UPSC Prelims 2024 Q84: Scheduled Tribes & Article 342 — Explained

Consider the following statements:

1. It is the Governor of the State who recognizes and declares any community of that State as a Scheduled Tribe.

2. A community declared as a Scheduled Tribe in a State need not be so in another State.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (b) 2 only

Statement-wise explanation

  • 1: incorrect — Under Article 342(1), the President specifies Scheduled Tribes by public notification, State by State. In the case of a State, the President consults the Governor before doing so. Consultation does not make the Governor the authority who recognises and declares a tribe. Once the list is notified, only Parliament can include or exclude a community by law under Article 342(2). A later executive notification cannot change it.
  • 2: correct — Article 342 lists tribes as Scheduled Tribes 'in relation to that State or Union territory'. Each State therefore has its own list. For example, the Santhals are an ST in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal but not in Assam. The Supreme Court has held that a person's ST status is tied to the State for which the community is notified. It does not move with the person to another State.
  • none: correct — (Placeholder removed)

How to eliminate

This question can only be solved by knowing Article 342. Statement 1 is worded to sound right because the Governor does have a role: the President must consult the Governor. The trap is the verbs 'recognizes and declares'. That power belongs to the President, and changing the list afterwards belongs to Parliament. Statement 2 can be reached from basic knowledge. Tribal communities are concentrated in particular regions, and the wording 'in relation to that State' is the core of Article 342. Remember: the President notifies, the Governor is only consulted, and Parliament amends. Each State and Union Territory has its own list.

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How a community becomes a Scheduled Tribe

The Constitution does not define 'tribe'. Article 366(25) says Scheduled Tribes are the communities deemed to be STs under Article 342. The first lists came with the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. Since then, changes have been made by Acts of Parliament amending that Order.

Stage Who acts
First notification for a State/UT President, after consulting the Governor (Art. 342(1))
Proposal to include or exclude a community State/UT government
Scrutiny Ministry of Tribal Affairs → Registrar General of India → National Commission for STs
Final change to the list Parliament, by law (Art. 342(2))

The Union government laid down these steps in 1999 and amended them in 2002 and 2022. A proposal moves forward only if both the Registrar General of India and the NCST agree. The Union Cabinet then approves a Bill.

Criteria. No statute sets them. In practice, the Lokur Committee (1965) tests are applied: primitive traits, a distinct culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the wider community, and backwardness.

Lists are State-specific. The same community can be an ST in one State and not in another. It can also be an ST only in some districts of a State (an 'area restriction'). When a person migrates to another State, their ST status does not go with them.

Scale. Census 2011 recorded 10.43 crore STs, 8.6% of India's population. There is no ST list for Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh or Puducherry.

Article 341 works the same way for Scheduled Castes. UPSC can turn either one into a question.

In the news

In February 2024, a few months before the exam, Parliament passed Bills amending the Scheduled Tribes Orders. One added the Pahari Ethnic Group, Paddari Tribe, Koli and Gadda Brahmin communities to the ST list of Jammu and Kashmir. Another amended Andhra Pradesh's list. These Bills made the Article 342 procedure, and who actually decides ST status, a topical question.

NCERT Concepts to Revise

  • Scheduled Tribes: Both statements turn on who notifies STs under Article 342 and for which territory the notification applies.
  • Lokur Committee (1965): The Lokur tests are the working criteria used to judge any proposal to add a community to a State's ST list.
  • National Commission for Scheduled Tribes: The NCST is a mandatory stage in the inclusion process, which helps you place the Governor's role correctly.
  • Distribution of Scheduled Tribes: Shows how unevenly ST communities are spread across States, which bears directly on Statement 2.
  • Scheduled Areas: Governors have real powers in Fifth Schedule areas, which is why a Governor-centred statement sounds plausible.

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