NEW DELHI: Agitation by students protesting the 27% job reservation announced last month for the backward sections of India1 community has so far taken a toll of more than 80 lives but a com promise is not yet in sight between the Indian govt and the agitationists.
A recent stay order by the supreme court of India on govt’s decision has helped cool passions somewhat, but the students have rejected an offer from the Govt for dialogue.
Prime Minister V P Singh’ August 7 announcement that 27% quota of jobs in federal govt services and public undertakings would be fixed for those belonging to the other backward castes (OBC) prompted protests from the upper caste: Hindus. The agitation has inspired many youths to commit suicide or engage in violence.
The constitution of India has already provided for the reservation of 22.5% jobs in govt services for the most backward sections of Indian society and put them in the categories of scheduled castes (SC’s)and Scheduled Tribes (ST’s). While SC’s retain the lowest rung of Hindu caste system, ST’s are not included in it all.
The upper caste Hindus have resented further reservation saying that it would completely dilute whatever limited employment opportunities they had so far to enter govt jobs. They also castigate the govt policy for, as they say, “it flouts the principle of merit based selections.”
The govt, however, contends that job reservations for the backward castes are must for rendering social justice and bringing them up from the centuries of social deprivation’s.
In the Hindu social fabric, caste is a social unit inherited by individuals by the accident of their births and determines not only individuals place in the Hindu caste system but also their occupations.
Once born in a particular caste the privileges or deprivation attached with it go lifelong. Castes constitute the building bricks of the Hindu social structure which have kept Hindu society divided in a hierarchal order for centuries.
The primary task of the commission under the chairmanship of BP Mandal was to determine the criteria for defining the socially and educationally backward classes and to recommend steps to be taken for the advancements of the socially and educationally backward classes of citizens so identified.
While antiMandal agitationists question the very rationale of more Reservation many scholars have doubted the methods and criteria of determining OBC’s, Mandal commission report has identified more than 3 thousands OBC’s in the country while a recent report of anthropological survey of India estimates that there are only 1,051 OBC castes,
However, as yet, the passions which Mandal commissions has unleashed have not allowed any levelheaded discussion on the Mandal report and agitating students have called for its outright rejection.
The govt on its part has also not shown any inclination to backtrack on the report.
On the political side, the national parties have been chary of taking any clear cut stand on this sensitive issue. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress I party and the right wing BJP has, while supporting the reservation for the OBC’s, emphasised that economic criteria should also be taken into account.
However, left front which along with BJP support the minority V P Singh Govt has openly approved the govt decision while at the same time asking it to open dialogue with the agitating students.
Opposition parties see V P Singh’s decision to implement report, which was kept in abeyance for a decade by his predecessors, as a shrewd political move to create a vote bank among the backward castes.
The ruling National Front has rebutted the charge and criticized the national parties particularly the congress I for adopting double standard on reservation issue. According to the govt the representation of OBC’s in the federal services needs to be increased through reservation as they constitute only 12.55% of total govt employees even though they form 52 per cent of the Indian population.
Andre Beteille, an eminent sociologist in the Delhi University says in one of his article in a prominent Indian daily that while reservations for SC’s and ST’s are for all their limitation, directed basically towards the goal of greater equality and are in tune with the constitution reservations for the OBC’s whatever advantages they may are directed basically towards a balance of power.
Rajni Kothari, one of the foremost Indian political thinkers says that despite partial modernization caste is set to play increasingly decisive role in Indian politics and would continue to provide readymade channels of votes to politicians.
Many political commentators fear that more reservations to backward classes would make religious minorities ungovernable.
Indian govt’s recent decision on reservations for the OBC’s (i € other that scheduled castes and scheduled tribes which have already come under reservation category) was based on’ Mandal commission report’ instituted in 1978 by the Prime Minister Morarji Desai.
Amidst all the debate and controversies prime minister V P Singh has reiterated his initial stand on the reservation for the OBC’s. In a recent interview with an Indian daily, the Times of India, for reservations for themselves and pressure from Singh said that reservations communal, caste and ethnic groups would make staff more are not permanent feature.
“It is an interim feature meant to dramatically counter discrimination. It gives a shock to society”, he said, emphasizing that the effort is to bring transformation through equity and bring equity as a central theme of national politics.”
Article extracted from this publication >> October 19, 1990
