The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday passed two significant amendment bills that overhaul the state’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation system. The legislation formally removes 77 Muslim communities from the OBC list, reduces the OBC reservation quota to a unified 7%, and restores a survey-based process for identifying backward classes, in line with a 2024 Calcutta High Court order.
The bills - the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2026 - were introduced by Backward Classes Welfare Minister Gouri Shankar Ghosh and passed with 186 votes in favour and 17 against. Some opposition members staged a walkout during the proceedings.
West Bengal’s OBC reservation framework has a long and contested history. Before 2011, under the Left Front government, the state maintained an OBC list of communities identified through surveys and recommendations, including inputs from commissions such as the one headed by Justice Ranganath Misra. A portion of these communities were Muslim.
After the Trinamool Congress (TMC) came to power in 2011, the list was substantially expanded. Reports indicate that dozens of additional Muslim communities were added to OBC categories (often split into A and B) without the mandatory field surveys or detailed socio-economic assessments by the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes. Critics, including the current BJP-led government, have long argued that these inclusions were driven by political considerations rather than objective criteria of social and educational backwardness.
The Calcutta High Court took a strong view of the process. In its May 22, 2024 order, a division bench observed that the selection of these communities appeared to treat Muslims as a “commodity for political ends.” The court struck down many OBC certificates issued after 2010 and directed that only communities included in the pre-2010 list - those backed by proper surveys, should continue to receive benefits. It also invalidated the previous split quota structure (10% for one OBC category and 7% for another).
Following the BJP’s assumption of power in the state under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari earlier in 2026, the government issued a notification in May accepting the High Court’s directions, withdrew a related petition from the Supreme Court, and moved to formalise the changes through legislation.
The amendments achieve several concrete outcomes:
- Exclusion of communities: 77 Muslim communities added during the previous regime without surveys have been removed from the OBC reservation benefits. Some examples cited in reports include Muslim Nehariya, Muslim Haldar, Muslim Mali, Ghosi (Muslim), Muslim Darji/Ostagar/Idrisi, Muslim Rajmistri, Muslim Batiyara, Muslim Molla, and Dhali (Muslim).
- Retained communities: A core list of 66 communities (approximately 54 Hindu and 12 Muslim) that formed part of the pre-2010 surveyed framework remains eligible. Retained Muslim communities include Jolah (Ansari Momin), Fakir, Pahadia Muslim, Hajjam (Muslim), and Chowduli (Muslim).
- Quota rationalisation: The OBC reservation has been consolidated into a single 7% quota, down from the earlier combined allocation that reached 17% across categories. The government, in consultation with the Backward Classes Commission, can now determine and periodically revise percentages based on data.
- Strengthened Commission role: The West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes regains primacy. Future inclusions or exclusions must be based on fresh surveys assessing social and educational backwardness. The law also introduces safeguards against fake OBC certificates.
- Broader framework: The bills amend the 1993 Commission law and the reservation statute to align with constitutional requirements under Article 16(4) and Supreme Court guidelines on backwardness criteria.
Minister Ghosh told the assembly that the changes correct inclusions made “solely to offer undue advantage to Muslims” and bypass the Commission. He added that the new framework will prevent misuse and ensure reservations reach genuinely backward classes.
The ruling side described the move as long-overdue correction of “appeasement politics” and a return to a transparent, survey-driven system. Supporters argue it protects the integrity of reservations meant for socially and educationally backward groups and ends the practice of expanding lists for electoral gain. Opposition voices, including from the Indian Secular Front (ISF) and sections of the TMC, criticised the bills as targeting a particular community. ISF MLA Naushad Siddique said decisions on reservation must rest on comprehensive scientific surveys applicable to all groups, regardless of religion, and called for more discussion before passage. Some rebel TMC legislators walked out, arguing the changes could hurt economically disadvantaged families.
The immediate effect is that individuals from the excluded communities will no longer be eligible for OBC benefits in state government jobs, educational admissions, and related schemes under the 7% quota. Many families that had obtained certificates under the expanded list may see those benefits end, subject to any ongoing legal proceedings or review of individual cases. On the positive side for the government’s supporters, the reduced competition within the OBC pool and the restored focus on surveyed communities could benefit those groups that remained on the pre-2010 list. The Commission is expected to begin fresh surveys, opening a pathway for new communities (of any background) to seek inclusion through evidence-based processes. The government has also emphasised measures to curb fake certificates.
