1991 Constitutional Amendment

The 1991 Constitutional Amendment in India was a comprehensive overhaul of the Constitution's provisions related to social justice. It aimed to make caste-based reservation policies more transparent and effective by establishing criteria for including communities in reservation benefits. The amendment introduced the concept of a "Creamy Layer" among Other Backward Classes (OBCs), excluding wealthier, more advanced members from benefits, thus targeting reservations to the genuinely disadvantaged. It also set guidelines for identifying backward classes and emphasized social and educational backwardness as criteria for inclusion, promoting fairer and more targeted affirmative action policies.