Report: Only few sub-castes able to get quota benefit

LUCKNOW: The four-member social justice committee set up by the BJP government in UP for categorizing various sub-castes within the OBC has suggested that of the total 27% quota meant for OBCs, only 7% reservation may be given to Yadavs and Kurmis.The panel is of the opinion that these two castes are not only culturally but also economically and politically influential. Yadavs form the core vote base of Samajwadi Party while Kurmis happen to be key voters of BJP ally, Apna Dal The committee, headed by Justice Raghvendra Kumar has, in all, categorized the OBCs into 79 sub-castes. The report is likely to be tabled by backward welfare minister and BJP ally, SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, in the winter session of the UP assembly which is scheduled to start from Tuesday. Rajbhar has also threatened to launch a mass agitation beginning December 24 if the recommendations of the committee are not implemented ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.The committee in its report submitted to the UP government has given maximum mileage to More Backward Castes including Lodh, Kushwaha and Teli, proposing 11% reservation for them. The 400-page report (TOI has a copy of it) says that employment opportunities to the More Backward Castes was just half of their population. The report adds that though some of the subcastes in the category were getting more job opportunities, are to be bracketed in the emerging ‘middle class’.The Most Backward Castes like Rajbhar, Ghosi and Qureshi (among Muslim community) are proposed to be given 9% reservation, the report says. According to the report, these communities are either engaged in class III or class IV category jobs or are completely jobless.CM Yogi Adityanath had ordered setting up of a committee to assess the possibility of quota within the OBC in June earlier this year, in a move aimed to consolidate the MBCs even as the BJP gears up to take on a grand alliance, mainly comprising SP and BSP.The report points out that some of the sub-caste within the OBC got socially, economically and educationally stronger after getting benefited by reservation provisions. The increase in their population and education level made them politically influential. It adds: "It has been seen that only a few sub-castes have been able to get benefit of reservation, while most of them have been left out.'' The report categorically makes a mention of 1977 when only 15% reservation was given to OBC. It was only in 1992 when OBC got 27% reservation following Supreme Court order in Indira Sawhney versus Union of India. In 1994, the report says, there were only 54 sub-castes within the OBC.It also points out that the first OBC commission (Kaka Kalelkar commission) set up by the Union government, following which an OBC commission was set up by the UP government in 1975. The commission, too, had divided OBCs into three categories in which backward caste had just one sub-caste, while eight sub-castes came under more backward caste category. The Most Backward Caste comprised 70 categories , the report says. Now, several castes have moved up the ladder.In 2002, the then CM Rajnath Singh had attempted a quota within quota for the MBCs. But the proposal couldn’t materialise. Political experts see the move by the ruling government to rattle the SP which enjoys the support of OBCs, mainly Yadavs.