In 1990, Prime Minister V.P. Singh revived a report that three governments had left untouched for a decade. His decision to reserve jobs and college seats for OBCs set off deadly protests, toppled his own government within months, and reshaped Indian politics around caste in ways still felt today.
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Q1. What is the creamy-layer income limit for OBCs at present?
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Answer: A
The answer is Rs 8 lakh a year, set by the order of September 2017. Why the others fail: Rs 6 lakh was the 2013 limit and Rs 4.5 lakh the 2008 limit. Rs 10 lakh has only been proposed. Memory hook: 1, 2.5, 4.5, 6, 8 are the steps.
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Q2. The 50% ceiling on total reservation was laid down in which case?
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Answer: B
The answer is Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992). A nine-judge bench said at least half the seats must stay open. Why the others fail: Coelho is about the Ninth Schedule, Janhit Abhiyan upheld the EWS quota, and Jaishri Patil struck down the Maratha quota. Memory hook: Sawhney set the cap, the others only tested it.
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Q3. The Supreme Court’s 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment upheld the 27% OBC quota, but also introduced which two limits?
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Answer: B
The Indra Sawhney verdict, decided 16 November 1992, introduced the ‘creamy layer’ exclusion for economically advanced OBC members and set a general 50% ceiling on total reservations, also barring reservation in job promotions.
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Q4. What directly led to the collapse of V.P. Singh’s government in November 1990?
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Answer: B
L.K. Advani was arrested in Bihar on 23 October 1990 during his Ram Rath Yatra, widely seen as a countermove to Mandal-driven caste mobilisation. The BJP withdrew support the same day, and Singh lost a confidence vote on 7 November 1990, resigning three days later.
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Q5. Delhi University student Rajiv Goswami, whose September 1990 self-immolation attempt became an iconic image of the anti-Mandal protests, died from related complications in which year?
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Answer: C
Rajiv Goswami attempted self-immolation outside AIIMS on 19 September 1990 and survived with severe burns, but died from related complications on 24 February 2004, nearly 14 years later.
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Q6. On what date did PM V.P. Singh announce in Parliament that the Mandal Commission’s recommendations would be implemented?
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Answer: C
V.P. Singh announced implementation in Parliament on 7 August 1990. The formal Office Memorandum that actually operationalised the 27% OBC quota followed six days later, on 13 August 1990.
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Q7. What was the Mandal Commission’s core recommendation in its 31 December 1980 report?
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Answer: B
The Mandal Commission, chaired by B.P. Mandal, recommended 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in central government jobs, public-sector jobs, and higher-education seats, on top of existing SC/ST reservation.
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Q8. The Mandal Commission’s implementation permanently reshaped Indian electoral politics by bringing which issue to the centre of national political debate?
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Answer: A
The Mandal Commission’s implementation brought caste-based reservation to the centre of national political debate in a lasting way.
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Q9. V.P. Singh’s government announced it would implement the Mandal Commission’s recommendation in which year, years after the original report was submitted?
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Answer: A
Singh’s government announced implementation of the Mandal Commission’s recommendations in 1990, years after the original report had simply sat unimplemented.
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Q10. The Mandal Commission recommended what percentage of reservation in central government jobs and education for Other Backward Classes (OBCs)?
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Answer: A
The Mandal Commission recommended 27% reservation in central government jobs and education for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
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Q11. V.P. Singh, who became Prime Minister in 1989 leading a National Front coalition government, decided to implement the recommendations of which commission?
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Answer: A
V.P. Singh, who became Prime Minister in 1989, decided to implement the recommendations of the Mandal Commission.
Related topics: V.P. Singh and the Mandal Commission Controversy
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