In a move bound to have far-reaching social impact, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has decided to grant the status of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to children with any one of their parents from the SC/ST category. Ministry sources say a proposal to this effect would be placed before the Cabinet for approval soon, allowing a child with non-SC father and SC mother to avail itself of the Government allowances given to those of the SC/ST category.

At present the father's caste determines the caste of an offspring. The ministry sources have justified the decision, saying, "The decision would go a long way in bridging the societal gap between the SC/ST and others."

The move is bound to ignite fresh controversy at a time when the Government is trying to douse the protests against quota in educational institutions and the private sector. The sources say since the prospects of reservation for SC/ST in the private sector are still mired in controversy, the ministry is working on a slew of alternative measures to project a friendly face to the "reserved" constituency.

Competing with Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh, who is pursuing his 'quotas-in-educational-institutions' agenda with missionary zeal, Social Justice Minister Meira Kumar has decided to provide 49.5 per cent reservation to OBCs, SCs and STs in voluntary organisations and institutions getting grants-in-aid from the Government. Her Ministry is also considering an increase in the share of SC/ST reservation in view of an increase in their overall population as per the Census 2001.

Officials in the ministry say, as the next step, the Government would apply the same principle in deciding the caste of children whose father or mother belong to OBC category. "In such cases too, the children will be treated as an OBC," says an official, adding, "But no formal decision has yet been taken to on this as of now."

In December 2005, the Supreme Court held that an Upper Caste Hindu woman cannot get SC/ST status just because she marries a man from that community and she can't claim benefits of reservation. A bench comprising Justice SB Sinha and PK Balasubramanyan had said: "No person who is not an SC/ST by birth will be deemed a member of SC/ST merely because he or she marries a person belonging to SC/ST."

The apex court set aside a Delhi High Court order, which conferred the benefit of reservation meant for the scheduled castes on an Upper Caste woman to contest municipal elections from a reserved constituency on the grounds of her being married to a Scheduled Caste. "It is one thing to say a woman belonging to a forward caste has been accepted by the community to which her husband belongs, it is quite another to say her marriage has been accepted only by her husband's family," the Bench said.