11 February 2026·PIB

INCLUSION OF THE BADAGA COMMUNITY IN THE ST LIST

In this note

1. At a Glance

Badaga is a community concentrated in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu; demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status has been long-standing, but the proposal has stalled at the Registrar General of India (RGI) stage [1][2].
Demonstrates the procedural rigour and federal sequencing required to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 — a recurring UPSC theme on inclusion/exclusion in SC/ST lists [1].

11 February 2026 — MoS Tribal Affairs Shri Durgadas Uikey stated in Rajya Sabha that any inclusion can only proceed after concurrence of RGI and NCST as per the laid-down modalities [1].
Madras High Court on 11 March 2025 dismissed a writ petition seeking to compel the Tamil Nadu government to push the Badaga ST proposal, noting the state had accepted the RGI's decision [2].

Badagas — Kannada-speaking pastoral/agrarian community of the Nilgiri plateau; classified as Backward Class (BC) in Tamil Nadu, not ST.
Modalities for SC/ST list modification first laid down on 15 June 1999, later amended on 25 June 2002 and 14 September 2022 [1].
Tamil Nadu forwarded a formal proposal for Badaga ST inclusion to the Centre on 28 January 2021, with an ethnographic report [2].
Proposal subsequently did not secure RGI concurrence; matter became subject of litigation culminating in the Madras HC dismissal of 11 March 2025 [2].

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India [1].
Constitutional basis: Article 342 — President specifies STs in relation to a State/UT after consultation with the Governor; Parliament alone can amend the list by law [1].
Procedural gatekeepers: State Government → Registrar General of India (RGI) → National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST, Article 338A) → Cabinet → Parliament [1].
Mandatory documentation: Ethnographic report by the State, with justification on the Lokur Committee (1965) criteria — primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact, backwardness [1].
Trigger document: Tamil Nadu proposal dated 28.01.2021 [2].
Latest modalities revision: 14.09.2022 [1].

Legal / Constitutional

Inclusion requires a Presidential Order amended by Parliament under Article 342(2); executive action alone is insufficient [1].
Madras HC (11.03.2025) reaffirmed that courts will not mandamus the executive to push a proposal where the RGI has not concurred [2].

Administrative / Federalism

Demonstrates co-operative federalism — State initiates, Centre disposes; RGI and NCST act as expert filters preventing arbitrary additions [1].
Bottleneck: RGI non-concurrence often based on lack of "primitive traits" or evidence the community is socio-economically advanced, as plausibly applied to Badagas.

Social

ST status unlocks reservation in education/employment, PVTG-type welfare schemes, PESA/FRA protections — hence community pressure across India for inclusion.
Risks: dilution of benefits for existing 6 PVTGs of Tamil Nadu (e.g., Toda, Kota, Kurumba, Irula, Paniyan, Kattunayakan) if a numerically dominant community is added.

Historical

Lokur Committee criteria (1965) remain the operative test despite calls for revision; a Task Force (2014) under the Tribal Affairs Ministry recommended fresh criteria but its report has not been adopted [1].

11.03.2025: Madras High Court dismisses writ petition on Badaga ST inclusion [2].
11.02.2026: MoS Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey's Rajya Sabha statement reiterating modalities and current status [1].

Modalities for SC/ST list modification first laid down on 15 June 1999 [1].
Modalities last amended on 14 September 2022 [1].
Badaga community is concentrated in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu [2].
Tamil Nadu's Badaga ST proposal was sent on 28 January 2021 [2].
Article 342 governs specification of STs; Article 338A establishes NCST [1].
Concurrence required from two bodies: RGI and NCST [1].
Nodal ministry is Ministry of Tribal Affairs (created 1999, bifurcated from Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment) [1].
Madras HC dismissed Badaga ST writ on 11 March 2025 [2].
Inclusion criteria still derive from the Lokur Committee, 1965.
Parliament alone can amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 [1].
The minister who delivered the Rajya Sabha statement is MoS Durgadas Uikey [1].

GS-II — "Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections, mechanisms for their protection and betterment"; Indian Constitution — features, amendments; statutory bodies (NCST).
GS-I — Society: Diversity of India; Scheduled Tribes.
Probable stems: 1. "Critically examine the procedure for inclusion of communities in the Scheduled Tribes list. Are the Lokur Committee criteria still relevant?" (GS-II, 250 words) 2. "Demands for ST status by non-tribal communities pose challenges of both equity and administrative integrity. Discuss with examples." (GS-I/II, 150 words) 3. "Discuss the role of the Registrar General of India and the NCST in modifications to the ST list." (GS-II)

Lokur Committee (1965) — operative criteria for ST identification.
NCST (Article 338A) — composition, powers, recent reports.
PVTGs — 75 groups, including 6 in Tamil Nadu.
Forest Rights Act, 2006 & PESA, 1996 — flow-through entitlements of ST status.
Article 342 and 5th/6th Schedules — constitutional architecture for tribes.
Recent ST list amendments — e.g., J&K ST Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Pahari, Paddari, Koli, Gadda Brahmin) for comparison.
Dhebar Commission (1960-61) and Bhuria Commission — historical context.
Hattee community (Himachal) — inclusion in 2022 as a comparable case.

Confusing the inclusion authority — it is Parliament by law, not the President alone, despite Article 342(1) wording.
Treating RGI concurrence as advisory — in practice it is a de facto veto; non-concurrence stops the file.
Mixing up nodal ministry — it is Ministry of Tribal Affairs, not Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (which handles SCs/OBCs).
Assuming Badagas are already ST — they are listed as BC in Tamil Nadu.
Confusing NCST (338A) with NCSC (338) or National Commission for Backward Classes (338B).