Interestingly, the relative affluence of the Karnataka OBCs — in 2011-12 they earned more than the Gujarat OBCs, Rs 26,264 as annual per capita mean income, against Rs 25,488 for the Gujarat OBCs — was not due to job reservation. Only 12 per cent of the Karnataka OBCs got salaried jobs, against 15 per cent for the Gujarat OBCs. Karnataka OBCs benefited more from another dimension of the positive discrimination programmes: Quotas in education. Indeed, the percentage of graduates among the Karnataka OBCs is slightly above that of the dominant castes, 4.8 per cent against 4.6 per cent. Here again, Karnataka could offer a model to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana, three states where dominant castes are asking for reservations because of the critical situation of their rural segments.

Source: Indian Express March 07, 2018 19:15 UTC