The government of Jammu and Kashmir has recently added 15 new castes to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list, making a total of 42 castes. However, 19 of these castes are still not getting benefits from the Central Government because they are not on the national list yet.
Before this change, there were 27 castes in a group called Other Social Castes (OSCs), and there was no OBC category. Now, the reservation for OBCs in government jobs and schools has increased from 4% to 8%. The OSC category has been removed.
Officials say that all 42 castes in the OBC list are getting the 8% reservation in local jobs and schools, but only 23 of these castes can get benefits from the Central Government. This is because the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has not added the new castes to the national OBC list.
Many groups, including OBC organizations and leaders from the BJP, are asking for these castes to be included in the Central list. The Jammu and Kashmir government needs to recommend these new castes to the Union Ministry, but this has not happened yet.
In India, OBCs have a 27% reservation at the national level. In Jammu and Kashmir, OBCs now have an 8% reservation, which is double the previous 4% for OSCs. This change has caused some concerns among Open Merit students, who feel that the total reservation is too high.
To address these concerns, the government has set up a committee to review the reservation policies. They also created a Commission to decide how much reservation OBCs should get in local elections. This is the first time OBCs have been given this right in Jammu and Kashmir.
The local elections, which were supposed to happen in October-November 2023, have been postponed until the Commission submits its report. The elections will only take place after the government looks at the Commission’s recommendations.
As things move forward, the focus is on making sure that all eligible castes receive the benefits they deserve, both in Jammu and Kashmir and at the national level, while considering everyone’s interests.
