Jajula Srinivas Goud
Jajula Srinivas Goud is an Indian social activist and political organizer who has led Backward Classes (BC) welfare movements in Telangana since at least 2015, when he was first documented as State president of the BC Welfare Association at a BC Students' Shankaravam event in Hyderabad[^c23]. He later launched the BC Intellectual Forum and the BC Rajakiya Samiti to demand proportional representation for backward communities[^c9][^c12], and has served as State president and subsequently National President of the BC Welfare Association[^c1][^c2], as Working Chairman and Chairman of the BC Joint Action Committee (JAC)[^c5], and as a Member of the Telangana Legislative Council (MLC)[^c22], emerging as one of the prominent voices demanding enhanced reservations, caste enumeration, and proportional political representation for BC communities.
Goud's activism spans legal advocacy, mass mobilization, and cross-party policy engagement. In 2019, he filed a petition in the Telangana High Court challenging the constitutional validity of the 10% Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) reservation for upper castes, arguing that it violated the basic structure of the Constitution[^c3]. In September 2024, he secured a court order directing the state government to complete an empirical inquiry into politically backward classes for local body reservations within three months, a significant legal victory for the BC reservation movement[^c13]. He has led nationwide protests demanding a caste census, including a 2024 demonstration in Delhi where BC organizations called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conduct a BC census or resign[^c4], and a black-flag protest during Modi's visit to Hyderabad in May 2026[^c10][^c26]. His efforts culminated in the formation of the BC Joint Action Committee in October 2025, a unified body of 136 BC caste group associations that organized a statewide bandh demanding [[Telangana BC Reservation Movement|42% reservations for BCs in local body elections]][^c5][^c11]. His activity has also extended beyond Telangana: at a mahadharna in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, he demanded a nationwide caste census and an increase in BC reservations on a population-proportional basis, urging the state leadership to press the central government for BC enumeration[^c29].
Beyond reservation politics, Goud has advocated for educational and welfare issues affecting BC communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he protested the closure of schools while bars remained open, highlighting that 70% of rural students lacked access to online education[^c7]. He has also campaigned for the release of ₹8,000 crore in unpaid tuition fee reimbursement arrears affecting 22 lakh BC students[^c6]. In 2025, he welcomed the Telangana government's order providing 42% BC reservations in local bodies — issued as G.O.Ms. No. 9 — as a historic achievement while warning that the community would oppose any party that challenged the quota[^c8][^c32]. His activism continued into 2026 with a BC Welfare Association delegation to Governor Jishnu Dev Varma urging Presidential approval of the 42% BC quota bill[^c15], participation in an indefinite hunger strike demanding OBC inclusion in the national census[^c17], a major OBC rally in Maharashtra where he announced a "BC Garjana" protest in Delhi[^c14], and a statewide college bandh on July 2 that shut down colleges across Telangana over unpaid fee reimbursement dues[^c16][^c18][^c19]. He subsequently criticized the Congress government for allocating 60% of Yadagirigutta temple committee positions to forward castes in violation of Rahul Gandhi's proportional representation promise[^c21], and convened an all-party meeting on July 6, warning that the fee reimbursement movement would be intensified in the style of the Telangana statehood movement if the government did not respond[^c19][^c20]. In May 2026, a coalition of 18 BC associations allied with the BC JAC warned of intensified protests — including a proposed siege of the Chief Minister's residence — over alleged attempts to weaken the fee reimbursement scheme[^c30], and in July 2026 R. Krishnaiah led a satyagraha at Indira Park supported by 96 BC caste associations, with Goud among the leaders backing the demand for the release of pending dues[^c31]. The fee reimbursement dispute deepened through mid-2026, with private institutions estimating nearly ₹10,000 crore in unpaid dues, the High Court setting deadlines of July 31 and August 15 for clearing arrears, and the government moving reimbursement onto a direct benefit transfer system from the 2026–27 academic year[^c25][^c33]. In July 2026, Goud petitioned the TPCC chief to ensure that Professor Jayalakshmi, the first woman BC registrar in JNTU history, was retained in her post, and demanded that 60% of university posts be allocated to BCs on a population-proportional basis[^c34]. In early August, Goud led a BC delegation to Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, inviting him to the 11th National OBC Convention[^c24]; the convention was held on August 7 at Jnana Jyothi Auditorium at Dr. Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University, where Shivakumar — who inaugurated the gathering — committed the Karnataka government to implementing its socio-economic survey (caste census) in support of OBC demands[^c37][^c35]. The gathering adopted demands including a nationwide OBC caste census, population-based representation, a dedicated OBC ministry, and 50% OBC representation in legislative bodies[^c36]. Goud also continued to press for the 42% BC quota's constitutional protection through its inclusion in the Ninth Schedule[^c27]. Earlier in the national OBC gathering's history, he announced the National OBC Mahasabha at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Auditorium in Goa as the 10th edition of the annual August 7 event[^c28].