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Forward Castes or Upper Castes or Non Reserved Castes are group of endogamous Castes who are not classified either in Backward Castes list or in Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes lists declared by Government of India or by various state governments of India.Population of these communities is estimated as around 36-39 % of Indian Population as per various surveys conducted by Government of India.

Communities

Following communites and their subcastes are normally classified as Forward Castes. However there are many exceptions. Caste which is considered as Backward in one state may be considered as Forward in another state.(E.g Khatri's are considered as Forward in almost all Indian states except Tamilnadu. Jats are considered backward only in Rajastan).Government of India does not publish separate list for Forward Castes.Castes which don't appear in Other Backward Classes(OBC) or Scheduled Castes or Tribes (SC/ST) lists are treated as Forward Castes.

• • Brahmins and its subcastes
  • Marathas
  • Khatri considered as Backward only in Tamilnadu
  • Various Bania Communities like Agarwals,Marwari,Gupta,Oswal etc
  • Nairs in Kerala
  • Kapu / Naidu and its SubCastes who are mainly concentrated in Andhra Pradesh.In Tamilnadu they are considered as Backward caste.
  • Reddys who are mainly concentrated in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Kamma who are mainly concentrated in Andhra Pradesh
  • Raju who are mainly concentrated in Andhra Pradesh
  • Kayasthas. Karuneegars which is equivalent of Kayasthas are considered Backward caste in Tamilnadu
  • Jats except in Rajastan where they are classified as Backward
  • Komati Chettiar or Arya Vaishya mainly found in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamilnadu
  • Rajputs
  • Thakore
  • Nagarathar Chettiar mainly found in Tamilnadu.They are considered as Backward caste in Kerala.
  • Bohra Muslims.All Muslims are considered Backward in Kerala and separate reservation is provided to them.
  • Jain Religious people
  • Parsis
  • Bunt mainly found in Karnataka

Population

Many Political leaders who supports Reservation for Backward classes like Mr.Karunanidhi,Dr.Udit Raj,Mr.Ramadoss etc normally estimates Forward Castes population as anywhere between 5-15%. However they have not quoted source for their estimations.National sample survey estimates Forward Caste population almost same as Backward Classes at around 36%.Family health survey combined Forward castes population along with all communities of other religions. If you exclude Backward castes of other religions then it comes roughly around 38.6% which is more than Backward castes population.Statewise Forward Caste Population can be found from the chart.

Economic & Educational Status

Source:Employment and Unemployment situation among various social groups in India NSS 55 round 1999-00 http://mospi.nic.in/mospi_nsso_rept_pubn.htm

Forward Castes are unreserved categories of Indian Population.They will have to compete only in Open Category as they are considered socially,educationally and economically advanced.Currently Reserved Category proportion stands at 50% in Central Government Educational institutions and Central Government jobs. However in Certain states like Tamilnadu Reservation percentage stands at around 69%.

Economic Status

NSS 99-00 calculated economical status of Forward Communities separately for Rural/Urban Areas in various income brackets.It shows

• • Only 6.4% of Forward Castes in Rural areas appear in upper income bracket with per capita monthly income stands at above Rs 925/Month.
  • 30% of Rural population comprises of Forward Castes.
  • More than 65% of Forward castes per capita income stands below Rs 525/Month.

Government of India does not take Community wise census except for SC/ST.Economic and educational level of other communities are gauged using large sample surveys. National Sample Survey taken in 1999-00(NSS 99-00) and National Family Health Survey taken in 1998-99(NFHS 98-99) are the surveys which estimated economic,educational,health indicators of various communities.These surveys were used extensively in the report submitted by oversight commitee

For urban areas,

• • Only 5.6% of Forward Castes appear in Upper Income Bracket with per capita income stands at above Rs 1925/Month.
  • More than 25% of Forward castes per capita income stands below Rs 500/Month.

Educational Status

• • More than 30% of Forward Castes above 15 years of age are illiterate.
  • Only 8% of Forward Castes are graduates.
  • Around 85% of Forward Castes above 15 years of age have done equal to or below Secondary Education(10 Years of Education)

Reservation for Economically backward among Forward Castes

Currently Forward Castes will have to compete only in Unreserved category in Educational Institutions and Central Government Jobs irrespective of their educational/economical status in the society. Significant percentage of Forward Caste Population lives below poverty line and more than 30% members of their communities are illiterates. To meet their aspirations, demands have been raised for providing separate reservations for economically poor among Forward castes. Many political parties like Congress, BJP, Samajwadi Party, LJP, Rastriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India(Marxist), Bahujan Samaj Party have supported proposals for providing separate reservation for poor among forward castes. These parties has more than 400 members out of 542 members in existing parliament and ruling most of the states in India.

Timeline•

• 1991- Congress Government headed by Narasimha Rao introduced 10% separate reservation for poor among forward castes.
• 1992 – Supreme court has ruled in Indra Sawhney case that separate reservation for poor among forward castes as invalid. Government has withdrawn separate reservation as per supreme court judgement.(Many other verdicts given in same case has been overruled by constitutional amendments like Quota in promotions,Exceeding 50% reservations for Tamilnadu.Judgement regarding creamy layer in the same case was not implemented by Tamilnadu so far.)
• 2003 – BJP Government appointed Group of Ministers for suggesting measures for implementation of separate reservation for poor among forward castes.
• 2004 - Task force has been setup to work out modalities for providing reservations to Poor among Forward castes.No information available regarding report submitted by this task force.
• 2006 –Present Congress Government appointed commission to study separate reservation for economically backward classes.

See Also

• Indian caste system
• Social justice