Explained | SC order Maratha quota may trigger demand for OBC census, third backward classes commission

The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down Maharashtra’s quota for Marathas in government jobs and educational institutions, and also refused to revisit the 50 per cent cap on quotas. The SC order is likely to trigger demands for an OBC census and for setting up the third backward classes commission.

Already, for several years now, and with a handful of dominant castes among OBCs (other backward classes) cornering job opportunities arising out of the reservation policy, it’s been argued that the Karpoori Thakur (KT) formula of Bihar would have been philosophically more appropriate, and superior for practical reasons than the Mandal Commission scheme as announced by VP Singh in 1990.

The KT formula provided 20 per cent reservation on the basis of caste, and the rest seven per cent was subdivided on economic and gender criteria. The Mandal Commission formula has caste as the basis for the entire 27 per cent reservation.

The SC reaffirming the cap on quotas at 50 per cent, as laid down in the landmark Indra Sawhney v Union of India judgment in 1992, puts a question mark on the 10 per cent reservation for EWS (economically weaker sections), which is currently under challenge.

Also Read | Supreme Court quashes Maratha reservation in education, jobs

The SC has queered the pitch for the Centre by asking the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) to expeditiously publish a fresh list of SEBCs (socially and educationally backward classes), the official nomenclature for OBCs. It has upset the states by stating that the Centre, and not the states, has the power to identify backward class after the 102nd constitution amendment.

Opposition parties have demanded the Centre amend the 102nd amendment to restore the power of the states on the issue. But the conundrum, apart from the impact on reservations for Jats by Rajasthan or Kapus in Andhra and other such groups, is more complex.

How will the NCBC prepare a fresh list of SEBCs? This is where an OBC census as part of the decennial census exercise, which kicked off last year but is delayed because of the Covid-19 spread, could have been useful.

The decennial Census already enumerates categories such as SCs, STs and General. The Mandal Commission had guesstimated the population of OBCs to be 52 per cent, but the exact size of the OBC population is not known. In 2018, the then home minister Rajnath Singh had promised an OBC census as part of Census 2021.

However, the government did not keep its word after the 2019 Lok Sabha win. This when the NCBC had recommended it, so had the parliamentary standing committee on the welfare of the OBCs, and some of the state governments.

The enumeration of OBCs as part of the Census would provide demographic information for each caste in the category - data on their economic conditions, including assets and occupation, and on backwardnesses, like level of education, sex ratio and life expectancy.

This would make the NCBC’s task easier, add empiricism to the exercise, and possibly pave the way for setting up the third backward classes commission to revisit the quantum of reservation for castes based on their respective population.

Will the SC judgment make the Centre heed NCBC’s demand for an OBC census? Or will fears of opening a proverbial Pandora’s box on caste assertion dissuade the Centre yet again?