Private trains could be a setback for Dalits and tribals, fear activists

With the launch of private trains, many Dalits feel an important mobilisation tool will be lost to them forever.

When the semi-high-speed and fully air-conditioned Tejas Express between New Delhi and Lucknow began running under private operators through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), there were some protests, though they failed to gather momentum.

But now, Dalit and tribal activists are considering how to fight off a move that might spell an end to a major organisational tool that Dalits and tribals have used since Independence to empower themselves — reservations for the two categories in the Indian Railways, the largest government employer of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC and ST).

Of the 1.27 million staff/officers in the