Difference Between OC and SC and ST and BC and OBC
It is believed that the caste system in India is very old, reversing since ages. The ancient Hindu society was divided into four exclusive, hereditary and occupation based Varnas (castes, or race or races). Vedas (the ancient Hindu scriptures) form the basis of this division of society into Varnas. Vedas say that these four Vernas were born to four different parts of the body of Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe. The Brahmans were born from the mouth that gives them the right to treat intellectual and spiritual needs of society. Khatriyas (Warriors) was born from the hands, which gives them the right to be protectors of society. Vaishyas (traders) were born from the thighs and so they are the people taking care of the agriculture and commerce, while the feet gave birth to Shudras (artisans and labor) who used to take care or rather all the activities of the manual labor. A fifth category was later added and it was Ati Shudras (Untouchables) who were left to do all kinds of dirty and polluting jobs.
This Varna system worked well until in the late nineteenth century, urbanization occurred and the economy became more complex, especially after independence in 1947. And as a result Jati system came into existence, having the characteristics similar to the Varna system. Jatis, however were not the subsets of the Varnas .There are regional differences in the system of Jati, where a particular Jati maybe regarded as backward in a particular area while this may not be so in another region.
To simplify the distinction and also provide the uprising of the weaker sections of society, the Government of India, with an amendment to the constitution, took into account the reservation of seats for backward and the lowest sections in society . The classification made by the Government is as follows.
OC
The other category, also called the open class has no reservation in employment. It is also known as the general (GEN) class consisting mainly of three top most classes in the Varna system viz. The Brahmins, The Kshatriyas and The Vaishyas.
ST
These are tribes that have traditionally lived in the forests and constitute 7-8% of Indian population. They have traditionally been marginalized and do not form a part of the mainstream of the society. They are also known as Adivasis and are referred to as Scheduled Tribes due to the fact that they are added under a schedule of the Indian constitution by the Government.
SC
These are the scheduled castes that were at one time regarded as untouchables under the Varna system. They make up to 16-17% of the total population of the country of India.
BC
This is the class referred to as backward by the Government due to the fact that they come from a society which is economically behind the others.
OBC
This is the category which is heterogeneous in nature and is placed in the same level as the Schedule Tribe in the sense that the constitution also regards it to be as economically behind as the people belonging to the ST category. A large chunk (30%) of Indian population belongs to this class.
The intention of the policy makers behind providing reservation to the SC and ST was to slowly make them a part of the mainstream of the society, and so the reservation criteria was originally planned for only 10 years. But reservation not only continued, but the same was increased to a large extent, causing discontent among the youth of the country.