11. What were the major findings of these commissions?

a. Sattanathan Commission

i. Formed in 1969 by the DMK government under M Karunanidhi

ii. Noted that a few castes were taking up the lion’s share of reservation benefits

iii. The Commission found that the Most Backward Classes had a very small presence in state services and professional colleges as they were clubbed together with other castes.

iv. Recommended a separate educational and employment reservation of 16 per cent for MBCs and 17 per cent for BCs (From 1951 onwards, reservation for the Backward Classes was 25 per cent till then)

v. In 1971, the DMK government hiked the reservation for Backward Classes from 25 per cent to 31 per cent and for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from 16 per cent to 18 per cent.

vi. Recommended the removal of the ‘creamy layer’— families of salaried persons whose annual income exceeded Rs 9,000, landowners with more than 10 acres of land and business people with taxable income exceeding Rs 9,000.

b. Ambasankar Commission

i. In 1980, M G Ramachandran’s AIADMK government increased the reservation for BCs from 31 per cent to 50 per cent after their defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

ii. In 1982, the Supreme Court directed the state government to constitute the second Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission to examine the issue of reservations exceeding 50 per cent. Ambasankar was its chairman.

iii. It was found that of the total number among the Backward Classes students admitted to professional courses, more than three-fourths were from a small number of Backward Classes (34 out of 222 then) accounting for only about two-fifths of the Backward Classes population in the state.

iv. The commission identified castes that formed the creamy layer and recommended that they be removed from the list of beneficiaries.

v. The employment and educational status of the BCs in 1980-81 is available in the report as a benchmark.

vi. Considering the commission's estimate of the BC population as 67 per cent and the majority members’ recommendation for 67 per cent reservation, the government issued orders to continue the existing 50 per cent reservation for BCs.

vii. The government added 29 communities to the BCs list, without deleting any recommended for deletion

viii. The government also retained the existing list of MBCs within the BCs list without granting any separate reservation for the MBCs.

ix. This led to the Vanniyar Sangam protests in 1988.

c. Venkatakrishnan Commission

i. Formed after the violent Vanniyar protests of 1988, by governor P C Alexander to enumerate the Most Backward Classes in Tamil Nadu. The state was under President’s rule then.

ii. Vanniyars demanded an interim solution. In 1989, chief minister M Karunanidhi wound up the commission and legislated a 20 per cent reservation of MBCs (which includes Vanniyars) from the 50 per cent for BCs.

d. Janardhanam-led Permanent Commission at various times:

i. In 2007, recommended 3.5 per cent reservation each for BC Muslims and BC Christians, carved from the BC quota of 30 per cent.

ii. In 2009, suggested a 3 per cent sub-quota for Arunthathiyars from the SC quota of 19 per cent. (Here is more)

iii. In 2011, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa issued a Government Order that the 69 per cent reservation will continue without elimination of the creamy layer, though the Supreme Court gave only one year’s time. This was based on a report by the then commission that Janarthanam was chairing.