Other Backward Classes
Other Backward Classes — reservation, sub-categorisation
Story hook
It is 7 August 1990. Prime Minister V.P. Singh rises in Parliament to announce that his government will implement the Mandal Commission Report — 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes in Central Government jobs. Within hours, Rajiv Goswami, a Delhi University student, sets himself on fire outside Deshbandhu College. Over 159 self-immolations follow over the next three months. The country tilts on the axis of caste-based affirmative action.
Cut to 1 January 2017. The Modi government appoints Justice G. Rohini to head a Commission under Article 340 to sub-categorise the OBC list — to split the 27% into pockets reserved for the most-deprived OBC sub-groups. The Commission's tenure extended 14 times to date; the report submitted in August 2023 awaits political action.
For UPSC, OBCs are the largest under-served group — estimated 41-52% of India's population (Mandal 1980 said 52%; NSSO 2006 said 41%; Bihar caste survey 2023 said 63% in that state). The 27% reservation, the Indra Sawhney 9-judge bench (1992), the 102nd Amendment 2018 (constitutionalising NCBC), the 103rd EWS Amendment 2019 (which excludes OBCs from its 10% quota), the 105th Amendment 2021 (restoring state power to identify SEBC), and the Rohini Commission 2017-23 are all examinable.
Why this matters for UPSC
Prelims: Articles 15(4), 16(4), 16(5), 340, 342A, 366(26C), 338B; NCBC; 102nd, 103rd, 105th Amendments; Indra Sawhney; Rohini Commission; creamy layer.
Mains GS-II: 2017 asked "Implementation of Constitution provisions for backward classes." 2021: "Justify the role of NCBC post-102nd Amendment." 2023: "Sub-categorisation of OBCs — imperative or fragmentation?"
Interview: Mandal-Kamandal politics, caste census, Bihar caste survey 2023, EWS-OBC overlap, creamy layer.
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