OBC Reservation: Rajasthan OBC Commission Report to Shape New Formula as Public Hearings Launch!

Jaipur - In a major initiative towards the political empowerment of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Rajasthan, the Rajasthan State Other Backward Classes (Political Representation) Commission has launched a statewide public hearing campaign starting from November 17, which will run until December 8.

Under this, the real challenges, developmental needs, and socio-economic disparities of the OBC community will be directly gathered from the public in the divisions of Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Ajmer, Jaipur, and Kota, to formulate a fair reservation policy. In line with this, the Commission has decided to organize public hearings in all districts of the state, with the hearing in Udaipur scheduled for November 21.

OBC Commission Public Relations Officer Vikram Rathore stated that on November 21, from 11 AM to 1:30 PM, a public dialogue and discussion program will be organized as per the pre-scheduled program at the Collectorate Udaipur, in the presence of Commission Chairman Justice (Retd.) Madan Lal Bhati along with other members Gopal Krishna, Prof. Rajiv Saxena, Mohan Morwal, Pawan Mandaviya, and Secretary (Advisor) Ashok Kumar Jain.

In this discussion, the OBC Commission will establish direct dialogue with the general public to gather area-specific issues of Other Backward Classes, developmental needs, socio-economic challenges, and important problems, expectations, and suggestions related to the welfare of the OBC community. The objective of this extensive public hearing is to establish direct dialogue on issues related to Other Backward Classes and collect suggestions. The suggestions received by the Commission will be incorporated into the report to enable concrete policy-making for social justice and empowerment of the OBC community in the state.

As per the Commission's instructions, the Udaipur district administration has appointed Riya Dabee, Chief Executive Officer of the Zila Parishad Udaipur, as the Nodal Officer, and Dinesh Mandowara, Deputy Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, as the Co-Nodal Officer. Participation of current and former MPs, MLAs, district chiefs, deputy chiefs, sarpanchs, panchayat samiti members, urban body chairpersons, and members has been ensured in the Udaipur public dialogue, along with invitations to OBC welfare organizations, Bar Council members, and the general public, where they can share their experiences, such as access issues for OBC women in rural areas, political exclusion arising from economic disparities in urban bodies, and overall barriers in the implementation of reservations, which will enrich the Commission's final report.

Primary Objective of the Public Hearing

The primary objective of this public hearing is to establish direct dialogue with the general public, political figures, stakeholders, and social organizations and invite their views and suggestions. The Commission wants to ensure that the recommendations being made on political reservation for the OBC category are based on ground realities and people's actual experiences. Extensive preparations have been made for this, including widespread publicity of the program's date, venue, and objective through local newspapers, so that maximum people can participate.

The Rajasthan State Other Backward Classes (Political Representation) Commission will determine the formula for providing reservation to OBC castes in Panchayati Raj and urban bodies to ensure the welfare of socially and educationally backward classes in the state and their appropriate political representation in local bodies, and submit its report to the state government. The reservation in the state will be implemented based on this very report.

Constitution of the Commission

The public hearing is being held in full compliance with the historic order of the Supreme Court dated May 10, 2022, in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 278/2022, Suresh Mahajan vs. State of Madhya Pradesh & Others, which directed a contemporaneous and rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature of backwardness of OBCs and its implications to ensure reservation arrangements in local bodies. The Commission, constituted as a dedicated five-member unit on May 9, 2022, under the Social Justice and Empowerment Department's Order No. F 11 (Ra., Ra.Pi. Varg (Political) BC / Sanya Avi/2025/33822.

Led by Chairman Retired Justice Madan Lal Bhati, with members Gopal Krishna, Professor Rajiv Saxena, Mohan Morwal, Pawan Mandaviya, and Secretary (Advisor) Ashok Kumar Jain, this campaign is designed to strengthen OBC political representation, where recommendations for reservations in Panchayati Raj institutions such as village panchayats, panchayat samitis, and district councils, as well as urban bodies like municipal councils, municipal boards, and municipal corporations, will be based on the principles of social justice. As per the Supreme Court's directives, the Commission is required to conduct an in-depth investigation into the nature of OBC backwardness and its implications, including a comprehensive evaluation of caste-based data alongside educational, economic, social, and political indicators, ensuring that the reservation limit does not exceed 50 percent, as clarified by the Court.

Survey Process Accelerated

The Commission, constituted by the state government, has accelerated the survey process, which includes door-to-door data collection from OBC families, consultations with political parties, research institutions, and experts, and analysis of regional disparities. The Commission is also inviting online suggestions through digital platforms via email at obccommission25@gmail.com, which will help bridge the rural-urban digital divide. In a culturally and economically diverse division like Udaipur, where the OBC community plays a prominent role in sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and handicrafts, but suffers from the impact on their interests in development projects due to lack of political representation, this public dialogue is particularly relevant; therefore, the Commission will base its recommendations on suggestions gathered here to include local economic surveys in reservation calculations, linking the OBC community's real needs, such as access to education, employment, and basic infrastructure to the political decision-making process.

Ultimately, these recommendations will be submitted to the state government within a fixed timeframe, after which the new reservation system will be implemented to conduct Panchayati Raj and urban local body elections, ensuring not only the empowerment of OBCs but also making Rajasthan's democratic framework more inclusive and just, where the voice of every class echoes equally. This process is a historic effort by Rajasthan towards social justice.