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♤ The Other Backward Classes (OBCs) are those who are as deprived as the S.C.s but without the stigma of untouchability. Andre Beteille, says "The OBC Constitute a congeries of communities of rather uncertain status".
♤ The Kaka Kalelkar Commission appointed by the Government of India, identified more than 3000 castes or communities as OBC in 1956. The Mandal Commission (1980) calculated that 52% of the population including non Hindus constitutes OBCs. Almost all commissions, except the Rane Commission in Gujarat (1983), used Social, educational and economic criteria for identifying 'backwardness'.