NEW DELHI: With the Rohini Commission, which looks into the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) getting another extension for the thirteenth time in a row, the government seems to be dragging its feet on the vexed issue of categorising OBCs. With nine assembly elections this year and Lok Sabha polls lined up next year, the development assumes significance as any OBC categorisation will have political ramifications for the ruling BJP government at the Centre.
Though the commission was expected to submit its report on January 31, it has now got a six- month extension till July 31. As there is very limited data on various OBC categories, the Justice G Rohini Commission, which was set up in 2017 was tasked with forming scientific data on sub-categories and ensuring equitable redistribution of 27 percent of quota benefits among all sub-communities. Though the panel was to submit its report by January 2, 2018, it has missed several deadlines since then.
In the last six years, the commission has gotten many extensions around the time of state or parliamentary elections, so that the electoral outcomes are not affected. BJP insiders say that as the party is planning a major OBC push in the 2024 general elections, it wouldn’t want to upset any caste equations.
“The party can’t afford to lose the support of the influential OBC communities, which has been a force behind BJP’s electoral gains since 2014,” he says. In July last year, the commission’s tenure was extended till January 31, 2023, even without a demand from the panel on the same.
When asked about the reason for extending the tenure of the panel till July 31, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale did not offer any specific reason to this newspaper. In an interview with this paper last year, Athawale had said that the report is getting delayed as the Centre gave the panel an additional mandate of recommending corrections for repetitions and inconsistencies in the OBC list.
According to a 2018 report, 37 percent of the 2,600 communities in the OBC central list have zero representation in jobs and institutes. It also shows that only 2.68 percent of reservation has been availed by 994 castes. A senior BJP leader told this paper that though the party was expecting to build political support from marginalised OBC groups with this move, it can’t invite the ire of dominant groups with categorisation.
BJP’s political adversary in Bihar, JD (U) leader K C Tyagi told this daily that the Centre extended the tenure of the panel fearing political ramifications.
“Not only Yadavs and Jats, Kurmis, Kushwahas, and other communities will be also sub categorized if the study is undertaken. It will also reveal the actual number of OBCs. The BJP doesn’t want to squander its chances,” says Tyagi.
More significantly, the Bihar government’s ongoing caste census to enumerate different castes will also lead to the realignment of castes beyond the state. The demand for a nationwide caste census is also gaining ground among BJP’s allies in states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Pronab Sen, former chief statistician and former chairman of the National Statistical Council told this paper that if the Rohini Commission report has to be implemented, a caste census needs to be done first.
“We still don’t have scientific data on the population of different castes. Even if the Rohini commission report is to be implemented, data is needed,” said Sen.
Though the UPA government 2011 conducted a caste count (the Socio-Economic Caste Census), the data never saw the light of day. Several political parties have been demanding a caste census as they say that the reservation policies are based on the 1931 census, which estimated the OBC population at 52 per cent in the country.