For the past seven years, the central government has not notified the official list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), leaving the crucial roster in a state of limbo. This paralysis stems from the constitutional changes made in 2018, which altered the process of how the list is approved, shifting it from an executive decision to a parliamentary act.
The Constitutional Shift and Its Unfulfilled Mandate
The root of the current stalemate lies in the 102nd constitutional amendment of 2018. This landmark amendment granted constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), placing it on par with the commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. A key provision mandated that the central list of OBCs would henceforth require approval by Parliament, moving away from the older practice of notification through a simple executive order.
However, this transition has never been completed. Since 2018, the central OBC list has remained frozen, with no fresh inclusions or exclusions of communities. The old system governed by the NCBC Act of 1993, which exclusively handled inclusions and exclusions, was repealed with the promulgation of the 102nd amendment. Consequently, a process initiated in 2019 to formalize the list through Parliament was, as one source described, "put in deep freeze."
The Rohini Commission Conundrum and Political Hesitation
Government sources indicate a significant hurdle is the government's apparent reluctance to engage with the report of the Rohini Commission. Formed to examine the sub-categorisation of OBCs within the central list, the commission's report has become a sensitive political document.
Officials reveal that the government cannot simply replicate the existing OBC list for parliamentary notification because it contains numerous discrepancies, including errors in spellings. The Rohini panel was initially tasked with compiling these corrections. However, its primary mandate was the politically charged sub-division of the OBC list, an agenda once championed by the BJP. The governing party has since stepped back from pushing for this division due to altered political sensitivities and has kept the commission's report confidential since its submission on July 31, 2023, after six years and 14 extensions.
"Moving to correct the OBC list would require opening the Rohini report," an official stated, highlighting the government's dilemma.
Consequences and Pending Proposals
The indefinite delay has tangible consequences. With the old 1993 Act repealed and the new parliamentary process inactive, there is currently no legal mechanism to modify the OBC list. This affects the aspirations of numerous communities seeking recognition.
Approximately 450 proposals for inclusion and exclusion are currently pending at various stages of processing with the Ministry of Social Justice. These proposals remain in administrative limbo, awaiting a resolution to the seven-year deadlock. The indecision effectively halts the transition to the new constitutional path, leaving the NCBC without an updated, parliament-sanctioned list to work from, despite its enhanced constitutional stature.
The ongoing freeze underscores a complex intersection of administrative correction, constitutional procedure, and political caution, leaving the future of OBC classification in India uncertain.
