ISAS Insights

The recent mass political campaign by the Patels in India's Gujarat state for quotas for their caste in government jobs and educational opportunities has re-ignited the national debate on affirmative action for the Other Backward Classes (OBC). Despite a recent apex judicial ruling in favour of a shift from the existing caste-centric determinant of backwardness, the demands by various caste groups for the OBC status may only proliferate in the absence of political consensus on the issue.