Consider the following statements:

1. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are two States with maximum population of the Scheduled Castes.

2. Punjab has the highest ratio of the Scheduled Caste population to its total population.

3. There was a provision for setting up a National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes under the Article 338 of the Constitution of India. However, by a Constitutional Amendment Act, separate National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes have been set up.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Solution

Note: This answer is per the current information as in 2022. • Utar Pradesh stands first with 20.5% of the total scheduled caste (SC) population, followed by West Bengal with 10.7%. - Bihar with 8.2% and Tamil Nadu with 7.2 % come third and fourth. Thus, statement 1 is not correct. • As per Census 2011, the State of Punjab, has the highest percentage of Scheduled Caste population amongst all the States of the Country. - The Scheduled Caste population in Punjab is 88.60 lakh which is 31.94% of the total population i.e. 277.43 lakh of the State. • The 65th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1990 provided for the establishment of a high level multi-member National Commission for SCs and STs under Article 338 in the place of a single Special Officer for SCs and STs. - Later the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003 bifurcated the combined National Commission for SCs and STs into two separate bodies, namely, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (under Article 338) and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (under Article 338-A).