BharatNotes What is Backward Classes?
"Backward Classes" is the constitutional umbrella term for groups of citizens who are socially and educationally backward and therefore eligible for affirmative action by the State. In practice it refers principally to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) — castes and communities other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes that suffer social and educational disadvantage. The Constitution deliberately leaves the term undefined, allowing identification through commissions and lists; the 102nd Amendment (2018) inserted Article 366(26C) defining "socially and educationally backward classes" (SEBCs).
Constitutional Provisions
| Provision | Content |
|---|---|
| Article 15(4) | Special provisions for SEBCs in education; inserted by the First Amendment Act, 1951 after the Champakam Dorairajan case |
| Article 16(4) | Reservation in public employment for backward classes inadequately represented in State services |
| Article 340 | President may appoint a commission to investigate conditions of backward classes |
| Article 338B | Constitutional NCBC (102nd Amendment, 2018) |
| Article 342A | Central and State lists of SEBCs (102nd Amendment, 2018; clarified by 105th Amendment, 2021) |
Evolution: Commissions and Judgments
The Kaka Kalelkar Commission (First Backward Classes Commission, set up on 29 January 1953) submitted its report in 1955, but it was not implemented for want of objective criteria. The Mandal Commission (constituted 1 January 1979 under B. P. Mandal) used 11 social, educational and economic indicators and recommended 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, implemented in central government jobs from 1990.
In Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (nine-judge bench, 16 November 1992), the Supreme Court upheld the 27 per cent OBC quota, capped total reservation at 50 per cent, mandated exclusion of the creamy layer, and held that reservation does not extend to promotions. Following the Court's direction, Parliament enacted the NCBC Act, 1993, creating a statutory commission; the 102nd Amendment (August 2018) elevated the NCBC to constitutional status under Article 338B.
Current Status
- Creamy layer: the income ceiling for OBC reservation is Rs 8 lakh per annum (last revised in 2017, as confirmed by the Government in Parliament, February 2022).
- 105th Amendment, 2021: after the Supreme Court's Maratha reservation verdict (Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil, May 2021) held that the 102nd Amendment gave only the Centre power to notify SEBC lists, Parliament restored the power of States and UTs to identify and maintain their own SEBC lists.
- Rohini Commission: constituted on 2 October 2017 under Article 340 to examine sub-categorisation of OBCs, it submitted its report to the President on 31 July 2023 (PIB); the report has not been made public. Media reports indicate it found a small fraction of OBC sub-castes cornering a disproportionate share of quota benefits.
UPSC Angle
This is a foundational concept that underpins questions on reservation policy, constitutional amendments (1st, 93rd, 102nd, 105th), constitutional bodies (NCBC), landmark judgments and Centre–State relations in identifying SEBCs. Mains answers gain depth by linking sub-categorisation, the creamy-layer debate and demands for a caste census to the principle of substantive equality.
