M A I N   N E W S

Jats, 4 other castes set to get OBC status in Haryana
Pradeep Sharma/TNS

Survey report Sangwan panel recommends Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Tyagis, Bishnois for inclusion in OBCs Castes’ socio-economic & educational backwardness taken into account 50,000 households, 16 castes surveyed Hooda government to take a final call soon

Chandigarh, November 23
In a development that may draw curtains on the Jat community’s agitation demanding quota in government jobs, decks have been cleared for according Other Backward Classes (OBC) status to five castes — Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Tyagis and Bishnois — in Haryana.

A survey report mandated by the Haryana State Backward Classes Commission (HSBCC) has recommended reservation in jobs and education for the five castes on the basis of their socio-economic and educational backwardness.

The final call will be taken by the state government once the HSBCC submits its formal report, a senior Hooda government official said here.

Sources said the report, which was prepared by Dr KS Sangwan, a former head of sociology department, Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, was submitted to the commission recently.

“The commission will submit its final report to the Haryana Government in a fortnight,” Justice KC Gupta, Chairman of the HSBCC, told The Tribune today.

During the course of the survey, the Sangwan committee surveyed around 50,000 households belonging to 16 castes across the state before arriving at its recommendations.

Besides the five castes recommended for the OBC quota, the other castes surveyed by the committee included Brahmins, Gosains/Goswamis, Vaishs (Banias, Aggarwals), Rajputs and Punjabis (Arora, Khatri), the sources stated.

Against the backdrop of a violent Jat agitation, particularly disruption of rail traffic on the Hisar-Jind-New Delhi section early last year, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had constituted the HSBCC to explore the possibility of inclusion of certain castes in the OBC list.

While initial efforts by the commission to undertake a survey did not meet much success, violent agitations by Jat protesters seemed to have speeded up the survey work.

Earlier this year, the commission asked the state-run universities to conduct a survey for the inclusion of the communities in the OBC list.