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First Backward Classes Commission — 1953–1955

Primary source: Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India

60-SECOND SUMMARY

What is this record?

The First Backward Classes Commission, chaired by Kaka Kalelkar, was appointed on 29 January 1953 under Article 340 and submitted its report on 30 March 1955. It did not create today’s Central 27% OBC quota.

  • Appointed 29 January 1953
  • Constituted under Article 340
  • Report submitted 30 March 1955
Members of the Indian Constituent Assembly gathered in Constitution Hall in December 1946
The Constituent Assembly in Constitution Hall, New Delhi, December 1946. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

RECORD PREVIEW

The source at a glance

Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of IndiaReport of the Backward Classes Commissionofficial commission report PDF · 29 January 1953 — 30 March 1955

Official source linked; no source document is reproduced.

THE DOCUMENT

What This Record Actually Says

  • The President appointed the commission under Article 340 on 29 January 1953.
  • Kaka Kalelkar chaired it, and it submitted its report on 30 March 1955.

CONTEXT

Why It Matters

  • It was the first national post-Constitution commission to examine socially and educationally backward classes under Article 340.

READ WITH CARE

What It Does NOT Say

  • Its report did not create today’s Central 27% OBC reservation.

SOURCE CONNECTIONS

Follow the Record

  1. Article 340 provides the commission mechanism Constitution / Article 340 CONTEXT NODE

    Constitutional mechanism for commissions to investigate backward classes.

  2. earlier national commission precedes the second commission Mandal Commission

Each connection is rendered from the archive’s typed canonical relationship data. A chronological connection does not by itself claim legal causation.

BEFORE

What Came Before

Constituent Assembly

Constitution / Article 340

NEXT

What Happened Next

Mandal Commission

CONNECTED EVIDENCE

Connected Records

9 December 1946Constituent AssemblyRead the connected evidence record →1 January 1979Mandal CommissionRead the connected evidence record →

INQUIRY

Questions Worth Asking

  • How did its criteria and recommendations compare with the later Mandal Commission?

COMMON CONFUSIONS

Keep Separate

  • The 1955 report and the later Central 27% OBC policy are not the same measure.

EDITORIAL LAYER

Editor's Reading Note

Editorial reading note in preparation.

Reading note in preparation

SOURCE & PROVENANCE

View the Original Record

Report of the Backward Classes Commission
Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India
official commission report PDF

VIEW ORIGINAL RECORD ↗

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