Rise of OBCs in Power Structure of Rural Bihar Consequences in Social Structure and Perception A Sociological Study based on Some Selected Rural Area of Vaishali District of Bihar

Abstract

The rise of Other Backward classes (OBCs), in power-structure of traditional Indian society in general and in social structure of Bihar in particular, is very important social phenomena. The term OBCs was widely used by British administration and had come to mean Other Backward castes by the administrative usage. It is used in the constitution of independent India to designate backward classes other than the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. In other words, the OBCs are castes in Indian social systems that are situated above the untouchables but below the forward castes. The OBCs are not a homogeneous category. It consists thousands of peasants and artisans castes of various description. But the constitutional recognition of the OBCs as a category of public policy made it an important social category in Indian social system. newlineProblem of the Study newline Bihar is economically, educationally and socially one of the most backward states of India. With nearly 80 per cent of the population depending upon it for their livelihood, agriculture formed the mainstay of Bihar s economy. But, traditionally, the agricultural land remained monopolized by the three forward castes- the Rajputs, the Brahmins and the Bhumihars. The upper layer of the Other Backward Castes, namely, the Yadavs, the Kurmis and the Koeris, were left with very little land. But for some exceptions, the other lower castes were largely landless. Just after independence the government passed the abolition of zamindari act and other land reforms acts and provided the right of ownership to those tenants and cultivators who were actually cultivating the land. Establishment of democratic political system in which numerical strength of OBCs became a source of power and fundamental rights provided by Constitution of India further empowered the OBCs. Many castes belonging to the Other Backward Classes claimed a higher status through a reinterpretation and recasting of appropriate mythologies of origin.Reservation in government job and education also played role