Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The central decision of 1990 to implement the Mandal report
Option (1) The sidelining of the First Backward Classes Commission report — Incorrect. The Kalelkar report of 1953 was sidelined because of the political climate of the time. This kept the OBC issue off the national stage.
Option (2) The long neglect of the Mandal Commission report — Incorrect. The Mandal report lay neglected for ten years after it was submitted. This neglect also kept the OBC issue from being taken up nationally.
Option (3) The OBC issue becoming a regional affair from the mid-fifties — Incorrect. From the mid-fifties, the OBC issue was pursued at the state level. It belongs with the other developments that kept the issue away from national politics.
Option (4) The central decision of 1990 to implement the Mandal report — Correct. In 1990 the central government decided to implement the ten-year old Mandal report. This made the OBC issue a major one in national politics, which sets it apart from the other three.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Other Backward Classes … “The southern states had a long history of backward caste political agitation that had started in the early twentieth century. Because of these powerful social movements, policies to address the problems of the OBCs were in place long before they were discussed in most northern states. The OBC issue returned to the central level in the late 1970s after the Emergency when the Janata Party came to power. The Second Backward Classes Commission headed by B.P. Mandal was appointed at this time. However, it was only in 1990, when the central government decided to implement the ten-year old Mandal Commission report, that the OBC issue became a major one in national politics.” |