‘Porwal Banias’ in U.P. may get OBC tag
LUCKNOW : Porwals, a sub-caste among Banias, an upper caste, may get place in the Other Backward Class (OBC) list with the State Commission for Backward Classes already conducting a survey to assess their social and educational backwardness, a commission official revealed.
Once the commission gets its chairperson and other members, the survey report will be presented to it for necessary action. Presently, the commission is vacant at top and is waiting for the key positions to be filled to resume its work mandated in the law.
“Porwals belonging to the Vaishya community are basically found in Etawah and Mainpuri districts in the state and they have been demanding to be declared as OBC to improve their social and economic status by claiming benefits that are for the backward classes under the Constitution,” the official said.
A sample survey on certain parameters, according to him, has been launched to assess the level of their backwardness before their demand for being put on the OBC list is met. “If satisfied, the commission, when it gets the quorum, will make its recommendation to the state government for inclusion of Porwals into OBC schedule,” the official said.
The state government is
CURRENTLY, THERE ARE 79 OBC CASTES IN UTTAR PRADESH.
bound to accept the commission’s recommendations with regard to inclusion of a caste in or deletion from the OBC list after the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Indra Sawhney case though in other related matters, the state government has the choice to reject the commission’s recommendations.
Currently, there are 79 OBC castes in Uttar Pradesh. The last when any caste was included in the OBC list was in July 2000 when “Kalal”/ “Kalva”/”Kalar” were declared backward classes. In between, the reports for inclusion of several castes in the OBC list were submitted to the commission from time to time but each time the reports were turned down on one ground or the other.
Porwals are not the only forward caste to demand the OBC tag and some of the forward castes already find their place among the 79 notified backward classes in the state. Among them are “Giris”, “Halwai”, “Kalar” and “Bairagi”. “Giris” by caste are Brahmin.
“OBC is not a caste but a class that may include any caste subject to its required level of social and educational backwardness,” the official said.