Shivani Thakur
Published on: April 7, 2022 at 17:17 IST
Government Constituted Commission, formed to examine the sub-categorization of OBCs (Other Backward Classes) to address the Hindu-Muslim anomaly in granting Reservation to Occupational Communities in several States.
The Justice Rohini Commission has compiled data on these Religiously Restricted entries and is likely to recommend removal of the anomaly in the Central List of Other Backward Classes to ensure that the Backward Class status is independent of Religion.
The commission is set up in October 2017 to examine the sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes to ensure equal distribution of Reservation Benefits. The Justice Rohini Commission is likely submitting its recommendation before the end of the term in July 2022. Since 2017, its term has been extended 12 times.
Since the Mandal Commission submitted its Report recommended 27 percent Reservation for the Other Backward Classes in the Government Jobs, Educational Institutions, that the Government came out with the First Central List of Other Backward Classes. The list has been Amended many times since then.
The Rohini Commission was mandated to look at the distribution of Reservation benefits at the Central Level. Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes, has been a long-standing demand among some Sections to ensure better distribution of Reservation Benefits.
According to the sources in the Government, the Justice Rohini Commission has come across around 200 religiously restricted entries in the Central List of Other Backward Classes, where Hindus belonging to specific occupational communities have not been given Other Backward Classes status like their Muslim counterparts.
As a result, Socially and Economically backward Hindus are not able to avail of the 27 per cent Reservation in Central Government Jobs and Educational Institutions.
The Justice Rohini Commission has come across 23 entries in Bihar where Muslims from vocational communities have been included in the Central Other Backward Classes List, but their Hindu counterparts have not.
The Commission has come across just 2-3 entries out of the 23, where Hindus from a particular Occupational Class have been treated as Scheduled Castes, instead of finding a place in the Central Backward Classes list.
Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh the commission has come across four entries in the Central List that are restricted to a particular religion.
The Commission has found that discrepancies in the central list on religious lines vary from State to State.
In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the Central List has a separate category for Muslims whose occupational class qualifies them as Other Backward Classes, but their Hindu counterparts are not included as Other Backward Classes. However, it is West Bengal where the Commission came across the maximum number of such anomalies.