https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Mandal_Commission_protests_of_1990Mandal Commission protests of 1990 - Revision history2026-07-31T03:09:46ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Mandal_Commission_protests_of_1990&diff=515747&oldid=prevScarlettFlannaga at 08:29, 7 May 20262026-05-07T08:29:53Z<p></p>
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{{Short description|Protest against reservation in India}}<br />
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:1990, August 31, Government employee protest, Chandigarh, India.jpg|thumb|Image of Mandal Commission protest from 1 September 1990<br />
newspaper{{deletable image-caption|Monday, 19 November 2012}}]] --><br />
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'''Mandal commission protests of 1990''' were against reservation in government jobs based on caste in [[India]].<br />
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==Background==<br />
===Mandal Commission===<br />
{{Main|Mandal Commission}}<br />
Mandal Commission was set up in 1977 January by [[Morarji Desai]] government to identify the socially or educationally backward classes to consider the question of seat reservations and quotas for people to redress caste discrimination, and used eleven social, economic, and educational indicators to determine backwardness. It was chaired by [[B. P. Mandal]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20070702-1990-mandal-commission-748367-2007-07-01 | title=1990: Caste Cleft | work=[[India Today]] | date=2 July 2007 | access-date=2013-04-08}}</ref> The commission submitted the report to the [[President of India|President]] on 30 December 1980. It recommended 27% reservation quota for [[Other Backward Class|OBC]] resulting in total 49.5% quota in government jobs and public universities.<ref name=Ramaiah>{{cite web|last=Ramaiah |first=A |date=6 June 1992 |url=http://www.tiss.edu/downloads/ppapers/pp1.pdf |title=Identifying Other Backward Classes |pages=1203–1207 |publisher=Economic and Political Weekly |access-date=2006-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051230030051/http://www.tiss.edu/downloads/ppapers/pp1.pdf |archive-date=30 December 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[V. P. Singh]], the Prime Minister implemented the recommendations in August 1990, by reserving 27% of jobs under the central government and public sector undertakings which led to protests.<br />
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==Protests==<br />
These protests were against giving government jobs to certain castes to rectify historical injustices they faced. These protests closed roads, highways, transportation services, government services, schools, and businesses of [[India]]. Anti-[[Reservation in India|reservationists]] protested. Student protests were planned publicly, and in advance. Protest events were photographed for many published articles of newspapers locally and nationally.<ref>''[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]'' newspaper, 1 September 1990, Chandigarh, India.</ref> Protests began during the year when the eleven-year-old [[Reservation in India#History|Mandal Commission]] was opened to bring into effect new government employment opportunities, [[Vishwanath Pratap Singh#Mandal Commission report|reservation for backwards classes]].{{fact|date=October 2024}}<br />
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Between the failure to effectively control the political cost of the protests escalating enough to close parts of the nation, and an eleven-year-old human rights improvement project, were causes that ultimately led to accepting the resignation of the [[Janata Dal]] party's [[Prime Minister of India]], [[Vishwanath Pratap Singh|V. P. Singh]].{{fact|date=October 2024}}<br />
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Culturally unique features of the protests and riots were [[bandh]]s (a version of a strike), [[hartal]]s (a version of a municipal shut-down), [[dharna]]s (a version of swarming). Incidents of destruction of public property, looting, and intimidation for bandhs, hartals and dharnas were published and listed geographically as travel information in newspaper articles. Articles also highlighted politicians and victims of rioting during the protests. Although not advisable, late summer travel by airline and vehicle during the protests was possible without delays, between capitals New Delhi and Chandigarh, and Shimla for example. [[Delhi Police|Police]] prevented extending the range and duration of the strikes, and some strike activity from even occurring. The strike helped to give large popularity to [[Mandal Commission]] report and fueled the political grouping of the [[OBC quota|OBC]] castes, which later helped a lot for the strengthening of regional political parties and stronger parties other than [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] and [[BJP]].{{fact|date=October 2024}}<br />
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==Self immolations==<br />
===[[Rajiv Goswami]]===<br />
Rajiv Goswami was the first student to attempt self-immolation while a student at [[Deshbandhu College]], [[Delhi University]] in October, 1990 to protest against [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[V.P. Singh|V.P. Singh's]] implementation of the [[Mandal Commission]] laws for Affirmative Action (reservation) recommendations. His action sparked a series of self-immolations by college students and led to a formidable movement against job reservations for backward classes, as recommended by the Mandal Commission.<ref name="tt">{{cite news | url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040225/main6.htm | title=Pioneer of anti-Mandal stir Rajiv Goswami dead | work=The Tribune | date=24 February 2004 | agency=PTI | access-date=2013-04-08}}</ref> He was later elected as the President of Delhi University's Student Union, he died after about a decade of suffering because of the 70% burns he had suffered.<br />
===Wave of suicide protests===<br />
While Goswami survived, he became the face of the agitation, and more immolation bids followed soon. The historian [[Ramachandra Guha]] puts that number at 200; more than 60 succumbed to their burns.<ref>https://frontline.thehindu.com/politics/india-at-75-epochal-moments-1990-anti-mandal-agitation-and-identity-politics/article65730863.ece</ref> Some other reports put these suicide attempts to 159, with 63 succumbing to their injuries.<ref>https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/special-report/story/19901031-mandal-report-touches-a-peculiar-chord-among-youth-813187-1990-10-30</ref> Other prominent victims include<ref>https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/special-report/story/19901031-mandal-report-touches-a-peculiar-chord-among-youth-813187-1990-10-30</ref> Monica Chadha (19, New Delhi)<ref>https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-20-mn-2237-story.html</ref>, Anil Kumar (15, Tekri, Haryana), Saurabh Verma (20, Indore), Surinder Singh Chauhan (22, New Delhi; first fatality), Susarla Vamsee Mohan (20, Hyderabad), Narinder Kaur (16, Pathankot), Saroj Saini (15, Chandigarh), Shama Gupta (Chandigarh), Chetan Gautam (13), Aparna Deshpande (Jabalpur), and Ravindra Kumar (Jabalpur).<br />
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==Popular culture==<br />
* 2010 TV series ''[[Armanon Ka Balidaan-Aarakshan]]'' had backdrop of these protests.<ref name="ndt">{{cite news | url=http://movies.ndtv.com/television/new-tv-serial-shows-both-sides-of-mandal-divide-68667 | title=New TV serial shows both sides of Mandal divide | work=NDTV | date=26 November 2010 | agency=IANS | access-date=2013-04-08}}</ref><br />
* ''[[Hurdang]]'' (2022) by [[Nikhil Nagesh Bhat]] is set in the backdrop of the protests.<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Jat Gazette|Influence of Jat-Political conciliation]]<br />
* [[Dominant caste|Rise of Jotedar principalities]] <br />
* [[Patidar reservation agitation]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|_30em}}<br />
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{{Reservation in India}}<br />
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[[Category:Conflicts in 1990]]<br />
[[Category:1990 in India]]<br />
[[Category:Reservation in India]]<br />
[[Category:Protests in India]]<br />
[[Category:V. P. Singh administration]]</div>ScarlettFlannaga