OBC Reservation -A Brief History

Historical necessity

Article 340 of the Indian Constitution:
It is obligatory for the government to promote the welfare of the Other Backward Classes (OBC). 
Talk of implementing welfare measures to this section (OBC) has ignited resentment especially among the high castes. 
This Article 340 provided the constitutional legitimacy for setting up Mandal Commission.
Article 340(1) The President may by order appoint a commission, consisting of such persons as he thinks, fit to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India and the difficulties under which they labour and to make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by the union or any state to remove such difficulties and as to improve ‘their condition and as to the grants that should be made, and the order appointing such commission shall define the procedure to be followed by the commission.  Article 340(2) A commission so appointed shall investigate the matters referred to them and present to the president a report setting out the facts as found by them and making such recommendations as they think proper. 

History of the Reservations System

The Reservation system has a long history and has been debated before and after Indian Independence from the British in 1947.
Reservations in favor of Backward Classes (BCs) were introduced long before independence in a large area, comprising the Presidency areas and the Princely states south of the Vindhyas. In 1882, Hunter Commission was appointed. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule  made a demand of free and compulsory education for everyone along with proportionate reservation in government jobs.In 1891, there was a demand for reservation of government jobs with an agitation (in the princely State of Travancore) against the recruitment of non-natives into public service overlooking qualified native people. In 1901,reservations were introduced in Maharashtra (in the Princely State of Kolhapur) by  Shahu Mahsraj, Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj , Maharaja of Kolhapur in M aharashtra introduced reservation in favour of non-Brahmin and backward classes as early as 1902. He provided free education to everyone and opened several hostels in Kolhapur to make it easier for everyone to receive the education. He also made sure everyone got suitable employment no matter what social class they belonged. He also appealed for a class-free India and the abolition of untouchability. The notification of 1902 created 50% reservation in services for backward classes/communities in the State of Kolhapur. This is the first official instance (Government Order) providing for reservation for depressed classes in India. In 1908, reservations were introduced in favour of a number of castes and communities that had little share in the administration by the British. There were many other reforms in favor of and against reservations before the Indian Independence itself. To get a list of pre-Indian Independence reservation policies visit.

Even after the Indian Independence there were some major changes in favor of the STs, SCs and OBCs. One of the most important occurred in 1979 when the Mandal Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward classes The commission did not have exact figures for a sub-caste, known as the Other Backward Classes (OBC), and used the 1930census data, further classifying 1,257 communities as backward, to estimate the OBC population at 52% In 1980 the commission submitted a report, and recommended changes to the existing quotas , increasing them from 22% to 49.5%. As of 2006 number of castes in Backward class list went up to 2297 which is the increase of 60% from community list prepared by Mandal commission. But it wasn't until the 1990's that the recommendations of the Mandala Commission were implemented in Government Jobs by Vishwanath Pratap Singh  Many states wanted to change their reservation policies, and in 2010 the Supreme Court held that if the state wants to frame rules regarding reservation in promotions and consequential seniority, it has to provide quantifiable data that is there is backwardness, inadequacy of representation in public employment and overall administrative inefficiency. Unless such an exercise is undertaken by the state government, the rules in promotions and consequential seniority cannot be introduced.

Sachar Committee Report-

The Rajinder Sachar Committee, appointed in 2005 by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , was commissioned to prepare a report on the latest social, economic and educational condition of the Muslim community of India. The commettee was headed by the former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar, including other six members.The committee prepared a report of 403 pages, and presented in the Lower house (Lok Sabha)  of the Indian Parliament on 30 November 2006 (20 months after obtaining the terms of reference from the PMO )
The committee had highlighted and presented its suggestions and solutions to include and mainstream Indian Muslims.  The online report is available from the Indian Government website. The report is first of its kind revealing the backwardness of Indian Muslims, according to Sachar Committee report some of the major concerns are:

• The statuses of Indian Muslims are below the conditions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• The overall percentage of Muslims in bureaucracy in India is just 2.5 % where as Muslims constitute above 14% of Indian population.

To ensure equity and equality of opportunities to Indian Muslims in residential, work and educational sector, the Committee had proposed multiple suggestions to be adopted, with suitable mechanisms.
There is a lot of discussions and debates goes on the Sachar Committee Report. There are follow-up actions taken based on Committee findings like the Finance Minister P.Chidambaram , action funding for National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC).