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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Provide info on OBC surveys': West Bengal govt gets notice from National Commission for Backward Classes
The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) issued a notice last week to West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Panth, seeking detailed information on the surveys conducted for the newly announced Other Backward Classes (OBC) list in the state within three days. According to NCBC sources, they are yet to receive a response, and they may send another notice. The notice came before a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, comprising Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, observed on Tuesday that the state's recent OBC notifications may not have been issued in accordance with the law. According to sources, the NCBC sought clarity on the criteria and methodology used by the state to prepare the updated OBC list. The commission has specifically asked for details of the surveys purportedly conducted prior to the inclusion of several castes in the list. Last Tuesday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, addressing the state Assembly, presented a report on the revised OBC list. She announced an increase in OBC reservation from 7 percent to 10 percent, with 49 castes under the OBC-A category and 91 castes under OBC-B. The Chief Minister stated that extremely backward castes were placed under the OBC-A category. However, the next day, a petition was filed in the Calcutta High Court challenging the list. The petitioner questioned how such a survey could have been conducted so quickly and whether due legal and procedural norms were followed. Meanwhile, NCBC Chairperson Hansraj Gangaram Ahir posted on X, stating: 'NCBC has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal, seeking replies in response to NCBC's earlier notice dated December 22, 2023, and subsequent letter… dated February 19, 2024. Time of three to six months was sought (by the state) to provide the information. Despite a lapse of more than a year, the requisite information is still awaited.' Ahir noted that several castes had been notified in the state's OBC list through three executive notifications dated June 3, 2025, saying that they mention that the listings were based on 'detailed surveys'. The NCBC had asked the state government to submit the recommendations of the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes along with full survey reports—particularly information pertaining to 'points 13(C), 13(D), and 19(a) of the official proforma'—within three working days, along with supporting documents. On Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court imposed an interim stay on the state's notifications regarding 140 subsections under the OBC-A and OBC-B categories. The stay will remain in effect until July 31. The petition challenging the list was filed by Amal Chandra Das. The bench clarified that individuals holding OBC certificates issued prior to 2010 will remain eligible for employment and education benefits. However, it reiterated its previous ruling from May 2024, which struck down OBC status for several classes—77 classes granted between April and September 2010, and 37 classes added under the West Bengal Reservation Act, 2012. This ruling is currently under challenge before the Supreme Court, where the matter remains sub judice.
NDTV
6 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Centre Issues Census Notification, To Start In Ladakh, J&K, 2 States In 2026
New Delhi: The Census - the recording of India's population, including of critical details such as caste - will begin in the union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, as well as Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand from midnight on October 1, 2026, the government said Monday afternoon. Counting for the rest of the country will begin from midnight on March 1, 2027. Earlier today Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the census prep with the Home secretary, the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India and other senior officials. In each state the census will conducted in two phases, officials have said. In the first, i.e., the House Listing Operation, or HLO, information about the housing conditions, assets, and amenities of each household will be collected. Reviewed the preparations for the 16th Census with senior officials. Tomorrow, the gazette notification of the census will be issued. The census will include caste enumeration for the first time. As many as 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh census… — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) June 15, 2025 In the second, i.e., Population Enumeration, or PE, demographic, socio-economic, and cultural details of every person in each household will be collected. Information about an individual's caste will collected in this phase. The government had, on April 30, confirmed that an enumeration of the various castes and sub-castes in the country, and the number of people in each, will be part of the next census. The decision to include caste enumeration in the census - a demand pressed fiercely by the opposition - was announced months before a critical election in Bihar, over 63 per cent of the population of which comes from Extremely Backward or Backward classes. The government has clarified that caste, and not class, will be taken into consideration during the Census. Therefore, each person will have to mention their caste and religion. READ | Caste, Not Class, Will Be Counted In 2027 Population Census: Sources Explaining the need to specify caste rather than class, sources said there is no single list for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), unlike Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The OBC list varies from state to state and also from the central government, sources said. The latter is maintained by the National Commission for Backward Classes and used for reference in providing reservations in central government jobs and educational institutions. State-managed lists are often longer and more extensive. NDTV Explains | The Caste Census Roller Coaster In Indian Politics In India the census is normally conducted every decade. The last national population count was in 2011. The 2021 census had to be abandoned because of the pandemic. The 2027 census, when it is held, will therefore be the first in 16 years. The opposition has been pushing for a census to be held, arguing it is necessary to have an accurate, up-to-date count of population and socio-economic data for effective policy-making. This will be the first 'digital Census', i.e., giving citizens an opportunity to self-enumerate.
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
NCBC raises questions on Bengal's revised OBC list
New Delhi: The National Commission for Backward Classes ( NCBC ) has raised questions over West Bengal government's new list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and has sought information within three days on the recommendations and survey conducted to include new communities in the state list. West Bengal's state OBC list has been in the eye of a political storm since last year with the BJP accusing ruling Trinamool Congress of appeasing Muslim communities by including them in the state OBC list. The high court had scrapped 113 names from the list of OBCs, retaining 66, last year. This didn't deter Mamata Banerjee-led state government which added 76 castes in the state OBC list taking the total to 140 this month. Of the 113 castes scrapped by high court, 76 have now been added back, while two from the list of 66 retained by high court have been taken out. NCBC has waded into the controversy now. NCBC chairman Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said the state government had not shared similar information the Commission had sought when it had prepared the earlier list. "We have sought information on three counts from the state within three days," said Ahir. In 2023, West Bengal had recommended inclusion of 87 castes, including 80 of Muslim community, in the Central List of OBCs. This had prompted NCBC to seek information from the state and details on what basis the government had made such a recommendation. NCBC has been red-flagging anomalies in implementation of reservation policy in West Bengal. After a field visit in February 2023, NCBC had found Rohingyas and Bangladeshi immigrants had got OBC certificates and taken reservation benefits. The state government has made a survey the basis of inclusion of castes in OBC list. Now, Ahir has raised the objection that if this information was available why was it not supplied to NCBC. Citing the notifications of the state government, Ahir has written, "These notifications provide that these exercises have been carried out on the detailed survey. A copy of the proforma for the survey is attached. The National Commission for Backward Classes desires that the recommendations of the West Bengal State Commission along with the Survey reports specifically the information relating to point No. 13(C), 13(D) & 19(A) of the proforma with all the supporting documents being provided. The above sought information may be furnished within 3 working days." Points 13 (C) and 13 (D) pertain to the profession of people surveyed and how many are in government service. Point 19 (A) in the proforma asks respondents the level of education. NCBC says it has been seeking information on these counts from the state government and the reservation policy being followed.
NDTV
05-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Caste, Not Class, Will Be Counted In 2027 Population Census: Sources
New Delhi: Caste, and not class, will be taken into consideration during the exhaustive count of the population of the country that will be held in 2026-2027, sources said on Thursday. Each person will have to mention their caste and religion for the 16th Census that will be conducted in two phases in 2027. "Along with religion, everyone will have to declare their caste, irrespective of whether one is from the general category, OBC or Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe category," a source said. Explaining the need to specify the caste, rather than class, the source said there is no unified or single list for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), unlike the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). "The OBC list varies from state to state and that from the Centre," the source said. Two separate lists of OBCs are maintained - the central list is maintained by the National Commission for Backward Classes and used for reference in providing reservations in central government jobs and educational institutes; the state lists are managed by the respective governments and are often longer and more extensive than the central list. On Wednesday, the Union Home Ministry announced that India's 16th Census with caste enumeration will be carried out in 2027 with the reference date of October 1, 2026 in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and of March 1, 2027 in the rest of the country. The Census is being carried out after a gap of 16 years as the last one was held in 2011. More than 30 lakh enumerators and their supervisors are likely to be engaged to carry out the mega exercise. It will also be the first digital Census giving the citizens an opportunity to self-enumerate. The population of the country as per the Census 2011 was 1210.19 million of which 623.72 million (51.54 per cent) were males and 586.46 million (48.46 per cent) were females.
Hans India
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Govt fully prepared to act against Pahalgam perpetrators: NCBC chief Hansraj Ahir
Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, Chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes and former Minister of State for Home Affairs, strongly condemned the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, saying the government is fully prepared to respond and will not spare anyone involved in such acts. Speaking to IANS, Ahir said: "After such attacks, it is natural for people to be angry, but the government is taking strong steps and will continue to do so. Our country shares borders with multiple nations, and terrorists take advantage of any opportunity to infiltrate. But they are cowards, cowards who kill innocent people. The government is capable of taking solid steps against such acts." Recalling his tenure in the Home Ministry, he emphasised the progress made in securing India's borders: "I was myself the Minister of State for Home Affairs. I know how much work the government has done regarding the borders. Highways have been built in border areas. Earlier, there was a lot of insurgency in the Northeast, but now it is peaceful. Even insurgents have cooled down. Elections are held properly in state governments, and people come out to vote." He further stressed the vigilance of the armed forces and the government. "To deal with these kinds of secret, cowardly attacks, the government and the army are always alert. I have worked on this; I know how seriously the government operates," he claimed. On being asked about action against Pakistan, Ahir replied bluntly: "Whenever we retaliated against such behaviour of Pakistan, we never spared them. The government has always dealt with them strictly and firmly, and we will continue to do so. But this is not a cricket ground that today we go and do some good batting, it is not like that. This is a matter of two nations." He elaborated on the complexity of the issue: "This is a matter between two countries, and it is a very serious situation. Our population is larger and our borders are longer, but the government will act thoughtfully; it will not leave them." Assuring the nation of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's resolve, Ahir stated: "It is certain that under the leadership of PM Modi, the government will not tolerate such actions by Pakistan. The terrorists and Pakistanis have committed an unforgivable crime. The government is not in the mindset to forgive them, we will act at the appropriate time." He also warned political opponents to be cautious with their words: "Those who make statements should think that they should not make such remarks on matters of national security. It is a matter of national protection." In conclusion, he affirmed the government's capability and commitment: "The government's intention is clear, it is capable, and we respond with strength. Not just Pakistan, but even China, we have given a proper reply to them too. We should trust our government. The opposition must understand that they should not weaken the country with their statements."
