The concept of Scheduled Tribes (STs) is a constitutional provision in India, defined in Article 366(25) as those tribes or tribal communities deemed to be STs under Article 342 for the purposes of the Constitution. The term first appeared in the Constitution of India in 1950, replacing earlier colonial-era terms like "backward tribes." The provision was created to address the extreme social, educational, and economic backwardness of these communities, many of whom lived in geographical isolation, by providing special safeguards and assistance.
The mechanism for identifying STs is laid out in Article 342. The President of India, after consulting with the Governor of a State, specifies the list of STs for that State or Union Territory by public notification (Article 342(1)). Parliament holds the exclusive power to include or exclude any community from this list by enacting a law (Article 342(2)). The criteria for specification, though not explicitly in the Constitution, include indications of primitive traits, a distinctive culture, and geographical isolation.
The ST concept is intrinsically linked to affirmative action provisions, such as reservations in education, employment, and political representation (Article 15(4), Article 16(4A), Article 330, Article 332), and the administration of tribal areas under the Fifth and Sixth Schedules. A key related institution is the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), a constitutional body established by the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, which inserted Article 338A to separate it from the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. The list of STs is dynamic; for instance, in February 2024, Parliament passed bills to amend the list in Odisha and the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, adding and modifying several communities.