Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Sociology

Chapter

Indian Society: Patterns of Social Inequality and Exclusion

Question:

Which of the following statement(s) is/are NOT correct in respect of Other Backward Classes?

Options:

The OBCs are defined negatively.

The OBCs are a much more diverse group than the Dalits or adivasis.

The second government of independent India under Jawaharlal Nehru appointed a commission to look into measures for the welfare of the OBCs.

None of the above

Correct Answer:

The second government of independent India under Jawaharlal Nehru appointed a commission to look into measures for the welfare of the OBCs.

Explanation:

Like the category of the ‘tribe’ ,the OBCs are defined negatively, by what they are not. They are neither part of the ‘forward’ castes at the upper end of the status spectrum, nor of the Dalits at the lower end. But since caste has entered all the major Indian religions and is not confined to Hinduism alone, there are also members of other religions who belong to the backward castes and share the same traditional occupational identification and similar or worse socio-economic status. For these reasons, the OBCs are a much more diverse group than the Dalits or adivasis. The first government of independent India under Jawaharlal Nehru appointed a commission to look into measures for the welfare of the OBCs. The First Backward Classes Commission headed by Kaka Kalelkar submitted its report in 1953. But the political climate at the time led to the report being sidelined. From the mid-fifties, the OBC issue became a regional affair pursued at the state rather than the central level.