ST Full Form

Full Form of ST

ST stands for Scheduled Tribes. Before getting recognized and during British rule, the ST’s were called the Depressed Classes. Around 8.6% of the country’s population is said to be ST according to the 2011 census. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 acknowledges 744 different tribes for states in 22 states in the first schedule of it. With the Britishers failing to recognize the Scheduled Tribes, during India’s independence and formulation of the constitution and the constitutional order of recognizing the Scheduled Tribes through article 341 and article 342. The articles made it compulsory for the governors of each state to make a complete list of castes and tribes. They were given the liberty to initiate changes later if required.

Article 366 (25)

This Article was added in the constitution of India in 1949 and it says that Scheduled Tribes are tribes of tribal communities or parts of a group under such tribal communities can be termed as Scheduled Tribes.

Article 342

This states that the president can consult with the governor of a state to specify the tribes and tribal communities of the state would be given the privilege of being acknowledged as Scheduled Tribes. The second clause in the article states that the parliament has the capability of including or excluding any Scheduled Tribes.

Adivasi

It is the official name of Scheduled Tribes in India. The word Adivasi means original Inhabitants. It represents many ethnic groups which are considered to be the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent. After the constitution being launched in 1950 Adivasi have been officially categorized as Scheduled Tribes. There are about 84 million of Adivasi population. The states with majority Adivasi are Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Other types are also found in Central, Southern India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bhil, Munde and Santhal that are the largest Adivasi groups in India. The Adivasi are subject for social and economic development. After being oppressed for years and getting their lands taken from them then it’s high time to take a stand.

Characteristics of Scheduled Tribes

The main characteristics of Scheduled Tribes are as follows:

• Ancestral Traits – Due to very less contact and communication outside the tribes or community their primitive or central traits are still well intact.
• Geographical Isolation – Physical separation of a community or population on their original habitat becoming divided, is known as geographical isolation.
• Unique culture – Since they are geographically isolated the Scheduled Tribes have developed their distinctive culture.
• Shy of community contact. Since being self-sufficient and developing their own culture and community they try to avoid contact with others.
• Economic Backwardness – Mainly these tribes were robbed of their ancestral properties. Since they were self-engrossed, they missed out on many economic developments. These were a few reasons for their economic weakness or backwardness.

Reservations provided if belonging to ST

The reservations provided are as follows:

• As per articles 15(4), 16(4), 16 (4A) and 16 (4B) there are several reservations done for the Scheduled Tribes in educational institutions.
• Reservation of seats in panchayats according to Article 243D.
• Reservation of seats in the house of the People as per Article 330.
• Reservation of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the state, etc.

Conclusion

The Scheduled Tribes have always been under oppression during the foreign rule so they deserve each and every chance to stand back again. These tribes, they prefer distancing themselves from the modern human habitats, this was a major problem many years ago. Now, with the rapid rise in the literacy rate of the ST they are getting fair chances to make a living out of their life too. There are many more tribes than what we actually imagine without studying . The government is trying its best with many orders and acts passed for the community itself. There have been some talks about the reservations of ST being unfair to common people but we can say that after so many years of oppression they needed this to progress forward.