
Thirty years ago, on August 7, 1990, the then Prime Minister,
Vishwanath Pratap Singh, announced that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) would
receive 27 per cent reservation for jobs in central government services and
public sector units. This would take the total number of reservations for
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to 49 per cent. The decision was based on a report submitted on 31 December,
1980 that recommended reservations for OBCs...