Bengal's New OBC List 2025

West Bengal Tables Revised OBC List with Increased Muslim Representation

The West Bengal government introduced a revised list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the state assembly on Tuesday. This updated list includes 140 subgroups, an increase from the 113 subgroups in the earlier version that was invalidated by the Calcutta High Court. Of the new total, 80 subgroups are from the Muslim community.

The previous list had categorized 77 Muslim and 36 non-Muslim groups as OBCs. The new classification comes as the state contests the High Court’s ruling in the Supreme Court, a case that affects approximately 500,000 OBC certificates. As part of its legal strategy, the state informed the apex court it would conduct a revised OBC survey by the end of June. The findings from this new survey were presented on Tuesday, along with news that 50 more groups are currently under review for possible inclusion.

Muslims now account for 57.1% of the total OBC list. In the OBC ‘A’ category, 36 of the 49 groups (73.4%) are Muslim, while in the OBC ‘B’ category, Muslims comprise 48.3%—with 44 of 91 groups identified as Muslim.

Previously, the High Court's order had brought down OBC reservations in the state from 17% to 7%. The newly tabled report aims to restore the 17% quota—7% allocated to OBC ‘A’ and 10% to OBC ‘B’. With the addition of potential new groups, this percentage may rise slightly in the near future.

This legal dispute had disrupted various public processes in the state, including admissions in educational institutions and hiring for government jobs.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, addressing the assembly on Tuesday, said the process of issuing OBC certificates for education and employment would restart immediately. She emphasized that the updated OBC classification was based purely on socio-economic disadvantage, not religious affiliation.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari criticized the updated list, suggesting it was politically motivated. He noted that prior to 2010, only 11 of 66 recognized OBC groups were Muslim and accused the state of creating an imbalanced system of benefit distribution.

In response, the ruling Trinamool Congress issued a statement challenging Adhikari’s claims. The party accused the opposition of attempting to create communal divisions ahead of the 2026 elections and reiterated that the criteria for OBC inclusion were based solely on backwardness, as stated by the Chief Minister.