Removing students belonging to the Devendra Kula Vellalar community from the Scheduled Caste list may result in them competing for reservation among a bigger population of students with a traditionally better average performance in examinations.
The Census does not record population figures for Most Backward Classes (MBCs) and Backward Classes (BCs) and only tabulates them for SCs, STs and religious minorities. The Hindu used data from the Tamil Nadu government’s RTI disclosure documents to arrive at the figures. The document based on the 2001 Census pegs the population of the MBC/DNC and SC as shown in Table 1 below.
The seven sub-castes that Dr. Krishnasamy wants to be clubbed as Devendrakula Vellalars — Pallar, Kudumbar, Pannadi, Kaalaadi, Kadayar, Devendrakulatar and Vadhiriyaar — constitute at least 17.07% of the SC community according to Census 2011. Assuming no major changes in the fertility and death rate of both the communities, the addition of this community to the MBC list would necessitate an expansion of the quota and/or a sub-quota for the community among the MBCs.
Analysis of medical seats
Data in Table 2 shows that in all the last four academic years, the average marks secured by MBC/DNC students have always surpassed that of the average marks secured by SC students. Thus, if the move were to go ahead, the students of the Devendra Kula Vellalar community will compete against students who are securing higher marks on an average when compared to the students in the SC list in which they belong now.
The difference was stark during the 2017-18 medical admissions which saw the introduction of NEET in Tamil Nadu. While the average marks secured by the students of the SC community who secured medical seats was 249, the figure stood at 300 for students from the MBC/DNC community. The introduction of NEET has therefore added a layer of difficulty for students of the Devendrakula Vellalar community if they choose to move to the MBC community.
