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Need for comprehensive review of reservation policy

Author: Sandhya Jain
Publication: ABPLive.in
Date: February 22, 2016
URL:   http://www.abplive.in/blog/need-for-comprehensive-review-of-reservation-policy

The agitation by the Patel community in Gujarat and Jats in Haryana for reservation in educational institutions and government jobs underlines the urgency for a comprehensive and dispassionate review of the country’s quota policies at multiple levels.

The onus is on the Supreme Court which in 1992 upheld the then Prime Minister V.P. Singh’s divisive political move to implement the Mandal Commission’s recommendation of 27 per cent reservations for Other Backward Classes. Both V.P. Singh and the Supreme Court had erred because the Mandal Commission had identified Classes on Caste lines and other flawed criteria which led several social scientists associated with the Commission to disown its conclusions.

Moreover, in public perception, while 22.5 per cent reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes could be justified on grounds of historical backwardness and disabilities, no such merit could be perceived in partitioning the 77.5 per cent General category to give advantage to locally dominant castes that would corner educational and employment benefits at the cost of other meritorious candidates. It was this perceived injustice that led agitated youth to try to immolate themselves in many places.

Once the Supreme Court upheld quotas for Yadavs and Gujjars, the Patel-Jat saga of violence was only a matter of time as these locally dominant castes sought new opportunities in the fast changing economy. The Kapus of undivided Andhra Pradesh are another group that feels deprived.

A major and legitimate grievance of citizens is that the children of SC/ST and OBC category not only avail of quotas to get admission to the best colleges, but get admission with far lower marks (often less than 50 per cent), while students from General categories are excluded with even 75 per cent marks and above. This is true even in professional institutions, and often results in a high level of dropouts as the students cannot cope with the curriculum load and have only taken admission under parental pressure.

Worse, under a Supreme Court directive some years ago, institutions that could not find eligible students in the SC/ST/OBC category are forbidden from making the seats available to General category students. This double injustice is manifesting in community-wise unrest in different parts of the country. The Supreme Court must address this anomaly urgently before other deprived communities turn to violence. It should also abolish reservations in promotions.

The Jat violence in strategically located Haryana has forced the besieged Centre and Haryana Government to promise to extend reservations to Jats after a committee headed by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu submits its report.

But the move will have to cross the bar set by the Supreme Court as recently as March 2015. The Court had scrapped the UPA Government’s notification of March 2014 that included Jats in the Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in nine states. It also rejected pleas by Jat bodies for inclusion among the OBC. The Court argued that quotas must have an ‘exit clause’ and be justified on merit rather than mythologies of backwardness (Ram Singh & Others vs Union of India, WP Civil No 274 of 2014).

It is difficult to see how the Jats or Patels can meet these standards. Neither is socially or educationally backward, and both are adequately represented in public employment (armed forces, government services and educational institutions). The problem is that many youth are not interested in farming as it is no longer remunerative, and many have sold their land. What they want is access to education, and thus to employment opportunities. A way has to be found out of this impasse.

The Supreme Court is right that the increasing number of castes in Central and State OBC Lists points to “negative governance” not envisaged in the Constitutional Scheme. It favours exclusion of those no longer needing affirmative action.

It would be suicidal for any government to undertake this task. The Supreme Court can help by removing anomalies created by its previous rulings and reviewing all affirmative action practices.

- (The writer is an author and journalist. Email: jsandhya@gmail.com. Twitter: @vijayvaani.com)
 
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