OBC is Other Backward Class. Reservation is given by Constitution to people who are socially and educationally backward. When the recommendations of the Mandal Commission were implemented in the state is 1994, the number of castes in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was 173. Since then, the number of castes on the OBC list has increased to 354. The reservation limit in the state is 52%. Out of these, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (20%), VJNT (11%), OBC (19%) while 2% reservation is given to Special Backward Classes. Despite the 19% reservation, the OBC community gets only 17% reservation.
OBCs should fight for their rights. If OBC does not fight now, future generations will not forgive us, asserted Congress state secretary Jayshreetai Shelke.
Shelke was speaking at the launch of the OBC Adhikar Sammelan (OBC Rights Conference ) on March 28 at Shegaon.
Congress State President Nana Patole was Chairperson for this Conference, The event was inaugurated by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupeshji Baghel. Minister for Women and Child Welfare Yashomati Thakur, Secretary of All India Congress Committee Ashishji Duva, State Vice President Sanjay Rathore, Shyam Umalkar, District President Rahul Bondre, MLA Rajesh Ekade, former MLA Krushnarao Ingale, Congress Khamgaon assembly party leader Dnyaneshwar Patil, region secretary Ramvijay Burungale, Party leader of Jalgaon Jamod constituency Dr. Swati Walkekar, former MLA Natimoddin Khatib, Dilip Kumar Sananda, Harshvardhan Sapkal, Tejendrasinh Chavan, Dhananjay Deshmukh, Kiran Deshmukh, Prakash Kakade and others were present on the occasion.
In her speech, Jayshreetai Shelke criticized Central Government of depriving OBCs of their basic rights and entitlements. She said “Local body elections were postponed. The state government has tried to save the political reservation of OBCs by collecting imperial data on OBCs. We should thank the Mahavikas Aghadi Government for that. Although the imperial data of OBCs was originally available to the central government, the central government deliberately did not provide it. The central government is deliberately plotting to thwart the reservation of OBCs. The Central Government did not provide this data to terminate the reservation. On the one hand, the central government is selling off many large Government Institutions, which will further increase the already high unemployment rate. At the same time, on the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s instinct is to systematically end reservations and once again create a Chaturvarnya system in this country.
Phule, Shahu, and Ambedkar are the chain of one thought.
Mahatma Phule was the first who introduced the “Idea of Reservation”. In 1882, he proposed to the Hunter Commission to make education compulsory and free, and to give equal representation to nonbrahmins and Bahujan in government and administration. Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj gave reservation in 1902. He gave 50% reservation to all castes except Brahmins, Parsis, Prabhu, and Shenvi. This was the “Practice of Reservation”. This concept of reservation was converted into a Right by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. He included sec 340 for OBCs in the constitution. Phule, Shahu, and Ambedkar are a chain of thought.
