Mandal Commission

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The Mandal Commission or the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission (SEBC), was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward classes" of India.^[1] It was headed by B. P. Mandal, an Indian member of parliament, to consider the question of reservations for people to address caste discrimination, and to use eleven social, economic, and educational indicators to determine backwardness. In 1980, based on its rationale that OBCs ("Other backward classes") identified on the basis of caste, social, economic indicators made up 52% of India's population, the commission's report recommended that members of Other Backward Classes (OBC) be granted reservations to 27% of jobs under the central government and public sector undertakings and seats in the higher education institutions, thus making the total number of reservations for SC, ST and OBC to 49.5%.^[2][1]

Though the report had been completed in 1980, the V. P. Singh government declared its intent to implement the report in August 1990, leading to widespread student protests.^[3] As per the Constitution of India, Article 15 (4) states, " Nothing in this Article or in clause(2) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any provision for the advancement of any socially or educationally backward classes of citizens or for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes". The Mandal Commission had therefore created a report using the data of the 1931 census, the last caste-aware census, extrapolated with some sample studies.

V. P. Singh was accused of using the Mandal Report which was ignored by the Congress government. It was a social revolution and affirmative action. Suddenly, nearly 75% of the Indian population got preferential treatment in government employment. Earlier 25% population of India which is Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, was covered and now more than 50% of Other Backward Class came under reservation.^[4] The decision of V.P Singh government led to 1990 Mandal Commission protests. The youth went for massive protest in large numbers in the nation's campuses, resulting in many self immolations by students.^[5]

Indra Sawhney challenged the Mandal Commission and government decision to implement it in the Supreme Court in front of a nine Judge bench. The case was known as Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of India. After hearing both sides the bench upheld the decision of government of reserving 27% of jobs under the central government and public sector undertakings with a provision that there will be ceiling of 50 per cent quotas and emphasized the concept of "social backwardness", and prescribed 11 indicators to ascertain backwardness. Also, the bench held that creamy layer of income will be applicable for the Other Backward Classes quota. Presently the creamy layer limit is Family income of ₹8 lakhs per year. It was implemented in 1992.^[6]

The second recommendation of Mandal Commission to implement OBC reservations in higher educational institutions was implemented in 2006. The Union Minister of Human Resource Development at that time, Arjun Singh promised to reserve 27% seats for Other Backward Classes in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and other central institutions of higher education. The Constitution (93rd Amendment) Act 2005 that was introduced by the First Manmohan Singh ministry, granted a 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes in all Central Government institutions.

This decision of government led to 2006 Indian anti-reservation protests. The protests ended when on 10 April, 2008 , in the Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union of India case, the Supreme Court upheld the 93rd Constitutional Amendment and Central Educational Institutions(CEIs) (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006,^[7] for the provision of 27% quota for candidates belonging to the Other Backward Classes in IITs, NITs, IIMs, AIIMS, IISc and other premier educational institutions.^[8]