Internal differentiation and caste identity: creamy layer, sub-categorisation, and the politics of equality in India

Affirmative action in India has entered a new constitutional phase in which debates extend beyond access to reservations to the equitable distribution of benefits within constitutionally protected groups. This paper examines internal differentiation within Scheduled Caste (SC) reservations by analysing the constitutional debates surrounding creamy-layer exclusion and sub-categorisation in the context of the Supreme Court’s decision in State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh (Citation2024). Using a qualitative doctrinal and analytical approach, the study examines constitutional provisions, landmark Supreme Court judgments, and interdisciplinary scholarship on affirmative action, caste inequality, and political mobilisation. It traces the judicial evolution from Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (Citation1992) and E.V. Chinnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh (Citation2005) to Singh (Citation2024), while drawing on theories of distributive justice, recognition, and the capability approach to evaluate competing responses to intra-group inequality. The paper argues that creamy-layer exclusion and sub-categorisation represent distinct constitutional approaches to achieving substantive equality. While the former seeks to improve distributive targeting, its application to SCs remains contested because caste-based disadvantage cannot be reduced to economic advancement alone. By contrast, sub-categorisation seeks to improve the equitable distribution of reservation benefits while preserving collective constitutional protection. The study contends that Davinder Singh marks a constitutional shift from assumptions of homogeneity towards substantive equality by recognising heterogeneity within SCs. It establishes a new framework in which evidence-based policymaking, political mobilisation, and equitable distribution become central to the future development of affirmative action in India.