Assertion: The Mandal Commission advised that ‘backward classes’ should be understood to mean ‘backward castes'.
Reason: Many castes, other than the Scheduled Castes, were also treated as low in the caste hierarchy.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The Mandal Commission advised that ‘backward classes’ should be understood to mean ‘backward castes’, since many castes, other than the Scheduled Castes, were also treated as low in the caste hierarchy.