The Scheduled Castes (SCs) are various officially designated groups of historically disadvantaged indigenous people in India. According to Census of India, 2011, the SCs population in India is 16.6 per cent, and in Punjab, 31.9 per cent population (88,60,179 people) of the state belongs to SCs which is the highest proportion of SCs population among all the states and union territories. There are thirty nine Scheduled Castes notified in the state of Punjab. In absolute numbers, Punjab holds 10th rank and accounts for 4.4 per cent of the total SC population of the country. The growth rate of the SC population during the decade of 2001-2011 at 26.1 per cent is higher by 12.2 per cent if compared to the overall growth rate of the total population in the state.