A new intervention strategy can then be devised to free the groups that are still at the bottom of the ladder.
The Constituent Assembly sat together 114 times to draft a visionary constitution for India, aimed at transforming an ancient civilization into a modern nation state. Preface Always Said that there would be justice (social, economic and political) and equality of status and opportunity.
an economic and social euphoria
To fulfill the egalitarian construction of the Constitution, the architects of modern India included three pioneering postulates in the chapter on Fundamental Rights: Article 17 (abolition of untouchability), Article 23 (prohibition of human traffic and forced labor) and Article 24 (Prohibition of child labor). The Constitution outlaws discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth and mandates equality of opportunity in matters of public employment with a caveat to promote the interests of the underprivileged. Part XVI delineates special provisions relating to certain classes, including the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Anglo-Indians in the Legislatures. This reservation system was about to end 10 years after the implementation of the Constitution. However, it has been extended every 10 years. Its aim is to give political voice to the underprivileged. Article 335 provides for reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in public employment both under the Union and the States. Thus the constitution provides both economic and social incentives to the weaker sections who were historically discriminated against. Its aim is to bring about social integration which can pave the way for the creation of a classless ethos.
In 1990, another step in this direction was taken when the then Prime Minister VP Singh decided to act on the recommendations of the Mandal Commission report and provide 27% reservation in public employment to Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Later it was extended to educational institutions. It added to the existing 22.5% reservation quota for SCs and STs thereby increasing the reservation in educational institutions to 49.5%. The decision led to a nationwide uproar on university campuses and a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.
In Indira Sawhney Vs Union of India, The Supreme Court upheld the 27% reservation for OBCs but scrapped the 10% quota based on economic criteria. It further set the reservation limit at 50%. It was also held that “caste can be and often is a social class. If it is socially backward, it shall be a backward class for the purposes of Article 16(4).” It also developed the concept of creamy layer. It was held that persons belonging to backward classes who had attained a certain social, educational and professional status in life would not be classified as OBC for the purposes of reservation. This was done to ensure that those who really need reservation get it. OBC reservation gave rise to similar demands of socially powerful and upwardly dynamic caste groups. Reservations provided by previous governments either within the 27% quota for OBCs or in excess of the 50% limit to different communities were either canceled or are still being challenged by various courts.
demand for caste census
The demand for caste census is growing louder as its findings can be used to cross the 50% barrier. If it can be established empirically that the OBCs are numerically higher, then perhaps it can be argued that the 50% ceiling on reservation is redundant. But where would that leave merit? Nations are built by a complex interplay of social inclusion and abilities. The UPA government, reluctantly, accepted a socio-economic and caste census in 2011, which was then strictly implemented. In 2016, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development observed that “the data has been scrutinized and 98.87% of the data on caste and religion of individuals is error free”. However, the NDA government told the Supreme Court and Parliament that the caste census data is flawed and cannot be released. This claim is contrary to the observations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development.
The original dream of transforming India into an egalitarian and classless society with time has been forgotten. Undoubtedly, while reservations have improved socio-economic backwardness, they have similarly created silos whereby the benefits of reservation have been more far-reaching vertically than horizontally. Therefore, a new paradigm of affirmative action is needed to fulfill the vision of the makers of an independent India, given that economic stimulus has not brought about social integration. Since it has been judicially determined that caste is synonymous with class, a new socio-economic caste census is mandatory if the previous one is flawed and cannot be issued.
Once it is known what the economic and social status of each caste group is, then a new intervention strategy can be devised to liberate those caste groups which are still at the bottom of the ladder and who are socially- Financial incentives are needed. Thus the focus of affirmative action will shift from the emancipation of an individual to a caste group as a whole. Society can become egalitarian only when all castes are equal.
Manish Tewari is a lawyer, Congress MP and former Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
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