Bengal's OBC list: After HC rap, who goes out, who stays, and why BJP is objecting

Indian Express

13-06-2025

WITH the race to the West Bengal Assembly elections kicking into gear, and the Supreme Court set to hold a hearing on the matter next month, the Mamata Banerjee government hopes to have extricated itself from the row over its OBC list by coming out with another.
On June 10, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee laid in the Assembly new OBC-A and OBC-B lists, adding 76 groups and taking the total number to 140. However, the BJP has alleged that these lists carry the same basis as what led the High Court last year to scrap all additions to OBCs since 2010 by the West Bengal government – that these are heavily skewed in favour of Muslims. Of the 140 communities in the OBC list now, 80 are Muslim.
The High Court had scrapped 113 names from the list of OBCs, retaining 66, last year. Of the scrapped 113, 76 have now been added back, while two from the list of 66 have been taken out. Applications of others, the state government has said, are pending. While the names of the groups added back have been specified, it is not the case with those left out.
The government has also said that the 76 new OBC groups added were shortlisted purely on the basis of recommendations of the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes. Of these 51 were added to OBC-A (covering the 'more backward' among OBCs) and 25 to OBC-B.
Between March 2010 and May 2012, 77 communities were issued OBC certificates by the state, 75 of them Muslim. Of these 75 Muslim groups, 42 got OBC status under the Left government in 2010.
The first challenge in the high court was filed in 2011 on the ground that the declaration of these 42 classes as OBCs was 'based purely on religion', that 'the categorisation is not based on any acceptable data, and that the survey conducted by the (backward classes) commission was unscientific, and prefabricated… to fit the head'.
In May 2012, by which time the TMC government had come to power, another 35 classes were categorised as OBC, 34 of them from the Muslim community. This too was challenged in the court.
In March 2013, the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of vacancies and posts) Act, 2012, was notified. All 77 (42+35) new OBCs were included in the Act. Two petitions were filed challenging the Act.
On May 22, 2024, the court struck down the inclusion of 113 groups in total, retaining only 66, saying 'religion indeed appears to have been the sole criterion' for granting the status. As with most cases where reservations have been challenged, the court relied heavily on the Supreme Court's Indra Sawhney v Union of India (Mandal judgment). The 1992 order had held that states must establish a backward classes commission to identify and recommend classes of citizens for inclusion or exclusion in the state OBC list.
The High Court said that in West Bengal's case, between 2010 and 2012, the backward classes commission's recommendations had been made with 'lightning speed'… without using any 'objective criteria' to determine the backwardness of these classes. 'Religion indeed appears to have been the sole criterion for declaring these communities as OBCs', and the reports that the commission submitted were meant only to 'curtain and hide such religion specific recommendations', the court said.
'This court's mind is not free from doubt that the said community has been treated as a commodity for political ends', and that the classes added were being treated as a 'vote bank', it said.
The court also struck down portions of the 2012 Act that allowed the state government to 'sub-classify' OBC reservations into OBC-A and OBC-B categories for 'more backward' and 'backward' classes respectively. Sub-classification is meant to address the different levels of deprivation, which the court held could only be done by referring to material collected by the commission.
The High Court order coincided with the Lok Sabha campaign, and the BJP accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of seeking to take away reservation and other benefits from Hindus and giving them to Muslims.
Following the court order, CM Banerjee said they would file an appeal challenging the same in the Supreme Court, adding: 'You (the BJP) are playing at A and I will play at B. If you play at C, I will play at Z.'
The TMC government contended that the backward classes commission identified the classes based on applications received from citizens.
In 2024, the TMC government moved the Supreme Court, along with some other petitioners. On March 18 this year, the government informed the Court that a fresh exercise was being conducted for the identification of OBCs in the state. The Court then agreed to adjourn the matter by three months and take it up in July.
On Tuesday, Banerjee laid an interim report of the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes in the Assembly. Noting that for inclusion in the OBC list, a class or citizen needs to apply 'in the prescribed proforma detailing the social, economic and educational features of that class', the report said that the commission had 'till date' recommended '179 classes for inclusion as 'Other Backward Classes' in the State list of OBCs'. Out of these, the panel said, 113 were struck down by the High Court in May 2024. 'Only 66 communities enlisted before 2010 were kept untouched.'
The report added that it had now recommended 'for inclusion of 51 plus 25 classes, total 76 classes'. Out of these 76 classes, the report said, 74 had been 'delisted' by the High Court order, while two 'applied afresh for inclusion'.
Sub-categorising these 76 classes, the commission said 35 fall in the OBC-A category and 41 in OBC-B.
The commission's report also sub-categorised 64 of 'the 66 classes of OBCs which were not delisted' by High Court. 'The Commission after due consideration of the scores received by such 64 classes in the Benchmark Survey, recommended sub-categorisation of 14 classes in Category A (More Backward) while 50 classes were recommended to be categorised in Category B (Backward). For the remaining 2 classes, the Commission decided to conduct a fresh survey.'
It added that it was still carrying out its benchmark survey as regards 41 communities. 'This process is expected to be completed within the next month or two.' In addition to this, says the report, '7 more communities have placed their applications before West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes for inclusion in the State OBC List…'.
Presenting the commission's report, the CM said: 'Some corners are trying to campaign that the state government is providing reservation on the basis of religion, which is baseless… We made the new OBC-A and OBC-B lists on the basis of a scientific benchmark survey conducted by the commission and included those communities which are backward. There is no question of making OBC categories on the basis of religion.'
A government notification the same day said that of the total number of OBC groups now, 80 are Muslim and 60 non-Muslim, with Muslims making up 57.14% of the total. Of the 49 in the most backward OBC-A category, 36 are Muslim; and of the 91 in OBC-B category, 44 are Muslims.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has alleged that the new OBC list prepared by the TMC government also has religion as criterion, and provides 'one-sided benefit' exclusively to Muslims. He posted on X Wednesday: 'OBC = Other Backward Classes. In West Bengal it means One-Sided Beneficiary Classes.'
Countering Adhikari, the TMC said, 'We all know that 'Divide and Rule' is the official policy of the BJP, and your only agenda for the 2026 elections is to pit Hindus against Muslims.' It reiterated Banerjee's statement that backwardness, not religion, is the sole criterion for OBC status, and said: 'The new list was prepared with that principle in mind.'