In a move that could massively change caste demographics in West Bengal, the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government on Tuesday reduced the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation from 17 per cent to 7 per cent with immediate effect as it regularised 66 communities included in the OBC reservation list before 2010.
The move comes days after the new government abolished the existing state OBC list.
In its notification, the Backward Classes Welfare Department said the identified communities, many of them belonging to the Muslim community, would now be entitled to 7 per cent reservation in government services and posts.
OBC reservation capped at 7 per cent
According to the government, the earlier system provided 10 per cent reservation under the OBC Category A and 7 per cent under OBC Category B. Under the revised policy, only a total of 7 per cent reservation will remain in force.
The new reservation policy will now apply only to what the government described as "genuinely backwards Hindu communities" that do not fall under the Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) categories.
The state government said that the inclusion of several Muslim communities in the OBC list by previous administrations was legally weak and driven by "vote bank politics". It also cited observations made by the Calcutta High Court, which had reportedly termed the inclusion of a number of Muslim groups in the OBC list as unconstitutional.
The revised reservation framework will be implemented immediately in government jobs and educational institutions across the state.
Opposition parties have strongly criticised the decision, while the BJP government has defended it as a constitutional correction aimed at ensuring benefits reach genuinely backward communities.
Communities included in revised list
The list includes several traditional and social communities such as Kapali, Kurmi, Nai (Napit), Tanti, Dhanuk, Kasai, Khandait, Turha, Paharia Muslim, Devanga, Hajjam (Muslim), among others.
The notification also states that individuals who converted from the Scheduled Castes to Christianity and their descendants have been included in the list.
Calcutta HC order on OBC status
The notification was issued in compliance with a Calcutta High Court order of May 2024, which struck down the OBC status of several communities in West Bengal, calling it illegal.
The court struck down several classes named under the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.
It also scrapped the category-wise OBC reservation structure — 10 per cent for Category A (more backward classes) and 7 per cent for Category B (backward classes). Following the verdict, the total OBC reservation in the state has been limited to 7 per cent.
