Backward Class Castes Movements

The backward castes did not emerge as a political force overnight. Their rise happened in both the colonial and post-colonial periods, and it was driven by a simple logic: the colonial state distributed jobs, education, and other forms of patronage on the basis of caste. When the government itself treats caste as a unit for giving benefits, it makes perfect sense for people to stay within their caste for social and political identity in institutional life.

This had a deeper effect. It pushed similarly placed caste groups — those with comparable social and economic standing — to unite with each other. Sociologists call this a horizontal stretch: instead of a vertical hierarchy of higher and lower castes, groups at the same level began to stretch sideways, merging into a larger bloc. As this happened, caste began to lose its ritual content (the old ideas of purity and pollution) and became more and more secularised — a tool for political mobilisation rather than religious hierarchy.

The term Backward Classes itself has a long history. It was in use in different parts of the country since the late 19th century. It began to be used more widely in the Madras presidency from 1872, in the princely state of Mysore from 1918, and in the Bombay presidency from 1925. From the 1920s onward, a number of organisations united around the issue of caste sprang up across India. These included:

• The United Provinces Hindu Backward Classes League
• The All-India Backward Classes Federation
• The All India Backward Classes League

By 1954, as many as 88 organisations were counted as working for the Backward Classes.