The Union Cabinet has set up a commission to create sub-categories in the Central list of the OBCs. It is a step forward and is in sync with the proposals submitted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The purpose is to address grievances of various fragments of OBCs. Such grievances among OBCs are in regard to reservations in Central Government jobs and educational institutions in the country. It may be noted that some state OBC lists already divide into subcategories. It has been laid down by a Supreme Court judgement that there is no constitutional bar to the OBC list being divided into subcategories. The system in the states where there are such subcategories has been found workable. Law does not create an obstacle.
The OBC list is a comprehensive umbrella and it includes about 5000 castes and different stages of social, political and economic development. It is assumed that the more empowered castes in the OBC list have garnered greater benefit. Subcategories can eradicate grievances on these grounds. Sub-categorisation however has to be done systematically and after scrutinising carefully all data covering income, education, empowerment, etc. under the law. Pressure groups should not be allowed to stand in the way of implementing the exercise. The Central OBC list was a compromise made under Prime Minister V.P Singh pursuant to the Mandal Committee recommendations. The list has expanded over the years under political pressure. The creamy layer concept has not worked out. The income bar of the OBC has been raised by governments in contradiction to the SC’s intervention. What is important is to ensure equality among OBC subcategories and that should not be vitiated by electoral politics.
