<P> In 1935, Parliament passed the Government of India Act 1935, designed to give Indian provinces greater self - rule and set up a national federal structure . The reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes was incorporated into the act, which came into force in 1937 . The Act introduced the term "Scheduled Castes", defining the group as "such castes, races or tribes or parts of groups within castes, races or tribes, which appear to His Majesty in Council to correspond to the classes of persons formerly known as the' Depressed Classes', as His Majesty in Council may prefer". This discretionary definition was clarified in The Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936, which contained a list (or Schedule) of castes throughout the British - administered provinces . </P> <P> After independence the Constituent Assembly continued the prevailing definition of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, giving (via articles 341 and 342) the president of India and governors of the states a mandate to compile a full listing of castes and tribes (with the power to edit it later, as required). The complete list of castes and tribes was made via two orders: The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, respectively . Furthermore, independent India's quest for inclusivity was incident through the appointment of B.R Ambedkar as the chair of the drafting committee for the Constitution . Ambedkar was a Dalit constitutional lawyer, a member of the low regarded Untouchables . </P> <P> The Constitution provides a three - pronged strategy to improve the situation of SCs and STs: </P> <Ul> <Li> Protective arrangements: Such measures as are required to enforce equality, to provide punitive measures for transgressions, to eliminate established practices that perpetuate inequities, etc . A number of laws were enacted to implement the provisions in the Constitution . Examples of such laws include The Untouchability Practices Act, 1955, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, etc . Despite legislation, social discrimination and atrocities against the backward castes continued to persist . </Li> <Li> Affirmative action: Provide positive treatment in allotment of jobs and access to higher education as a means to accelerate the integration of the SCs and STs with mainstream society . Affirmative action is popularly known as reservation . Article 16 of the Constitution states "nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provisions for the reservation of appointments or posts in favor of any backward class of citizens, which, in the opinion of the state, is not adequately represented in the services under the State". The Supreme Court upheld the legality of affirmative action and the Mandal Commission (a report that recommended that affirmative action not only apply to the Untouchables, but the other backward castes as well). However, the reservations from affirmative action were only allotted in the public sector, not the private . </Li> <Li> Development: Provide resources and benefits to bridge the socioeconomic gap between the SCs and STs and other communities . Major part played by the Hidayatullah National Law University . Legislation to improve the socioeconomic situation of SCs and STs because twenty - seven percent of SC and thirty - seven percent of ST households lived below the poverty line, compared to the mere eleven percent among other households . Additionally, not only were backward castes poorer than other groups in Indian society, but they also suffered from higher morbidity and mortality rates . </Li> </Ul>

Definition of scheduled tribe in the constitution of india