Arguments for and against reservations of backward classes

Historic Judgement of the Supreme Court [15-11-1992]: Its Impact:
After the fall of V.P. Singh’s and Chandrashekar’s ministries at the Centre, 10th Parliamentary Elections took place in 1991 in which Congress came back to power and P.V. Narashimha Rao became the Prime Minister. His Government announced in Sept.1991 that within the 27% of the Union Govt’s civilian jobs reserved for socially and educationally backward classes[SEBC], preference would be given to the poorer sections of such classes. He went a step further and declared 10% reservation for the other economically backward sections of the people who were not covered by any of the existing schemes of reservation. The controversial issue of the implementation of Mandal Commission’s Report was taken to the Supreme Court which gave a historic judgement on it on 15th Nov.1992. The court upheld 27% reservation recommended by the Mandal Commission but struck down the Narasimha Rao Govt.’s decision to reserve 10%
jobs for other economically backward sections.

Important aspects of this judgement as enlisted by Prof. Ram Ahuja are:

1.Caste has been accepted as a basis for identifying the beneficiaries of reservations.
2. The upper limit of reservations has been fixed at 50 per cent.
3. “Creamy layer” has to be excluded from reservations.
4. Reservations in certain technical posts is not advisable.
5. There can be no reservations in promotion.
6. The Union Government shall specify the socio-economic criteria to exclude socially advanced persons among the backward classes.
7. Permanent commissions should be set up by the Union and State governments to examine complaints of over-inclusion and underinclusion and requests for inclusion in the list of ackward Classes.

ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST RESERVATIONS OF BACKWARD CLASSES.

The National Front Government’s [1980-90] sudden announcement of accepting the recommendations of Mandal Commission’s Report in August 1990 evoked widespread resentments and supports throughout the nation. This announcement of Prime Minister V.P. Singh was described as a political decision. The student community in particular protested against it very sharply in North India. Spontaneous agitations took place in several places of the nation. During mid-September and mid-October 1990 more than 160 young people attempted to commit suicide as a mark of their protest against the unjustifiable reservations policy. However, not single political party openly protested the government’s reservation policy.
Mandal Commission’s recommendations which formed the primary bases of the reservation policy, have both positive and negative aspects. The recommendations were warmly welcomed in some circles they were strongly opposed in some other circles. Arguments both in favour of the recommendations and against them have been advanced. Let us now consider these arguments.

Merits of Reservation OR Arguments in Favour of it

Providing Justice to All: Reservation policy is likely to satisfy and uplift all those weaker sections of the society which were discontented and had suffered injustice and insults for decades. If fundamental rights are to be guaranteed to all, then they are to be guaranteed to the weaker sections also. Reservations one of the means of guaranteeing such an equality. Competition becomes just only when participants are equal.
2. Reservations are not Made on Caste Basis alone: It is wrong to say that reservation are made only on the basis of caste and hence such a policy is likely to perpetuate casteism. For Example, Rajputs in Bihar are not included in the list of backward classes whereas Rajputs in Gujarat are included; similarly, the Yadavs of Bihar and U.P. are included but not the Yadavs of Haryana; Patels of Gujarat are not included but Patels of Bihar are in the list. Reservations are made on the basis of educational and economic backwardness also.
Further, to remove inequalities of caste, actions on caste line are necessary. Upper castes monopolised the privileges and high-income occupations for centuries. To remedy this situation, jobs must be preferentially allotted to the backwards and admissions for them in educations institutions must be provided, until parity is restored.
3. Economic Factors as a Criterion will Help Only the Poor among the Forwards: A poor member of a forward community will definitely fare better than the poor among the SCs. STs and OBCs. This is quite natural because the forwards are mostly literate and are in touch with the latest developments. Further, they are in regular social contact with the other forwards who have already progressed. Possessing upper caste culture helps them to be at ease with the ways of those who judge merit.
4. Merit will not Become a Casuality: The argument that reservation policy damages the principle of merit is untenable. If merit were to be sole factor for providing opportunities to the people, then the country should have progressed a lot with the leadership of the “so called merited” people. Administration by the “meritorious” for the last 45 years has been unable to implement land reforms and programmes to remove untouchability and backward among the masses of india. They have no right to speak about merit.
5. Influence of Caste is Present in the Current Product: Reservation is sought not to compensate for the past wrong, but for removing the injustice in the present dispensation, where the forward castes continue to grab all the privileges. The handicaps experienced by the SCs, STs and OBCs are nothing but the accumulated effect of exploitation at the hands of the upper caste people who reserved all the privileges for themselves.
6. Lower Castes do not have Benefits of Connections which the Upper Castes have: Proper socio-economic and political connections are an important asset among the forward castes. Because of such connections even the poorest among the upper caste are able to get benefits without much socio-economic connections.
7. Reservations is to be Made Meaningful Through other Efforts: It is unscientific to believe that reservation alone can bring about widespread changes among all the members of the backward classes. On the contrary, various other measures such as the spread of education, increase in infrastructure facilities in the areas where the SCs, STs and OBCs live, are very much necessary. Reservation facility is to be supplemented through other efforts.
8. Social Benefits of Reservation do Spread Very Rapidly: Various studies and observations have revealed that even though only a few families are going to be benefited directly out of reservation, the social benefits of the reservations are going to spread very rapidly. It means reservations facility can create a new awareness, self confidence, courageousness, adventurous spirit and self respect among the backward caste/classes.

Demerits of Reservation or Arguments Against it

1. Gross Neglect of Merit: One of the most widely criticised aspects of reservation policy is that it affects very badly the merit. Candidates are to be recruited for jobs and admission is to be made to the educational institutions on merit basis. This required in the interest of the concerned agencies, disciplines, individuals and also in the larger interest of the nation. Neglect of the principle of merit will bring down efficiency and lower the morale of the meritorious. This double effect is dangerous for national growth and development. As Guha [1990] has pointed out reservation “mortgages the future of india”
2. Provision of Reservations is an Insult to the Fundamental Rights and Equality of Opportunities: The Constitution should treat the people in India on equal terms. But reservation provides some special treatments for some sections of the society which is unfair. As the fundamental rights, have an overriding power, reservation should not be allowed to stand in their way.
3. Providing Compensation for the Past Injustice is Meaningless: It is true that some sections of the Indian society were treated very inhumanly and were exploited in various ways. But those exploited are dead and gone. Causing injustice to the forward castes in the present generation will not restore the losses of the past generations of the backward castes.
4. Reservation Causes Great Injustice to the Forward Castes and Classes: It is very unfair to do injustice to one section of the society in order to assure justice to another section. Reservation thus does great injustice to the forward castes. The forward castes have given their own contribution to the march of society. Their members are also prepared to put forth efforts to help the nation to take a big leap towards progress. Denying them an equal opportunity is not only injustice but also unfair.
5. Poverty and Economic Criteria Should be the Basis of Reservation: Reservation is required for the people who are genuinely poor. Irrespectively of the caste, class, region or sex to which they belong, must be assured of help through reservation. If reservation is given in this way it can regarded as just and appropriate. By the present reservation policy benefits only a small elite fringe among the lower castes.
6. Reservation Contributes to the Perpetuation of Caste: Modern independent India visualises a casteless society. Attempts to provide reservation on the basis of caste will only enhance the importance of caste and increase the caste mindedness and “caste patriotism”. Reservation policy will only lead to the reversal of historical cycle by enlivening the caste. In other words, reservation will create a backward moving society.
7. Removal of Corruption should be our First Priority, but not Reservation: From the point of view of national development what is more important is an honest administration, and not an administration by the inefficient and meritless people. Reservation will only add to the corruption because people try their level through all possible means to reap the benefits of reservation.
8. There are other Better Solutions to the Progress of Backward Classes: It is wrong to think that reservation is the master-fixer of solutions to the problems of backward classes. Social and educational backwardness is mostly due to the habits and attitudes of the people. These could be changed through the spread of education including what can be called a “cultural revolution”.
9. Reservation is only a Political Game and nothing else: The haste with which the reservation policy came to be introduced during V.P. Singh’s administration itself makes it evident that it is more a political gimmick than a considered scheme for the amelioration of the problems of the backward classes. Political parties and their leaders wanted to create a permanent “vote-bank” through the implementation of the reservation policy.
10. Fear Experienced by the SCs and STs: Reservation policy has vertically divided the Hindu population into “forward communities” and “backward communities”. It has fanned the fire of animosity, ill-will, jealously, contempt and hatred between these two communities. Instances of clashes and conflicts between the two have been on the increase ever since the policy of reservation came into force. Hence, it has created terror and horror in the minds of the poor SCs , STs and OBCs. Further, clashes between the backward caste on the hand, and SCs on the other, have also increased. Continuous attack on some sections of SCs by the backward caste communities in Bihar can be sited here as examples.

Conclusion

The policy of reservation has a great implication for the Indian society. It has”…..set in motion processes that are capable of transforming a hierarchical society into an egalitarian one. The caste system effectively restricted privileges for a few upper castes and enforced difficult menial labour on the lowest castes.
Reservation and other aspects of positive discrimination have virtually put a limitation on the actual monopoly of the forward castes on legislation, government, administration and education. The SCs, STs and OBCs have now greater fortunes to occupy positions in the legislature, posts in the administration, and seats in educational institutions.
Reservation is an attempt to provide enough opportunities to the neglected sections of the Indian society to take tendency to be normally distributed and evenly shared by all human groups. Therefore, for the development of the nation’s economy, society, and polity, the best from all sections of the population, including the SCs, STs, and OBC, should be encouraged to particulate in national life”.

We are now living in an age of growing liberalisation and globalisation. In the growing liberalisation of the economy, the role of the government, including regulation, is decreasing. More liberty is given to the people and to the men of talents. In this age, “more talent of all sections, forward, backward and others, can be more usefully marked in the private sector producing more by more and for more.”
Certain precautions are however necessary to see that reservation do not create a permanent vested interest in small sections of the group for whom reservations are provided. The present reservation system is not-proof. System. It has its own limitation no doubt. In spite limitations the policy of reservation continues to say. It is inadmissible and practically impossible at this stage to scrap the policy altogether. According Roy Burman, the policy of reservation has to be made more rational and scientific. In the given economic and political structure caste should not determine one’s life changes.
B.S. Bhargava and Avinash Singh [1998] have given some suggestions to improve the policy of reservation. According to them, –

income should be given more importance in determining the backwardness of the individual and not the caste to which he belongs.
The concept of “creamy layer” should be applied to SCs and STs also. It means rich people who belong to the category of SCs and STs should not be given reservation facility.
Reservation should be restricted only to the first should not be given the same facility once again.
Concession of scholarship may be provided to SC, St and OBC students securing more than a prescribes percentage of marks [ay, 50% and above].

If the above-mentioned suggestions are implemented then the benefits of reservation will be spread more evenly and widely within the targeted growth. This will also help to reduce opposition for the reservation by the forward castes. Nation building or national prosperity is not the responsibility of any particular section alone. On the contrary, it is a collective process in which all sections of the society should play an equal role. The purpose of reservation is to provide a chance for those sections of the society, which have been neglected so far, to play their role in this collective process.