Karpoori Thakur: Pioneer of Sub-Categorised Social Justice in Bihar

Why in the News?

1. Karpoori Thakur’s political legacy is central to ongoing debates on OBC sub-categorisation and affirmative action in India; his policies in the 1970s prefigure contemporary measures such as the G. Rohini Commission.
2. As Bihar prepares for elections, revisiting Thakur’s tenure explains how caste, coalition politics and social policy shaped the state’s modern political landscape.

Key Highlights

1. Early life, political roots and ideological base
   1. Freedom movement and socialism: Thakur was a Quit India veteran whose politics drew from socialist ideals and the leadership of figures like Ram Manohar Lohia.
   2. Electoral entry and grassroots base: He entered electoral politics in 1952 and won repeatedly from Tajpur, building a reputation as a champion of the poor and backward classes.
2. First brief chief ministership (Dec 1970 – June 1971) and political turbulence
   1970. Coalition politics: In a period of extreme instability (frequent changes of government in Bihar), Thakur headed a broad anti-Congress coalition formed on December 22, 1970.
   1971. Cabinet expansion and fragility: To maintain the uneasy coalition, he expanded his ministry dramatically, but defections and the 1971 Lok Sabha results weakened his position.
   1972. Social policy initiative: Hours before resigning in June 1971, Thakur set up a commission to study upliftment of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), signalling his long-term policy priorities.
3. Role as Opposition leader and national politics (1972–1977)
   1. Leader of Opposition: After the Assembly turbulence, Thakur served as Leader of Opposition, sharpening his public profile and policy focus on social justice.
   2. Parliamentary phase: Following the Emergency and the Janata surge in 1977, he entered Parliament from Samastipur, reflecting his wider influence beyond state politics.
4. Second chief ministership (1977–1979) and affirmative action reforms
   1. Return as CM with mandate: Resigning as MP, Thakur became CM again on June 24, 1977, this time with a majority government.
   2. Innovative reservation policy: He implemented a graded reservation formula that sub-categorised backward groups: allocations for Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), Backward Classes (BCs), women across categories, and economically weaker sections — an early attempt to address intra-OBC inequalities.
   3. Political cost: His affirmative action provoked a strong backlash from upper-caste sections and some Janata Party colleagues, contributing to political splits and his eventual resignation in April 1979.
5. Later career, legacy and posthumous recognition
   1988. Continued opposition role and death: Thakur remained politically active into the 1980s as Opposition leader and passed away in 1988.
   1989. Long-term impact: His sub-categorisation model influenced later OBC politics in Bihar and inspired national debates on targeted social justice, earning him retrospective acclaim including a posthumous Bharat Ratna.

Implications of Karpoori Thakur’s Sub-Categorisation of OBCs

1. Institutional Foundation for Targeted Social Justice
   1. Thakur’s 1977 graded reservation formula became the first state-level experiment to differentiate between Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and dominant OBCs such as Yadavs, Kurmis, and Koeris.
   2. This model introduced intra-group equity within reservations — ensuring that benefits reached the most marginalised, not just numerically strong castes.
   3. The conceptual innovation laid the groundwork for later commissions and court judgments recognising the non-homogeneity of backward classes.
2. Influence on the Mandal Commission and National Policy
   1. The Mandal Commission (1979–80), constituted soon after Thakur’s tenure, drew from Bihar’s experience of caste-based socio-economic classification.
   2. Bihar’s graded approach highlighted the need for data-driven identification of OBCs, influencing the Commission’s methodology and rationale for the 27% national quota.
   3. The spirit of Thakur’s experiment resurfaced during the implementation of Mandal recommendations (1990), reinforcing Bihar’s leadership in affirmative action discourse.
3. Revival of EBC Politics and Later Bihar Models
   1. Decades later, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar revived and institutionalised Thakur’s concept of EBC-focused welfare schemes and sub-quotas within OBC reservations.
   2. Dedicated EBC commissions, separate budgetary allocations, and scholarships trace their intellectual lineage to Thakur’s 1977 vision.
   3. The policy helped politically empower smaller, non-dominant backward castes, balancing caste representation and curbing monopoly by major OBC groups.
4. National Relevance in Contemporary Policy Debates
   1. Thakur’s model influenced the Rohini Commission (2017), constituted to study sub-categorisation within the Central OBC list.
   2. The Commission’s report (2023) echoed Thakur’s insight — that backward classes are not a single homogenous block, and the benefits of reservation have been unevenly distributed.
   3. Thus, Bihar’s 1970s experiment anticipated present-day policy and judicial discussions on equitable benefit distribution within the 27% central OBC quota.
5. Long-Term Empowerment and Social Mobility
   1. The sub-categorisation initiative catalysed political awakening among EBCs, leading to their growing participation in panchayats, state legislatures, and bureaucracy.
   2. It broadened the social base of political representation in Bihar and inspired other states (like UP, MP, and Tamil Nadu) to conduct similar caste-based surveys.
   3. Over time, it helped transform OBCs from a passive demographic to an active political and administrative stakeholder group, redefining India’s social justice landscape.

Conclusion

Karpoori Thakur was a restless reformer who used the levers of state power to advance targeted social justice even at political cost. His pioneering sub-categorisation of reservations made Bihar a crucible of affirmative action experiments and continues to inform national policy debates. Thakur’s life shows that transformative social reform often requires both moral leadership and careful institutional design.