Tamil Nadu Timeline

Social ReformDMK-AIADMK alternation

Separate 1 percent reservation for Scheduled Tribes

· Chennai

The Karunanidhi government split the combined SC/ST quota and gave Scheduled Tribes a separate 1 percent reservation.

Until 1990 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu shared a single reservation quota. In 1990 the Karunanidhi government separated the two, giving Scheduled Tribes a distinct 1 percent quota. The aim was to ensure that tribal communities, a small share of the state's population, received a defined share of seats and posts. It followed the creation of a separate 20 percent quota for Most Backward Classes in 1989.

Related events

  1. 1970

    1. 1970ChennaiEducation

      SC and ST students exempted from tuition fees

      A 1970 Government Order exempted Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students up to the Pre-University Course from paying tuition fees.

  2. 1971

    1. 1971ChennaiSocial Reform

      Reservation raised to 49 percent

      The DMK government raised the backward classes quota from 25 to 31 percent and the SC/ST quota from 16 to 18 percent.

  3. 1979

    1. Jul 1979 to 21 Jan 1980ChennaiSocial Reform

      Income ceiling introduced for backward class reservation

      The MGR government introduced an annual income ceiling to exclude better-off families from backward class reservation.

  4. 1980

    1. 21 Jan 1980ChennaiSocial Reform

      Income ceiling withdrawn, backward class quota raised to 50%

      After electoral setbacks, the MGR government withdrew the income ceiling and raised the backward class quota from 31% to 50%.

  5. 1989

    1. 1989ChennaiSocial Reform

      Separate 20% quota for Most Backward Classes

      The DMK government split the 50% backward class quota into 30% for Backward Classes and 20% for Most Backward Classes and Denotified Communities.

  6. 2009

    1. 2009ChennaiSocial Reform

      Internal reservation for Arunthathiyars

      Tamil Nadu set aside 3 percent within the Scheduled Caste quota for the Arunthathiyar community.

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