Recent decades have marked a notable shift in the backward class movement marked by a move away from the clamour for kshatriya status towards a demand for greater access to state resources, representation in civic institutions and state recognition of numerous sub-caste identities that exist at a local level. With the issue of reservation acquiring a greater salience in electoral politics, however, the question remains whether the other backward classes as a category for public policy in contemporary India is still a measure for social and educational empowerment or has it dovetailed to a mere political trump card.
