'Other Backward Class' refers to:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Socially and educationally backward class
Option (1) Socially and educationally backward class — Correct. Besides the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, the Constitution recognises other groups that suffer social disadvantages, generally the service and artisanal castes of low status. They were described as the ‘socially and educationally backward classes’, the constitutional basis of the term ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBCs).
NCERT (2025-26): “The Other Backward Classes … Untouchability was the most visible and comprehensive form of social discrimination. However, there were a large group of castes that were of low status and were also subjected to varying levels of discrimination short of untouchability. These were the service and artisanal castes who occupied the lower rungs of the caste hierarchy. The Constitution of India recognises the possibility that there may be groups other than the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes who suffer from social disadvantages. These groups – which need not be based on caste alone, but generally are identified by caste – were described as the ‘socially and educationally backward classes’. This is the constitutional basis of the popular term ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBCs), which is in common use today.…” |