Justice for OBCs through population based representation: Ex-DGP

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Former Director General of Police and All India Coordinator of the All India Bahujan Samaj Party, Dr J. Purnachandra Rao, asserted on Thursday that India continues to function as only a ‘half democracy’ as large sections of the population—including Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Muslims and women—remain grossly underrepresented in legislatures, the higher judiciary, public employment and institutions of higher education.

Addressing a press conference at Wine Crest, Nampally, to announce the ‘First National OBC Students’ Convention and Mandal Diwas Celebrations-2026’ scheduled to be held in Hyderabad on August 7 as part of the 200th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Dr Rao said social justice would remain incomplete until representation in every sphere of governance corresponded to the population share of each community. Dr Rao also pointed out that women account for nearly 50 per cent of India’s population but occupy barely 14 per cent of the seats in Parliament.

Dr Rao accused successive governments led by the Congress, the BJP and several regional parties of failing to ensure population-based representation for OBCs. Dr G. Kiran Kumar, National President of AIOBCSA stated that student leaders, scholars, public representatives, social activists and youth from across India would participate in the convention to deliberate on key issues affecting OBC communities and formulate a national roadmap for advancing social justice. 

Former IAS officer T. Chiranjeevulu stressed the need for evidence-based policymaking founded on a comprehensive caste census and said the convention would provide an important platform for expanding constitutional safeguards for OBCs. Venkat Maroju, representing the BC Employees Think Tank (USA) and the Boston Study Group, said the Indian OBC diaspora stood in solidarity with the movement for social justice and emphasized that the convention would send a strong national message on equal opportunities in education, employment and governance. 

The organizers said the convention, being held during the bicentenary year of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, is expected to emerge as a landmark national platform for strengthening the movement for social justice.