- Nobody in their right senses would support historical injustices inflicted and perpetrated on the marginalized, downtrodden, and lower caste people over millenniums. How sickeningly the society was prejudiced against the lower strata of the society needs neither elaboration nor further emphasis to highlight unmitigated sufferings experienced by the lot. Ever since the independence, the Indian political class has consistently undertaken concerted efforts at addressing this anomaly by extending quotas or reservations based on the caste equations in educational institutions as well as government jobs.
PC: Akshay Narang
- Thus, there are reservations for castes categorized as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Castes, Most Backward Castes, and recently introduced Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) by various governments – both at the Centre and State levels – which was capped at 50% by the Supreme Court. However, there is any number of political parties in the country who would not mind hoodwinking or circumventing the existing guidelines by including some more categories of socially dominant communities into the reservation quagmire without ever worrying about the debilitating consequences on the comity and harmony of the society. You see, cultivating parochial vote banks is of utmost importance for our political parties. Forget about the larger good of society.
- Now, in an important and welcome development, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court has upheld the 50% cap on the reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. People in the know would recollect that the nine-judge constitution bench of the Apex Court had ruled in the 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment case by upholding the 50% ceiling as sacrosanct unless an extraordinary case is made out. Make no mistake, the cap not only reflects an attempt to balance the state’s prerogative to correct historical injustices meted out to some groups but also the right to equal opportunity for all citizens as well.
PC: ANURAG BHASKAR
- Of course, the latest ruling comes on the back of the Maratha reservation legislation passed by both houses of Maharashtra in 2018 overtly pandering to the dominant community whose demands for reservations in education and government jobs kept growing shriller by the day. Come to think of it, Maharashtra is not alone as similar processes are underway across the country with the Kapus in Andhra Pradesh, Jats in Haryana, Patels in Gujarat, and many more dominant castes demanding their quota of pie from the reservation conundrum. The reason for the clamor is directly related to a weak economy that is consistently failing to create enough opportunities for upward mobility aspiring to be counted amongst the best.
- Increasingly aspirational young and old alike on the one hand and a depressingly stagnating economy, on the other hand, are not compatible are stating the obvious. To address the issue, few states are falling into a trap of populist and counterproductive measures like reserving jobs for locals which only worsens their growth prospects. The think-tank comprising economists, policy-makers, and the governments should not waste time by arriving at a durable solution by enacting a coherent set of measures to create more economic opportunities. This is a sure-shot recipe to ensure social fissures are bridged by diluting the new agitations seeking reservations. Time is of the essence and should be acted upon now.
