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    ISAS Insights

    Detailed perspectives on developments in South Asia​​

    292 : The Patel Agitation and the OBC Puzzle

    Ronojoy Sen,Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS)

    21 September 2015

    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.