Earlier this week, the BJP-led Mahayuti government set up a new committee to examine the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs). The move likely stems from three converging factors: a Supreme Court ruling that enabled the move, long-standing concerns over unequal access to reservation benefits within Dalit communities, and a political imperative shaped by Dalit voting patterns after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which saw the party’s tally dip to nine from 23 in 2019. The Devendra Fadnavis Cabinet on Wednesday announced a new committee, led by Chief Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, to examine representations on the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs). The panel has been asked to submit its report within a month. The move follows the submission of a report by an earlier committee headed by retired judge Anant Manohar Badar. This panel was constituted after a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that permitted states to create sub-categories within SC reservations. The Badar committee, appointed in October 2024 by the then Eknath Shinde-led government days before the Assembly elections, was tasked with preparing a draft framework …