NEW DELHI: With the Indian Supreme Court upholding V.P Singh governments plan to earmark public jobs for members of socially and educationally backward castes the political situation in the country is back to Square one. The government there had provided notification that socially and educationally backward castes would have a 27% share in the country’s bureaucracy and other services. This led to a virtual revolt by upper castes with north Indian states engulfed in riots. The V.P Singh government was brought down by the Congress (I) with the help of Chander Shekhar and other smaller parties. The upper castes led by Brahmans felt that the Mandal commission would lead to social and Political polarization with scheduled castes tribes and backward castes ranging on the one side and Brahmans Banias and other Privileged castes. On the other side. This the Brahmans thought would mean an end to Brahmans domination of Indias establishment after centuries The Brahmans therefore brought forward the Counter agenda by giving a call for Ram mandir at Ayodhia The Indian supreme” Court initially supported the Brahman line by being helpful to defusing the polarization unleashed by the Mandal commission recommendations. But later with a new chief taking over the Supreme Court things started taking a new shape. ”
The court virtually upheld the V.P Singh government’s job quota notification with certain minor modifications and struck down the order issued by the present government providing for 10% job quota for the poor among non-backward castes. The Rao governments aim was to defuse the caste based job reservation to prevent the threat of political cum-class polarization in India.
The court judgment has again caused a stir in the urban areas in north India but on a much reduced scale. The upper castes are on the war path again. This time against the Indian Supreme Court. There have been strikes in the upper-caste dominated institutions like the Punjab University at Chandigarh and certain Arya Samaj educational centers in Delhi Ludhiana. Amritsar and Shimla.
Political observers feel that the upper caste agitation will not have much effect in the long run. The situation will stabilize to the advantage of scheduled and backward castes. The main area of interest will shift to commissions to be set up by the states on identifying backward castes entitled to job quotas. This work will have to be done with in four months Buta far more important outcome of the court verdict will be on the morale of the scheduled and backward castes who will be emboldened to unite against Brahmans and other upper castes and will emerge as a strong political force eventually to throw out the Brahman rule.
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