Chhattisgarh: Mahra, Mahara sub-communities to be included in Scheduled Castes list

In anticipation of the upcoming elections in Chhattisgarh, the central government is taking steps to rectify a long-standing anomaly by including two sub-communities of the state in the Scheduled Caste list. This move aims to address the issue of half of the Mahar community not being recognized as Dalits due to phonetic variations in their names. 

The Mahar and Mahara sub-groups of Chhattisgarh will be included in the Scheduled Caste list through a legislative process in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. The proposal, cleared by the Union Cabinet on May 31, received assent from the Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, following the recommendation of the Bhupesh Baghel government. 

Mahra and Mahara castes included in Scheduled Caste list  

According to sources, the Mahra and Mahara castes will be included as synonyms of Mahar, Mehar, and Mehra, which are already listed as Scheduled Castes in Chhattisgarh. This inclusion will address the long-standing grievance of almost half of the Mahar population in the state, who were previously deprived of the Dalit tag. As a result, they were unable to access reservations in employment, education, and other affirmative action benefits available to Scheduled Castes. 

In 2002, the central government approved a proposal from undivided Madhya Pradesh, issued a Gazette notification, and included the Mahara caste from Madhya Pradesh in the Scheduled Caste list. However, when Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000, this community was unintentionally left out, despite their presence in the Raipur and Bastar regions of the newly formed state. 

Likely to influence the election outcome 

Although the Mahra and Mahara communities are relatively small in size, they hold electoral significance as they are present in almost every Assembly constituency in the Bastar region. Their presence in significant numbers is likely to influence the outcomes of elections. 

With the anticipated passage of the bill in Parliament, the population of the Mahar community within the Scheduled Caste category will almost double. Currently, the Scheduled Caste population in Chhattisgarh stands at 32.74 lakh, accounting for 12.82% of the state's total population. The Mahar, Mehar, and Mehra population, which is to be included in the Scheduled Caste list, is currently around 2.45 lakh, and the Mahra and Mahara communities, to be newly included, comprise approximately 2 lakh individuals.