Rohini Commission decoded: Understanding sub-categorisation of OBCs

After nearly five years since the commission was first formed, the long-awaited Rohini Commission finally submitted its report on the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes in India at the end of July. The report's findings are yet to be made public, but here is everything known about the commission and its findings so far.

What is the Rohini Commission?

The Rohini Commission was instituted on October 2, 2017, led by Justice G Rohini, the former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. This four-member commission was formed to ensure a more equitable distribution of reservation benefits among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in India.

The commission was set up by the President of India, mandated under Article 340 of the Indian Constitution, which reads, "The President may, by order, appoint a Commission consisting of such persons as he thinks fit to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India and the difficulties under which they labour and to make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by the Union or any State to remove such difficulties and to improve their condition."

Members of the commission

Aside from Justice G Rohini, the commission also included JK Bajaj, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai; Gauri Basu, director of Anthropological Survey of India, Kolkata (ex-officio member); and Vivek Joshi, registrar general and census commissioner (ex-officio member).

Goals of the commission

The commission was assigned to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes and propose steps for their improvement. They had to examine the extent to which there was inequality in the distribution of benefits within reservations and work out criteria and parameters by which sub-categorisation within OBCs can be done.

It was also tasked to recommend any corrections in regard to the central list of OBCs. This included correcting any repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription.

The need for sub-categorisation

India's reservation system allocates 27 per cent of jobs and educational seats for OBCs in accordance with the Mandal Commission report. However, concerns arose due to the disproportionate distribution of these benefits among various OBC communities.

 

Read more about the Mandal Commission here

 

To address this issue, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government proposed sub-categorisation in 2017. The Rohini Commission was established to fulfil this objective.

Commission findings so far

In 2018, the commission analysed more than 130,000 government jobs and admission to government education institutes that had the OBC quota. The commission found that 97 per cent of the reserved jobs and seats have gone to 25 per cent of OBC sub-castes, and only 10 OBC communities have taken the 25 per cent of reserved central jobs and institutional seats.

As many as 983, or 37 per cent, of the 2,600 communities under the OBC category had zero representation in jobs and institutes, and only 2.68 per cent reservation has been used by 994 castes.

In 2018, then home minister, Rajnath Singh stated that the 2021 Census would have data on OBCs collected. This would have helped the Centre draft more streamlined policies with respect to reservation. However, there has been no update on this to date.

The commission's first consultation paper in December 2019 recommended breaking the sub-categories into three bands: communities receiving no benefits (10 per cent), those with partial benefits (10 per cent), and those receiving maximum benefits (7 per cent), according to a report by the Hindustan Times. This approach aimed at creating a fairer distribution structure. However, challenges persisted due to data gaps and limited historical information on OBC representation.

Release of the final report

Initially given 12 weeks to submit its report, the commission requested numerous extensions, indicating the complexity of its task. The committee received 13 extensions to complete its report before it was finally submitted to President Droupadi Murmu on July 21, 2023, nearly five years after the commission was first formed.

Sub-categorisation already implemented in 11 states

According to a report by India Today, the sub-categorisation of OBC has already been implemented on the state level in 11 states across India. This includes West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Bihar, the Jammu and Kashmir region, Haryana, and the union territory of Puducherry. In Bihar, there are two categories, OBC 1 and OBC 2 (or economically backward classes). OBC 1 has 33 sub-caste groups, while OBC 2 has 113. Moreover, 18 per cent of state-level government jobs and seats in educational institutes are reserved for EBCs. OBC 1 has 12 per cent reservations, with three per cent for OBC women.