Three of the following refer to the same social group in India. Ident…

The correct answer is Option (4) → Its name literally means 'downtrodden' in Indian languages.

Option (1) Its popular name rests on the phrase 'socially and educationally backward classes'. — Incorrect. This describes the Other Backward Classes. The Constitution called these groups the 'socially and educationally backward classes', and that is the basis of the popular term OBCs.

Option (2) A commission on its welfare was headed by Kaka Kalelkar. — Incorrect. This also refers to the OBCs. The First Backward Classes Commission, set up to study their condition, was headed by Kaka Kalelkar.

Option (3) Its issue became a regional affair pursued at the state level from the mid-fifties. — Incorrect. This too refers to the OBCs. After the Kalelkar Commission, the central government left the OBC question to the states, so from the mid-fifties it became a regional matter.

Option (4) Its name literally means 'downtrodden' in Indian languages. — Correct. This describes the Dalits, the groups once treated as untouchable, whose name means 'downtrodden'. The other three statements all describe the OBCs, so this is the odd one out.