Guidelines for Consideration of requests for Inclusion and complaints of under Inclusion in the central list of OBCs

The commission, after studying the criteria/indicators framed by the Mandal commission and the commissions set up in the past by different state Governments and other relevant materials, formulated the following guidelines for considering requests for inclusion in the list of Other Backward Classes:-

A. SOCIAL


1. Castes and communities, generally considered as socially backward.

2. (a) Castes and communities, which mainly depend on agricultural and/or other manual labour for their livelihood and are lacking any significant resource base.

(b) Castes and communities, which, for their livelihood, mainly depend on agricultural and/or other manual labour for wage and are lacking any significant base.

(c) Castes and communities, the women of which, as a general practice, are for their family’s livelihood, engaged in agricultural and/or other manual labour, for wage.

(d) Castes and communities, the children of which, as a general practice, are, for family’s livelihood or for supplementing family’s low income, mainly engaged in agricultural and/or manual labour.

(e) Castes and communities, which in terms of caste system, are identified with traditional crafts or traditional or hereditary occupations considered to be lowly or undignified.

(f) Castes and communities, which in terms of the caste system, are identified with tradtional or hereditary occupations considered to be ‘unclean’ or stigmatised.

(g) Nomadic and semi-nomadic castes and communities.

(h) Denotified or Vimukta Jati castes and communities

Explanation: The term refers to castes/communities which had been categorised as Criminal Tribes under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1924, Act No. VI of 1924, passed by the Indian Legislature and repealed by the Criminal Tribes (Repeal) Act, 1952, Act No. XXIV of 1952 and subsequently refered to as Denotified or Vimukta Jatis.

3. Castes and communities, having no representation or poor representation in the State Legislative Assembly and/or district-level Panchayati Raj institutions during the ten years preceding the date of the application

Explanation : This is only intended to measure, as an indicator, the presence of a caste or community these bodies.

The term “poor representation” may be taken to refer to a caste or community whose presence in the body is less than 25% of its proportion in the population.

B. EDUCATIONAL

1. Castes and communities, whose literacy rate is at least 8% less than the State or district average.

2. Castes and communities of which the proportion of matriculates is at least 20% less than the State or district average.

3. Castes and communities, of which the proportion of graduates is at least 20% less than the State or district average.

2. Castes and communities, the share of whose members in number of cases and in extent of agricultural lands surrendered under the Agricultural Land Ceiling Act of the State, is nil or significantly low.

3. Castes and communities, the share of whose members in State Government posts and services of Groups A & B/Classes I & II, is not equal to the population-equivalent proportion of the caste/community.

D. ILLUSTRATION

Population-equivalent proportion

Population of a State                                             10,00,0000
Population of the caste/community under
consideration in the State                                       1,00,000

Proportion of the population of the caste/
community under consideration to the total
population of the State                                          10%

Number of posts in Class-I in the State                     1,000

Therefore, population equivalent proportion
of Class-I posts in the State in respect of the
caste/community under consideration                       100

Explanation-1: In the case illustrated above, if members belonging to the caste/community under consideration hold 100 Class-1 posts or more, its share is equal to or more than its population-equivalent proportion.

In that case that caste/community will not be considered to have fulfilled this indicator of backwardness.

In the case illustrated above, if the members of the caste/community under consideration have 99 Classes-1 posts or less, its share is less than its population-equivalent proportion and will, therefore, be considered to have fulfilled this criterion of backwardness.

Explanation-2: This guideline is only an indicator to assess backwardness or its absence and has no relation to the condition of inadequacy under Article 16(4).

Explanation-3: The population-equivalent proportion of posts may be composed of posts secured through merit only or through reservation only or through both – figures need to be furnished separately for posts secured through merit/posts secured through both – figures need to be furnished separately for posts secured through merit/posts secured through reservation.

In addition to the above, arising from Article 16(4) the following conditions have also to be fulfilled:
Castes and communities, which are not/are inadequately represented in the Central Government posts & services of
Group A & B
Each Group/Class should be taken separately.

PROCEDURAL CLARIFICATION ON GUIDELINE

1. The above social, educational and economic guidelines for consideration of requests for inclusion in the list of Other Backward Classes are intended to aid the Bench/Commission to identiFy castes and communities which deserve to be included in the list of OBC in terms of the National Commission for Backward Classes Act and not to fetter due exercise of discretion by it.

2. The term ‘local’, wherever used, is intended to mean State level or intra-State regional level or district level, as appropriate, in the light of the demographic distribution of the caste/community concerned.

However, wherever the Bench/Commission has adequate reasons, the sub-district level positions may be taken into account.

In some guidelines State or local, or State or district have been given as alternatives. In such instances the appropriate alternative may be chosen depending on the circumstances such as demographic distribution, ready availability of data etc.

3. Some of the guidelines are capable of quantification but data are not available in every State. In respect of States, where such data are readily available (e.g. specific percentage figures), the bench/Commission may examine the cases before it in terms of such quantifiable data and their own observations as well and other relevant materials that may be available to it. In respect of States where such quantifiable data are not available, the bench/Commission may consider castes/communities on the basis of their own observations and other relevant materials that may be available to it.

4. Under each of the categories A, B & C, of guidelines, there are 3 or 4 guidelines. They are not necessarily cumulative. Cumulative data would no doubt be advantageous. But where data-base does not readily permit, each caste or community may be considered in terms of such of the guidelines under each of the categories A, B & C as are practicable.

5. Regarding the condition at D, till information regarding the position of each caste in the Government of India’s services becomes readily available, it may be presumed that this factor is fulfilled by a caste/community/sub-caste/synonym/sub-entry, in case it is found that it fulfills the guideline in C 3.

6. Wherever a caste or community fulfills the guidelines 2 (e) or (f) or (g) or (h), the Bench/Commission may take it as adequate evidence of backwardness. In such cases, the Bench shall take into account such other data/information that may be made available to it or comes to its notice, and it may make such further inquiry as it deem proper and necessary. Having done so and being satisfied that there are no sufficient grounds to take a contrary view regarding the backwardness of the caste or community making the request, the Bench may, after examining the matter inadequacy of representation as indicated in D, proceed to formulate its findings.

7. Occupations mentioned at guideline 2(e) and 2(f) may include traditional artisanal crafts; fishing, hunting, bird-snaring; agricultural labour on the lands of others; earth work, stone-breaking, salt manufacturing, lime-burning; toddy-tapping; animal rearing; butchery; hair-cutting; washing of clothes; ferrying by boat; safai (i.e. “scavenging”); knife grinding, grain roasting; entertaining through song and dance, acrobatics jugglery, snake-charming, acting; begging or mendicancy.

Explanation: This refers only to castes or communities which traditionally depended on begging or mendicancy in the past i.e. until it was prohibited by law.

The Bench/Commission may take into account any other occupation which may be similar to these occupations.

8. In respect of any case of request, found to be one of apparent “clerical” error, or factual mistakes at the stage of preparation of the common lists and if there is no contrary view expressed and data furnished before or otherwise available to/in the notice of the bench/Commission such castes/communities may be included and findings/advice formulated to that effect.

9. In case of synonyms/sub-castes/different names of the same caste or community/local variants of the same caste or community, if and after it is established that, they are, in fact, such synonyms/sub-castes/different names of the same caste/local variants, etc. and if there are no contrary views expressed and data furnished before or otherwise available to/in the notice of the Bench/Commission and the Bench/Commission does not find any ground to take a contrary view, such synonyms/sub-castes/different names of the same caste/local variants of the same caste, such cases may be included, and findings/advice formulated to that effect.

10. In all cases, publicity regarding the date and venue of the sitting of the Commission’s bench and the castes/communities etc. to which the sitting pertains may be made through mass media and all those who have any views to express or data to furnish to the bench may be invited to do so, in addition to addressing the State Governments and applicants to furnish all material and data in their possession.

11. These guidelines of identification and procedure will be applicable to all categories of States/UTs and all categories of castes/communities whether included in the State list but in the Mandal list or included in the Mandal list but not in the State list, or included in neither.