Yogi Adityanath Government Includes 17 OBC Castes In Scheduled Castes List

Lucknow: In what can be termed as a masterstroke, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has included 17 OBC castes in the Scheduled Castes (SC) list. A decision to this effect was taken late Friday night and authorities have been directed to issue caste certificate to families belonging to these 17 castes. The castes that have been added into this list are - Nishad, Bind, Mallah, Kewat, Kashyap, Bhar, Dhivar, Batham, Machua, Prajapati, Rajbhar, Kahar, Pottar, Dhimar, Manjhi, Tuhaha and Gaur, which previously belonged to the Other Backward Castes (OBC) category. This move is seen as an attempt by the Yogi Government to provide these social and economically backward classes with the benefits of reservation after removing legal irritants that have stalled the issue in the past. The move will leave greater space in the OBC quota for the remaining OBC caste groups. This is also the fulfilment of a 15-year-old demand by these 17 caste groups. (IANS)

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