Untenable perpetuation
The Supreme Court’s refusal to stay the Patna High Court’s order scrapping 65 per cent quota in government jobs reaffirms Constitutional restraints on politicians’ penchant for expanding reservations
The ongoing student anti-quota movement in Bangladesh, which has turned violent and claimed many lives, has drawn the attention of the entire world. The agitation has also raised a few questions in the subcontinent. In Bangladesh, the government introduced a quota system in government jobs for freedom fighters and their children in the early 1970s. However, due to student protests in 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cancelled all quotas in the Bangladesh Civil Service through an executive order. During the next two years, PM Hasina stuck to her decision to abolish all quotas. The executive order became operational in 2020. Thereafter, an appeal was filed by the descendant of a freedom fighter and six other individuals against the executive order. On June 5, 2024, the Bangladesh High Court nullified Hasina government’s executive order that had dissolved all quotas. This action by the judiciary restored all quotas in the Bangladesh Civil Service. This led to an immediate flare-up among Dhaka University students who started protesting against the 30 per cent quota for freedom fighters. The agitation soon snowballed into a major crisis for the beleaguered Sheikh Hasina government. There were violent protests in the streets of Dhaka, which soon spread to other cities. In order to quell the protests, the government clamped down on the agitators, leading to over a hundred deaths. The internet was shut down, a curfew imposed, and the army was called to patrol the streets. Against this backdrop, the case went for appeal to the Bangladesh Supreme Court, which on July 21, 2024, reduced the freedom fighter quota percentage to 5 per cent and pegged the quota for ethnic minorities, transgenders, and disabled to 2 per cent, thereby capping the entire reservation to 7 per cent and opening 93 per cent to merit, which would now be the main criterion for recruitment to government jobs.
The Bangladesh Supreme Court verdict has drawn attention to the existing reservation system in India. Many of our citizens are asking whether the Indian reservation system, in its present shape and form, is flawed too. Does it require a relook?
The reservation matrix
Reservations were introduced in the Indian constitution after independence to acknowledge the malaise of the centuries-old caste system prevalent in our society and the ill-treatment meted out to the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes. It aimed to empower them and provide opportunities to them, helping them be part of the decision-making process of the state. Over time, the percentage of reservation grew. In August 1990, the then Prime Minister VP Singh of the National Front coalition announced the implementation of the Mandal Commission's recommendations and declared that OBCs would be given 27 percent reservation in central government jobs. This was challenged in the courts, and finally, in 1992, a reservation of 27 per cent for OBCs was implemented.
In January 2019, the Union Council of Ministers approved a 10 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in the unreserved category. The cabinet decided that this would be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation for SC/ST/OBC categories. This decision of the government was challenged in the courts. The apex court, in 2022, gave a verdict in favour of implementing a 10 per cent quota for the economically weaker section. This addition of EWS took the total reservation count to 59.50 per cent in direct recruitment, on an all-India basis by open competition.
The judges of the Constitution Bench, which formed both the majority and minority opinions, observed that the policy of reservation in education and employment cannot continue for an indefinite period. Justice Bela M Trivedi, who was part of the majority judgment, said the reservation policy must have a time span. “At the end of 75 years of our Independence, we need to revisit the system of reservation in the larger interest of society as a whole, as a step forward towards transformative constitutionalism.” Justice PB Pardiwala, who also formed the majority that upheld the EWS quota, said that the real solution lies in eliminating causes that have led to the social, educational, and economic backwardness of the weaker sections of the community.
Time for a review
Recently, the alleged misuse of OBC caste certificates by IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, and the misuse of disability certificates by her and some other IAS/IPS officers, have raised the valid question of whether the benefit of reservation is going to the right recipients or is being misused by influential people who know how to bend the system. Meanwhile, deserving backward caste/disabled candidates continue to languish in inequality and meagre opportunities. In the past, the Supreme Court of India has said the government is “duty-bound” to periodically review the process to ensure that the benefits “trickle down and are not usurped by” the affluent in these categories.
The data
What is the impact of reservation? Has it really benefitted the backward castes? Let us look at some statistics to understand this issue. The impact of reservation on the representation of SCs and STs in the six decades since independence is substantial. As of January 1, 1965, the representation of SCs and STs was 13.17 per cent and 2.25 per cent, respectively, which increased to 17.51 per cent and 6.82 per cent, respectively, on January 1, 2008 (source: dpe.gov.in). So, reservation has indeed upped the representation of the backward classes to a great extent.
However, the question arises whether it has improved the education levels and thereby employability of the backward castes. The National Human Rights Commission report (2004) observed that Dalits have low levels of representation in national universities and colleges. According to the report, in the country’s 256 universities and 11,000 colleges funded by the UGC, only 2 per cent of all teaching positions were held by Dalits and Tribals, while a staggering 75,000 teaching positions reserved for these communities remained vacant. This points to the fact that the fruits of reservation are not reaching those for whom it was meant. Why are the backward castes not getting the benefits of education and skill development? Surely, the present system calls for review and modification. One possible suggestion is the introduction of a creamy layer in SC and ST reservations.
The arguments against never-ending reservations are many. I personally feel they are socially divisive, create a class of neo-Brahmins, and mirror the very system they sought to do away with in the first place. When the founding fathers of our constitution introduced reservation, their intent was to bring about social justice for the oppressed and marginalised communities. It was meant for 10 years and thereafter to be reviewed, but the quota system has become the low-hanging fruit for politicians who went on to extend and add to it. In the 104th amendment to the Constitution, it has been extended to 2030.
If we aim to abolish a caste-based society, we can never hope to achieve it by creating and perpetuating a reservation system where the well-heeled SC or ST officer’s progeny gets a job reservation for generations. Reservation is a tool for economic upliftment, and granted, it increases representation, but by no means can it be termed an indicator of social integration. Reservation was based on the idea of compensatory discrimination, which should be subject to periodic and honest review; otherwise, it will only produce a bunch of entitled men and women who would not understand the hardships of their forefathers nor would they be willing to mentor their own brethren. Unfortunately, the reservation system in India is deeply entrenched, and a strong political will to review it is absent. Most politicians fear the fallout of such an action on their vote bank.
To ensure that backward castes find adequate representation in education and employment, and achieve social integration, affirmative action in the form of providing quality education, mentorship programs, economic assistance, and hand-holding in jobs should be taken up. Action should be taken for the abolition of the caste system, the malpractice of untouchability, and other forms of discrimination from our society. And not only the government but also civil society and NGOs should participate in this movement. A balance between justice for the backward castes and equity for the upper castes is a crying need of the day, but the question is, who will bell the cat?
The writer is a former bureaucrat. Views expressed are personal