Late Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs is promoted as an icon of Backward Classes to consolidate the community.
Amid expectations of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes (KSCBC) to submit its socio-educational survey recommendations soon, the Other Backward Classes block in the state seems to be undergoing a slow and silent ebb.
Attempts are being made to consolidate the disparate castes and bring them together as a powerful political bloc. This report, which will be closely watched, is expected to bring out the social, educational and economic status of the castes, which could be used to provide targeted support to the needy community. More importantly, it would raise the population size of each caste, which is seen as an important political bargaining tool.
New outfit launched
Karnataka Suppressed Backward Castes Federation (KSSBCF) was started to bring together 95 castes in category 1, 102 from category 2 A and one caste each from category 3A and 3B. Significantly, the federation has distanced itself from the Kurubas, dominant among the backward classes in the state, who are numerically larger and are believed to have reaped political dividends. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah belongs to the Kuruba community.
“The combined population of these castes in the state is estimated to be around 1.4 million, which if combined will be the strongest force with an average of 50,000 to 60,000 votes in at least 150 assembly constituencies. The federation is apolitical but will negotiate with political parties for a ticket for members of these communities,” said a former KBC member and founder of the KBC federation.
According to him, there should be at least 45 legislators from the bloc, in line with the size of the population, but now there are only about 10.
HSS start, yellow flag
Another effort to consolidate the Backward Classes is underway as decks are being cleared to launch the Hindulida Sanghatana Samiti (HSS), on the lines of the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, to provide a basic organizational structure to the Backward Classes movement. A yellow flag with red, blue and green stripes was unfurled and the late D. Devaraj Urs is elevated to the icon of the Backward Classes.
“Our initiative found its roots in the 2018 Assembly elections and we found that there was a disconnect with the local people. OBCs are a heterogeneous group and if identity is not emphasized, it is difficult to bring them together. HSS will provide votes to all OBCs, especially marginalized communities. Color (for the flag) and identity are important to convey a political message,” said Ravira Boseraju, a key official of the initiative. “We are working on ways to provide leadership roles to people from marginalized communities. We hope that along with financial and legal support, the political identity will strengthen the OBCs.”
Ravi Boseraju, a key figure in the Hindulida Sanghatana Samiti initiative, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The yellow flag is similar to the blue flag associated with the Dalit movement or the green flag for the farmers’ movement and the red flag for the workers. Incidentally, the social reformer Narayana Guru used the yellow flag and inspired those who run the movement.
“Social justice is not only for the OBCs. It is relevant for the working class, Dalits and farmers. The red, blue and green stripes in the yellow flag are meant to represent all groups for greater OBC consolidation. There is a conscious movement for OBC consolidation,” said A. Narayana, a faculty member at Azim Premji University who advocates political mobilization of Karnata’s OBCs.
To regain momentum
According to Prof. Narayan, although the mobilization of the OBCs during the late Ursa era was seen as a challenge to the political dominance of the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, this consolidation later lost steam. “Now again many groups are coming and all of them are advocating some kind of political consciousness of the OBCs, asserting rights to political and administrative dues.”
Published – 30 March 2026 23:04 IST
