a clear violation of both Supreme Court guidelines and social justice principles.The government has grouped the 59 most backward castes with the most advanced touchable castes within Scheduled Castes, assigning them a combined 5% reservation. Now, for opportunities like PUC, degrees, hostels, and jobs, these most backward castes must compete with the most advanced castes.What kind of justice is this? If the backward and advanced are made to compete in the same group, what was the need for internal reservation in the first place?Historically, without considering the varying levels of backwardness among Scheduled Castes, a blanket 15% reservation was provided to all 101 castes. However, this has resulted in significant disparities:In 25 castes, not a single person has obtained a technical degree.In 14 castes, no one has a postgraduate degree.In 14 castes, no one has an MBBS degree.In 54 castes, no one has a PhD.In 12 sub-castes, including Chandal, Garodi, and Sindholu-Chindholu, no one has secured a government job.Among 27,917 Scheduled Caste Gram Panchayat members, 41 castes have never had representation.In Mahanagara Palike’s 52 seats, 89 castes have never had representation.In 308 Scheduled Caste seats in Nagarapalikes, 82 sub-castes have had no opportunity.In 516 seats in Purasabhas, 79 sub-castes have had no representation.In 252 seats in Pattana Panchayats, 78 castes have had no representation.Due to such disparities in backwardness within Scheduled Castes, internal reservation was meant to separate the relatively advanced from the relatively backward. However, by merging the 59 most backward castes with the most advanced touchable castes, the Siddaramaiah government has committed a grave injustice.Allocation without formulaAdditionally, according to the government’s order dated August 25, castes registered as AK, AD, and AA can claim their share under either Category A or Category B. But what is the criterion for this?The Justice Das Commission had sought an extension of its term specifically to address the unique issue of AK, AD, and AA in Karnataka. This was because castes with varying levels of backwardness were registering under the same names, making it impossible to create a uniform classification of similarly backward castes. To address this, a survey of the original castes under AK, AD, and AA was initiated, which successfully reduced the number from 40 lakh to 4.74 lakh.However, instead of completing this survey and establishing a criterion for social backwardness, the government’s formula allows these groups to claim reservations under Category A or B, undermining the very purpose of the survey. Moreover, providing opportunities to 4.74 lakh people who have not registered their original castes, while denying the same to those who have, violates natural justice.Furthermore, according to the Justice Das report, the 4.74 lakh AK, AD, and AA group is relatively more advanced than Categories A and B. For example, only 0.96% of the Madiga and related castes in Category A and 1.46% of the Holeya and related castes in Category B have government jobs. In contrast, the AK, AD, and AA group has secured 5.5% of government jobs, four times higher than Categories A and B. Including this group in Categories A or B disrupts the relative uniformity of those categories, violating Supreme Court guidelines.JusticeThe Dalit nomadic communities are facing a most unenviable situation after this government order and are continuing their struggle on the streets so as to be classified as a separate group and be allotted at least 1% reservation. They are supported wholeheartedly by the Madiga organisation in particular and by the progressives of the state. But the CM in his meeting with the community has expressed his helplessness and also adamance. If they go to the court, their close brethren, the Madigas and Holeyas cannot enjoy the fruits of 35 years of their struggle. Moreover, the community lacks the resources that even their Dalit brethren have to sustain a prolonged movement. Will the Most Backward get minimum justice or will it be a renewed Poona Pact for the Dalit nomads? Shivasundar is a columnist and activist in Karnataka.