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A division bench of the Rajasthan High Court issued notices on 18 September 2026 to the State government and other authorities on a petition seeking a 9% sub-quota for the Bhil community within Rajasthan's existing 12% Scheduled Tribe reservation.
The bench of Justice Indrajeet Singh and Justice Sandeep Taneja issued notices to the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary (Personnel), the ST Commission and the Union government.
The petitioners, members of the Adivasi Bhil Reservation Struggle Committee, contend that the Meena community corners the overwhelming share of ST reservation benefits in the state.
The Bhils are the largest tribal group in India, making up about 38% of the country's Scheduled Tribe population as per Census 2011.
The plea sits in the space opened by the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling permitting states to sub-classify reserved categories on the basis of backwardness within them.
The President, by public notification and after consultation with the Governor, specifies the tribes or tribal communities deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to a state. Only Parliament may include a community in, or exclude one from, that list - a state government cannot alter it.
Permit the State to make special provision for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes and for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and to reserve appointments for any backward class inadequately represented in the services. Reservation percentages rest on these enabling provisions.
Laid down the general ceiling of 50% on reservations and the exclusion of the creamy layer for other backward classes - the doctrinal backdrop against which any new sub-quota is tested.
A seven-judge Constitution Bench held that states may sub-classify within reserved categories to give preference to the more backward among them, provided the classification rests on quantifiable data. This is the ruling that makes a demand like the Bhil sub-quota legally arguable rather than foreclosed.
The constitutional body that investigates and monitors safeguards for Scheduled Tribes and advises on their socio-economic development; an ST Commission is among the respondents noticed by the High Court.
The Bhil belt runs along the hill country where four states meet - southern Rajasthan, western Madhya Pradesh, eastern Gujarat and northern Maharashtra. It follows the southernmost Aravallis, the western Vindhya and Satpura uplands and the northern edge of the Western Ghats, spilling into the adjoining river valleys.
GS Paper 1 > Society - diversity of India, tribal communities; GS Paper 2 > Welfare schemes and mechanisms for vulnerable sections; reservation policy
General Awareness > Indian Polity, tribes and current affairs
The provisions in Fifth Schedule and Sixth Schedule in the Constitution of India are made in order to
Answer: protect the interests of Scheduled Tribes
"Ghoomar" is a traditional folk dance of which state?
Answer: Rajasthan
"Ghoomar" is a folk dance of which tribe?
Answer: Bhil Tribe
With reference to 'Changpa' community of India, consider the following statements: 1. They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand. 2. They rear the Pashmina goats that yield a fine wool. 3. They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: 2 and 3 only
Which state recorded the highest tribal population as per Census 2011?
Answer: Madhya Pradesh
Dividing a reserved category into groups so that the more backward among them get a distinct share; permitted by the Supreme Court in 2024 if based on quantifiable data.
The Indo-Aryan language of the Bhils, with dialects influenced by Rajasthani and Marathi but apparently originating in Gujarati.
The principal Bhil festival, held around Shivaratri in January or February in southern Rajasthan.