Caste system

Story hook

It is 7 August 1990. Prime Minister V.P. Singh stands in the Lok Sabha and reads a statement that will reshape Indian politics for decades: the Mandal Commission Report (1980) — shelved for ten years — is being implemented. 27% reservation in central government jobs and educational institutions for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) will take effect immediately, on top of existing 22.5% for SC + ST. Total reservation now ~49.5%.

Within days, anti-Mandal protests sweep North India. Rajiv Goswami, a 19-year-old Delhi University student, attempts self-immolation on 19 September 1990 in protest. Over 300 students set themselves on fire in the following weeks. 160 deaths are recorded. V.P. Singh's government falls in November 1990, partly over the Mandal aftermath.

In November 1992, the 9-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India upholds the 27% OBC reservation but imposes critical limits: (a) total reservation cannot exceed 50%, (b) creamy layer must be excluded, (c) reservation in promotion is barred for new recruitment. The judgment becomes the foundational text on reservation jurisprudence.

For UPSC, the caste system + reservation policy is one of the most intensively-tested topics across all papers. Mains GS-I asks about social structure; GS-II asks about constitutional provisions

• welfare schemes; GS-III asks about economic backwardness + employment patterns; the Essay paper has had reservation as a topic. This file covers caste structure, constitutional provisions, key cases, recent amendments (EWS 2019, Maratha 2021), and contemporary debates.

Why this matters for UPSC

The caste system is India's most distinctive social institution. Three reasons it's heavily UPSC-tested:

Constitutional: Articles 14, 15, 16, 17, 25, 46, 330, 332, 335, 338, 338A, 340. Plus Schedules V + VI for tribes.

Policy: Reservation in education + employment + politics (Lok Sabha seats reserved for SC/ST since Constitution; women's reservation 106th Amendment 2023). Sub-categorisation debate.

Sociological: Caste's persistence despite ~75 years of constitutional commitment to equality; transformations (urbanisation, inter-caste marriage, Dalit assertion).

This file covers Varna-Jati structure, untouchability + Article 17, constitutional provisions, reservation framework (SC/ST 22.5%, OBC 27%, EWS 10%), key cases (Mandal 1992, Indra Sawhney; Janhit Abhiyan EWS 2022; Maratha 2021), Mandal Commission, OBC sub- categorisation, and recent debates.