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Costly Reservations

Costly Reservations

States have been more than eager to grant reservations at the expense of flouting apex court’s orders. True, they are excellent for political positioning but the actual boons need to be surveyed

The latest rock on the pyramid of reservations is the Marathas whose demands for 16 per cent quota have been approved by the Maharashtra Government along the lines of Tamil Nadu, where the reservation totals up to 69 percent. But it matters little. Both States have exceeded the Supreme Court’s earlier orders stipulating 50 per cent as the ceiling limit for reservations. The balance 50 per cent should be left free for open competition. The apex court had ruled in 1969 that reservations cannot exceed 50 per cent. However, there are State laws that exceed this limit and these are under litigation in the top court. For example, caste-based reservation fraction stands at 69 per cent and is applicable to about 87 per cent of the population in Tamil Nadu.

Reservation has been an enticing political fruit which is not as sweet as it was believed to be. And it has been becoming blander by the years — with the liberalisation of the economy in 1991, Government jobs have been reducing even as new public sector corporations are not being set up. Yet, politically, the colour of the fruit has grown more and more attractive. Years ago, the Gujjars agitated to get a percentage. Much later, the Jats.  Then came the Patidars in Gujarat. Thereafter was an intense follow up by the Marathas. All the abovementioned castes have a substantial say in their respective State Governments. Marathas hold an electoral de facto veto in Maharashtra, like the Jats in Haryana, the Gujjars in Rajasthan and the Patels in Gujarat. Moreover, distinguished sociologist MN Srinivas and his theory of caste Sanskritisation among Hindus would not accept anyone demoting his community’s status. Every Hindu ideally desires to go up the ladder and likes some other caste below him. No caste or a section of it wishes to go down the ladder. What then is the secret motivation behind these four upper castes demanding to be Other Backward Classes (OBCs)?

Uncannily, reservations were first introduced neither by politicians nor by the Constitution but in his State by the Maharaja of Kolhapur as early as in 1902. Reportedly, the princely States of Baroda and Mysore were already practising reservations; although Kolhapur was the first to issue a written Government order. A British seal was first put on the concept of reservation when, as part of the Morley-Minto reforms, the Government of India Act, 1909, was passed by the Westminster Parliament. BR Ambedkar, who headed the drafting committee for the Constitution, favoured a 10-year reservation for the depressed castes as well as tribals. This proposal found support from generally everyone. As far as the other castes are concerned, it all began with the appointment of the Mandal Commission in 1979 for finding out which were the OBCs. This term OBC was first used in the Census of 1931 which recorded a total of 1,257 such castes across India.

Could there be a possibility that non-OBC sons and daughters would not always get a job on merit? On the other hand, OBC youngsters walk away with the same jobs because of their caste. The latest attempt to join the OBC club may be their response to the challenge. Could the third possibility be a homoeopathic treatment to remove or render redundant something they have grown up to disapprove of? Homoeopathic means sympathetic treatment or aggravating the symptoms until they get ejected from the body. The normal approach is an antagonistic treatment or to attack the symptoms of the disease, which is the allopathic, the ayurvedic or the Unani method.

The homoeopathic strategy, if at all, could be to provoke yet other castes to also demand reservation until the percentage becomes so large as to become farcical. That would leave so little or no scope for the general or non-reserved category that the system of reservation could expire. It is widely recognised that no Government is likely to have the courage to abolish reservations. This was illustrated by the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe categories which were to enjoy reservation for 10 years only and expire by say 1960. And yet they are still carrying on. A Jat and a Patel leader each has mentioned in this writer’s presence that he and his colleagues are embarrassed to ask for a reservation. But what else to do, was their question.  

Several other questions can arise as one thinks further. Nehruvian socialism was the picnic period or the halcyon era of reservations. The bureaucracy was expanding at both the Centre and the State levels. At the same time, one PSU after another was being established. In other words, jobs, where the reservation was available, were virtually an expanding torrent. In the same decades, banks were nationalised, as were the general insurance companies and the entire coal industry.

Liberalisation-cum-globalisation introduced in 1991overturned this apple cart. Parallel to this was realised by the State Governments that most of their public sector corporations were also losing money by the day. Since then reserved seats or vacancies have been shrinking. Until now, the official spokesmen use the Indian saying whichever country’s Government is a trader its people are going to be beggars. Or there is the other slogan: Maximum governance with minimal Government. On top of all this is not only the computer-reducing routine jobs in industry but also the Sword of Damocles of the robot hanging over the machine.

Yet another question would be an upper caste backlash. How that may shape up, if at all, needs to be seen. But a political example was the fall of the Madhavsinh Solanki Ministry in 1986. He had gone flat out on backing the OBCs in his choice of candidates for the Assembly elections of 1985. He won hands down and secured 146 MLAs out of the total of 182. The upper caste reaction was so severe that by 1986, he was thrown out of power and replaced by an Adivasi Amarsinh Chaudhry as the head of Gujarat Government. Finally, in the long run, excessive reservations could lead to a brain drain of the country, as has happened in Tamil Nadu. Many a Brahmin has migrated either overseas or to other parts of the country.

All the disadvantages apart, the question arises: What are the benefits of reservations? True, they are excellent for political positioning. But the actual boons of the scheme need to be surveyed. Do the beneficiaries pass around the gains to their communities? Or do they merely look after their families only? If that be so, is this advantage sufficient to offset the demoralisation they cause amongst the castes which are left out? And often there is a decline in the quality of the service the several candidates give to the society generally or to the concerned individuals particularly. In the bargain, society does not make the progress at the speed it is capable of. A nation-wide debate on the pros and cons of reservation is called for. This discussion should not exclude the Muslims and Christians, on behalf of whom reservations have been asked for by some political parties. These religions have foreign origins and they never had any system of caste. Most of the Hindus, who converted to these religions, did so to escape the oppression of casteism. The question of their sharing the reservations does not, therefore, arise.  

(The writer is a well-known columnist and an author)

Writer: Prafull Goradia

Source: The pioneer

Costly Reservations

Costly Reservations

States have been more than eager to grant reservations at the expense of flouting apex court’s orders. True, they are excellent for political positioning but the actual boons need to be surveyed

The latest rock on the pyramid of reservations is the Marathas whose demands for 16 per cent quota have been approved by the Maharashtra Government along the lines of Tamil Nadu, where the reservation totals up to 69 percent. But it matters little. Both States have exceeded the Supreme Court’s earlier orders stipulating 50 per cent as the ceiling limit for reservations. The balance 50 per cent should be left free for open competition. The apex court had ruled in 1969 that reservations cannot exceed 50 per cent. However, there are State laws that exceed this limit and these are under litigation in the top court. For example, caste-based reservation fraction stands at 69 per cent and is applicable to about 87 per cent of the population in Tamil Nadu.

Reservation has been an enticing political fruit which is not as sweet as it was believed to be. And it has been becoming blander by the years — with the liberalisation of the economy in 1991, Government jobs have been reducing even as new public sector corporations are not being set up. Yet, politically, the colour of the fruit has grown more and more attractive. Years ago, the Gujjars agitated to get a percentage. Much later, the Jats.  Then came the Patidars in Gujarat. Thereafter was an intense follow up by the Marathas. All the abovementioned castes have a substantial say in their respective State Governments. Marathas hold an electoral de facto veto in Maharashtra, like the Jats in Haryana, the Gujjars in Rajasthan and the Patels in Gujarat. Moreover, distinguished sociologist MN Srinivas and his theory of caste Sanskritisation among Hindus would not accept anyone demoting his community’s status. Every Hindu ideally desires to go up the ladder and likes some other caste below him. No caste or a section of it wishes to go down the ladder. What then is the secret motivation behind these four upper castes demanding to be Other Backward Classes (OBCs)?

Uncannily, reservations were first introduced neither by politicians nor by the Constitution but in his State by the Maharaja of Kolhapur as early as in 1902. Reportedly, the princely States of Baroda and Mysore were already practising reservations; although Kolhapur was the first to issue a written Government order. A British seal was first put on the concept of reservation when, as part of the Morley-Minto reforms, the Government of India Act, 1909, was passed by the Westminster Parliament. BR Ambedkar, who headed the drafting committee for the Constitution, favoured a 10-year reservation for the depressed castes as well as tribals. This proposal found support from generally everyone. As far as the other castes are concerned, it all began with the appointment of the Mandal Commission in 1979 for finding out which were the OBCs. This term OBC was first used in the Census of 1931 which recorded a total of 1,257 such castes across India.

Could there be a possibility that non-OBC sons and daughters would not always get a job on merit? On the other hand, OBC youngsters walk away with the same jobs because of their caste. The latest attempt to join the OBC club may be their response to the challenge. Could the third possibility be a homoeopathic treatment to remove or render redundant something they have grown up to disapprove of? Homoeopathic means sympathetic treatment or aggravating the symptoms until they get ejected from the body. The normal approach is an antagonistic treatment or to attack the symptoms of the disease, which is the allopathic, the ayurvedic or the Unani method.

The homoeopathic strategy, if at all, could be to provoke yet other castes to also demand reservation until the percentage becomes so large as to become farcical. That would leave so little or no scope for the general or non-reserved category that the system of reservation could expire. It is widely recognised that no Government is likely to have the courage to abolish reservations. This was illustrated by the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe categories which were to enjoy reservation for 10 years only and expire by say 1960. And yet they are still carrying on. A Jat and a Patel leader each has mentioned in this writer’s presence that he and his colleagues are embarrassed to ask for a reservation. But what else to do, was their question.  

Several other questions can arise as one thinks further. Nehruvian socialism was the picnic period or the halcyon era of reservations. The bureaucracy was expanding at both the Centre and the State levels. At the same time, one PSU after another was being established. In other words, jobs, where the reservation was available, were virtually an expanding torrent. In the same decades, banks were nationalised, as were the general insurance companies and the entire coal industry.

Liberalisation-cum-globalisation introduced in 1991overturned this apple cart. Parallel to this was realised by the State Governments that most of their public sector corporations were also losing money by the day. Since then reserved seats or vacancies have been shrinking. Until now, the official spokesmen use the Indian saying whichever country’s Government is a trader its people are going to be beggars. Or there is the other slogan: Maximum governance with minimal Government. On top of all this is not only the computer-reducing routine jobs in industry but also the Sword of Damocles of the robot hanging over the machine.

Yet another question would be an upper caste backlash. How that may shape up, if at all, needs to be seen. But a political example was the fall of the Madhavsinh Solanki Ministry in 1986. He had gone flat out on backing the OBCs in his choice of candidates for the Assembly elections of 1985. He won hands down and secured 146 MLAs out of the total of 182. The upper caste reaction was so severe that by 1986, he was thrown out of power and replaced by an Adivasi Amarsinh Chaudhry as the head of Gujarat Government. Finally, in the long run, excessive reservations could lead to a brain drain of the country, as has happened in Tamil Nadu. Many a Brahmin has migrated either overseas or to other parts of the country.

All the disadvantages apart, the question arises: What are the benefits of reservations? True, they are excellent for political positioning. But the actual boons of the scheme need to be surveyed. Do the beneficiaries pass around the gains to their communities? Or do they merely look after their families only? If that be so, is this advantage sufficient to offset the demoralisation they cause amongst the castes which are left out? And often there is a decline in the quality of the service the several candidates give to the society generally or to the concerned individuals particularly. In the bargain, society does not make the progress at the speed it is capable of. A nation-wide debate on the pros and cons of reservation is called for. This discussion should not exclude the Muslims and Christians, on behalf of whom reservations have been asked for by some political parties. These religions have foreign origins and they never had any system of caste. Most of the Hindus, who converted to these religions, did so to escape the oppression of casteism. The question of their sharing the reservations does not, therefore, arise.  

(The writer is a well-known columnist and an author)

Writer: Prafull Goradia

Source: The pioneer

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