A Tangled Web

The conflict between two dalit communities of Andhra Pradesh - the malas, who have had the lion's share of the scheduled caste quotas of jobs and educational opportunities and the madigas, who have agitated for castewise division of the quotas - could perhaps have been resolved socially. But thanks to the recourse taken to executive fiat and legislation a tangled web, involving not only the two communities and the state government but also the higher judiciary, the central government and the national commission for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, has been woven.