Name-AnkushPat

odi

Rol
lnumber-2018POL1015

Di
sci
pli
ne-BAhonspol
i
tical
sci
ence

Subj
ect-pol
i
tical
theor
yconcept
sanddebat
es

semest
er-2

Assignment-economi
cbasedaf
fi
rmat
ive
act
ioninIndi
a

Submi
ssi
ondat
e-6Apr
il2019
Anactofef f
ortst
ogi veequalopportunit
iestominorit
iesinemployment
educati
onanddecisionmaki ngsystem, Givi
ngmor eprefer
encetof ue
downtroddengroupofsoci et
yovertheot herfort
heirupli
ft
mentpr omoti
ng
equali
tyofopport
unityinthesoci
etyandt oworkforthemul t
icul
ture
soci
ety.Hereiti
sclearthattoostudythei mpactofaffi
rmativ
eactioniti
s
necessarytohaveconceptofequal i
tyinhand

WeEqual i
tydoesnotent ai
lcompl eteequali
ty.Equali
tyor i
ginatesfrom
aequalis,aequusandaequal it
as.Thesear eallol
dFr enchorLat i
nwor ds.
TheseFr ench/Latinwor dsmeanev en,lev
elandequal .Ingeneralterm,
equalit
ymeansf ullequalit
yoft r
eatmentandr ewar dforall.Iti
sneededas
naturalequalit
y.Iti
st houghtthatallmenar ebornnat ur al
andf ree.aof
naturalandabsol uteequalityofallcannotbef ul
lyacknowl edgedand
real
ised.Menar eneitherequal i
nrespectoftheirphy sicalfeat
uresnori n
respectoft hei
rment alcapabili
tyothers.

Actuall
y,equal
i
tythatal
lpeopl
emusthav eequaloppor
tuni
ti
esf
or
development.I
nfact,whenwetalkofequal
it
yofallper
sonwereal
l
ymean
generalandfai
requali
tyandnotabsol
uteequal
it
y.

Theter
m equal
it
yusedi
npol i
ticalsci
encedif
fersfr
om uni
for
mity
,ident
it
y
andsameness.Somepeopl
e,ofcour se,wanttouseitt
odenoteunif
ormit
y.
Butt
hisdoesnotmeanobli
terationofdiv
ersi
ty.

Theor
eti
cal
rev
iew:
Manyt
heor
ist
sdef
inedequal
i
tyi
nthei
rownway
:

AccordingtoD.DRaphal
l
,"TheRighttoEqual
i
typroperi
sari
ghtofequal
sati
sfacti
onofbasi
chumanneeds, incl
udi
ngtheneedtodev
elopanduse
capacit
ieswhichar
especif
ical
l
yhuman. "
Laski
describedthat"Equalit
ymeanst hatnomanshal lbesopl acedin
soci
etythathecanov er-
reachhisneighbourtotheextentwhich
const
it
utesadeni alofl
atter'
scit
izenshi
p."Bar
keropinedthat"Equali
ty
meansequal ri
ghtsforallthepeopleandtheaboli
ti
onofal l
speci al
right
s
andpri
vil
eges".

Therefore,
asawhol e,equali
tydoesnotmeanabsol ut
eequalityinall
spheresandt oever
yper son.Itdoesnotai m ati
dentit
yoftreatmentas
i
ntel
lectualandphysicalcapacit
yv ari
es.Itopposesinequi
tabletreat
ment .
Itmeanscompl eteandabsol uteequalit
yatt hebott
om mostl evelandthen
equalopportuni
tytodevelopone'si nnerpotenti
ali
ty

Descr
ipt
ion
Inthecont extofal l
ocat ionofr esour cesi nt heempl oyment ,educat i
onand
distri
butionofeconomi cwealthGi v
ingmor epr eferencet ot heindiv i
dual
from thegr oupwhi char e suf fereddi scriminat ionhi stor
icaleorot herwise
i
st hesi mpleandwor kingdef initi
onofaf fir
mat i
v eact ion..
acr ossthegl obe
nott heaf f
ir
mat i
veact ionbutt hemor edebat abl eissuei swayi nwhi chit
shoul dbei mplement edandt hegr oupwhowi llbesupposedt obenef it
ed
byt heaffirmati
veact ionorr eser vation..inIndi at i
llJanuary2019casti s
thegr oundonwhi chwhol econceptofr eserv ationi sbased, andt her eare
manywhousedt odemandt hatr eser vati
onshoul dbeont hegr oundof
reli
gionwhi chexper i
encedopposi ti
on.Thepeapl ewhoopposed
reservati
onsont hegr oundt hati tviolatesthepr inciplesassoci atedwi th
equal i
tyandmer i
t.Thei rpri
ncipal argumenti st hatr eser v
at i
oni nsteadof
addr essi
ngt heeconomi ccondi t
ionofmi nor it
iesendsupkeepi ngt hem
permanent l
ybackwar d.Theconceptofr eserv ationhasbeenusedand
abusedi nourpol iti
cal discoursesomanyt imest hatithasgener al
ly
acqui r
edanegat i
veconnot ati
on.hasal way sgener atedst rongemot ional
reactions.Thewor dfirstcamei ntot hepol i
tical vocabul arydur i
ngt heV. P.
Singh'sMandal days,whenr eser vationsf orbackwar dcast eswer e
i
ntroducedonal ar
gescal
eandt hecountr
ybecamedy sf
uncti
onalf
oraf ew
mont hsbecauseoftheMandalCommi ssi
onprotest
sandboycott
s.
Reservat
ionshavebeensubsequent
lyusedagainandagainbyminori
ty
l
eader st
odemandj obandeducati
onquotas.

Compar edt otheconceptofr eservation, theconceptofaf fi

rmat i
veaction
hasnev erbeenusedi nIndia.Theconceptofaf fir
mat i
veact ion,used
widelyi nthedev elopedWest ernmul ticult
ur alsocieti
es,hasanumberof
adv antagesov erthemuchusedandpol i
ticall
ychar gedwor d, reservat
ion.
First,i
tismuchl essl ikel
ytogener atet hepr econceivednot ionsand
car i
caturedimagesassoci atedwi thr eserv ati
on.Secondl y
, unl i
ke
reservationitexplici
tl
yacknowl edgest hef actthatthestateneedst oaf fi
rm
anduphol dtheeconomi candpol i
tical ri
ght sofmi nori
ti
esandot her
disadvant agedgr oupswhohav ebeenhi stor i
call
ydiscri
mi nat edagainstor
aregener al
lyi
naneconomi call
yandsoci allydisadvantagedposi ti
on.

Thirdly,
af f
ir
mat i
veacti
ondoesnoti mpl ythatafterprovi
dingoneort wo
sopsf orthemi nori
ti
esthejobofthest ateisov er.I
thasal ong-
term acti
on
orientat
ion.Four thl
y,t
heconceptofr eservati
onusedi nt
heI ndi
anpol i
ti
cal
discoursehasast r
ongeconomi cbiasandmakest heassumpt i
ont hat
educat i
onal andeconomi cissuescanbesepar atedfrom othergeneral
culturalandsoci alconcer
ns.Inotherwor ds,itsimplyassumest hatby
givingmi norit
iesjobsandeducat i
onaloppor t
uni t
iesever
ythingelsecanbe
i
gnor ed.

Theconceptofaffi
rmat i
veactionhasbeenusedwi delyi
ntheUni t
edStat
es
toredr
essthelonghistoryofracialandsexual discri
minati
on.The
assumptionbehi
ndaf f
irmati
veact i
oni sthatt
hesoci etalpl
ayingfi
eldi
snot
l
evelandmi nor
it
iesareinadisadv antagedposi t
ioneducational
ly
,
poli
ti
cal
lyandsocial
lybecauseofdi scriminat
ionf acedoveraconsider
able
periodoft i
me.Theconceptemer gedaf teral ongbat t
letosecuret he
polit
icalandcultur
alri
ghtsofthemi nori
ties,parti
cularl
ytheAfrican-
Amer icanpopulati
onintheU.S.Inrecenty earscivilri
ghtsacti
vi
st sinthe
U.S.hav epaidparti
cul
aratt
entiont
ot heshi fti
ngter msofdebat eregarding
discri
mi nat
ionandv ar
iousorgani
sations, bot
hi nthepr i
vat
eandpubl i
c
sectors,haveincorpor
atedaffi
rmati
v eact i
onpol i
ciesthatpromot ecultural
andet hnicdiver
sit
y.

Asoci
alneed,
notaf
avour
Thecultureofaf f
ir
mat iv
eact ion, unli
kereservat
ion,isnotseenintermsof
afavourthatisbest owedupont hemi nori
ti
esbutasasoci al
need.Itis
usedasaconceptt hatneedst obeuphel dandnotsi mplyimposedina
soci
etywi t
hat raditi
onofr ace,genderandot hersocialandeconomi c
i
nequiti
es.Thecul tur eofaf f
ir
mat iveacti
onisnotsi mplybasedonpol i
cy
choi
cebutont herecogni ti
onoft hefactthati
nor dertocreateasociety
basedonmer i
tandnotbi r
th,ev eryonemustbebr oughttoanequallevel
andalev elpl
ayingf ieldmustbecr eated.

Althought hesoci al
,culturalandpoliti
calcontextofI
ndiai squit
edif
fer ent
from othersoci eti
es,atat imewhenr eserv
ationhasbecomeapol i
tically
char gedwor d,thereisaneedt oexplor eot
herway st
osecur eri
ght
sof
economi cal l
ypoorandt heiri
dentit
yal ongwiththeprotecti
ont ohi
storicale
downt roddensocal l
edbackwar dcast eunderthesti
l
l existi
ngsoci
al
hierarchy,thi
sist hereasonwhyI ndiangov er
nmentrecent lycameupwi th
theideaofgi vi
ng10%r eservati
ontoeconomi cal
lyweakersect i
onoft he
uppercast e

Boi
l
ingcur
renthappeni
ng
Par
li
amentl
astJanuar
ypassedahi
stor
icamendmentt
otheConst
it
uti
on
wheni tadopt edaBi lltopr ov i
de10percentr eser vati
oni ngov ernmentj obs
andeducat ional insti
t uti
onst otheeconomi cal l
yweakersect i
ons( EWS)
amongt heuppercast es,ort hosewhoar enotcov eredunderany
reservati
onpl an.Aspert her eform,EWSi sdef inedasf ami l
ieswi thi
ncome
(i
ncludesagr icultural i
ncomeaswel l asfrom pr of ession)belowRs8l akh
perannum.I nr uralareas, suchf amilieswhoownagr i
cultural l
andbel ow
fi
veacr eandr esident i
alhousebel ow1, 000squar efeetandi nur banar eas,
thosewi thresident i
al plotbel ow100y ardsinnot ifi
edmuni cipalityor
residenti
alplotbel ow200y ardsinthenon- not i
fiedmuni cipal areawi llbe
consideredaspar toft hi
scat egory.
.Howev er ,ifpassed, theamendment
woul dbehi st
or icinthesenset hatfort hever yfirsttimeeconomi cclass
woul dformt hebasi suponwhi chanaf fir
mat iveact i
onpr ogrammewoul d
beunder takeni nI ndia.Ther eservat
ionsy stem i nI ndependentI ndiafirst
camei ntoef f
ecti n1950.I nt heensui ng70y earsi thasunder gonesev er
al
twistsandt urns.Howev er,whatr emai nedroot edi nplacei sthecent r ali
ty
ofcast eindeci dingt hewayquot aswer eallotted.

hi
stor
ical
backgr
ound
Inordertounder st
andwhyt he10percentquotafortheEWSisan
unprecedentedmov e,weneedtorefl
ectupontheuniquerol
ecast
epl
aysi
n
oursocio-economicfabr
ic,andwhyithasbeenfavouredovert
he
economi ccri
teri
onindecidi
ngreser
vati
ons.

Cast
eandr
eser
vat
ions

Whent hemaker sofmoder nIndiasattopendownt heconst i

tut
ionofan
i
ndependentI ndi
a,t
heyrealisedtheneedt ogiv
ev isi
bil
it
ytot hediversit
y
withinitssociall
andscapewhi l
eatt hesamet i
mel evell
ingthem outi nan
equal socio-
economi cst
rata.Caste,inthi
sregardwasav eryimpor tant
factortobet akencareof.Whi l
ethisuniquesocialcategoryhadexi stedin
theIndiansubcont i
nentforcenturi
es,thedecennialcensusst ar
tedbyt he
Bri
ti
shinthel
ate19t
hcenturyhadinst
it
uti
onal
i
sedi
tast
hef
oremost
soci
aldi
vi
sionchar
acter
isi
ngIndi
a.

Recognitionofcastedi scrimi
nationandtheneedt orectif
ythesamewas
notedev enbeforetheConst i
tuti
onofthecount r
ywasf ramed.BR
Ambedkarwast hef oremostpi oneerofseparatepoli
ti
calrepr
esentat
ion
forthelowercastes.Hi sv oci
ferouseff
ortsculminat
edi ntheal
lot
mentof
separat
eel ect
oratesfort helowercastes,nowgr oupedunderthename
“ScheduledCastes”,int heGov ernmentofIndi
aAct( 1935).

Thereaf tertheConst i
tuentAssembl ypromisedt otransf ormI ndi
aint
oa
castelesssoci ety.TheConst i
tut
ionofI ndi
awasf r
amedar oundthe
‘
fundament al r
ightsofciti
zenshi
p’.
Thus, ri
ghtswer et oinher einan
i
ndividual ratherthananyet hno-
rel
igiouscommuni ty.Butkeepi nginmind
theuni quer olethatcastehadplayedi nhistor
icall
ydi scri
mi nati
ngagainst
enti
regr oupsofpeopl e,i
twasal sodeemednecessar yfort heConsti
tuti
on
torecogni sei t
sexistence,thr
oughpr ovisi
onsf ort
headv ancementsofthe
schedul edcast esandt ri
bes.

debat
esi
nconst
it
uti
onassembl
y
TheConstituentAssembl ysawl ongandheat eddebatesanddi scussionto
deci
deupont hepreci
senat ureanddur at
ionofthesepr ov
isi
ons.PKakkan
ofMadrashadar guedthat“Thegov ernmentcanexpectnecessar y
qual
ifi
cati
onorper sonali
tyfrom theHar i
j
ans,butnotmer i
t.I
fyout ake
merital
onei ntoaccount,t
heHar ij
anscannotcomef or ward.
”Kakkanl ike
manywhower ei
nf avourofcaste-basedreserv
ati
onsal sobeli
evedt hat
suchprovi
sionsshoul dnotexceedt heper i
odof10y ears.

8Therewereother
s,however
,whowi
shedforalongerper
iodof
reser
vat
ions.“
thebackwar
dcommunit
iessuff
erfrom t
wodisabi
l
iti
es,
namel y,soci
al di
sabili
tiesandeducat i
onaldisabili
ti
es.Iwantt his
reservati
onfor105y ear swhichhasbeent heper iodduringwhi ch
opportuniti
eshav ebeendeni edtot hem,”saidT. ChannaiahofMy sore.
SardarPat elandNehr uwer eamongt hefewwhoal sopoi ntedoutt othe
harmt hatther eser
vat i
onsy stem couldcause.Fori nst
ance, Patelwas
clearthatthereservationsy stem cannotbedr awnoncommunal li
nes
sinceitwouldconf l
ictwi ththesecul ari
deal ofthedemocr acy.“This
Constituti
onofI ndi
a, off r
eeIndia,ofasecul arstatewillnother eaf
terbe
disfi
guredbyanypr ovisiononacommunal basis,”hehadsai d.

const
it
uti
onal
prov
isi
on
Keepinginmindt heneedsoft helowercastes,
Arti
cle46oft he
consti
tut
ionstatesthat“TheSt at
eshallpr
omot ewit
hspeci alcar
ethe
educati
onalandeconomi cint erestsoft
heweakersectionsoft hepeopl
e,
andinparti
cular,t
heSchedul edCast esandScheduledTribes,andshall
prot
ectthem from soci
al i
njusticeandallf
ormsofexpl oi
tati
on.”

Fur
ther
, Ar
ti
cle15oftheConsti
tut
ionpr
ohibi
ted“
discr
imi
nat
ionongr
ounds
ofr
eli
gion,r
ace,cast
e,sexorpl
aceofbir
th”.

Whi let heConst i

tutionabol ishedt hepr actiseofanyki ndofi njustice
agai nstthel owercast es,ital sogav especi albenef i
tstothem i nthef orm
ofr eser vedseatsi npublicempl oymentandpr i
v il
egedaccesst ohi gher
educat i
on.Ar t
icl
e15( 4)stat edt hat“ nothingthingi nthisarti
cleori nclause
(2)ofAr ti
cle29shal lprev entt heSt atef rom maki nganyspeci alpr ovision
fort headv ancementofanysoci allyandeducat ionall
ybackwar dcl assesof
cit
izensorf ortheSchedul edCast esandt heSchedul edTr i
bes” .Fur ther,
Articles330and332makespeci albenef i
tstot hesegr oupsinf ormsof
reser vati
onsi ntheLokSabhaandt hest atelegislati
veAssembl y.In1951,
whent her eservati
onpr ivi
legeswer ebei ngdeci ded, t
heCensusl istswer e
uti
lisedandt heSt atecamet ot heconcl usionthat55. 3milli
onpeopl e, that
i
s, 20percentofI ndia’
spopul ati
on, woul dbebr oughtunderr eserv ed
categor i
es.In1954ont her ecommendat i
onoft heMi ni
stryofEducat i
on,
seat
swerereser
vedf
orSCsandSTsi
neducat
ional
inst
it
uti
onsandj
obsi
n
thepubl
i
csector
.

postconst
it
uti
ondev
elopment
Itistobenot edthatwhentheconst i
tutiondeclaredprovisionsforthe
uplif
tmentofbackwar dclasses,t
hei ndicat
orsofbackwar dnesswas
‘
social’and‘educati
onal
’.Theeconomi ccri
ter
iondi dnotfeat ur
eany wher
e
signif
icantdevel
opmenti nIndi
a’
sr eservati
onsy stem camei n1953when
theKal aKalel
karCommi ssionwast askedwi t
hl i
stingoutt hosecastesand
communi t
ieswhoar enotundertheSCandSTcat egorybutcanbe
i
dent i
fiedassociall
yandeducationallybackward.

howev ertheKal aKal ekarCommi ssi onr epor twasnotcar riedf orwar dand
i
n1979t heJanat apar tygov er nmentsetupt heMandal Commi ssi onwi t
h
thesameobj ective.Thecommi ssionheadedbyBPMandal madean
empi ricalassessmentev olved11y ardst i
ckscov er i
ngsoci al ,educat i
onal
andeconomi cbackwar dnesswi t
hsoci al backwar dnessbei ngassi gned3
points, educational 2,andeconomi c1poi nt.Itsubmi tt
edi tsr epor tin1980
l
isti
ngout3743Hi nduandnon- Hinducast esandcommuni ties,whi ch,
accor dingt othecommi ssi on,was52percentoft het otal popul ation.The
statusoft hesecommuni tiesdi ff
eredacr ossr egionsdependi ngupont hei
r
social andeducat ionalbackwar dness.t hegov ernmentheadedbyVP
Singhdeci dedt oimpl ementt heMandal Commi ssi onr eportandwasmet
withwi despreadpr ot
est s.Af t
ermuchchaosandconf l
ict,theSupr eme
Cour tuphel dthe27percentr eser vationoft heOBCssubj ectt ot hef act
thatthosewhohadadv ancedsoci all
y ,educat ionallyandeconomi callyfr
om
amongt hem woul dbeexcl udedf rom suchapr ov i
sion.“ Creamyl ay er,t
hus,
shallst andelimi nated.Andonceagr ouporcol l
ect iv
ityitselfisf oundt o
haveachi evedt heconst i
t uti
onal obj ectivet heni tshoul dbeexcl udedf r
om
thelistofbackwar dclass.Ther efore, Nor eser vationcanbemadeon
economi ccr i
teria,
”sai dt heCour tint hehi stor i
c‘IndiraSawhneyandot hers
v
sUni
onofI
ndi
a’case.

Economi
cal
l
yweakersect
ionsandr
eser
vat
ions
Whi l
eitislargelycastethathasal waysbeent hefactori
ndet ermini
ngt he
reservat
ionpol i
cyinIndia,t
heModi government ’
smov eisnott hefi
rsttime
thateconomi callyweakersectionshav ebeent houghtofwhi ledetermining
quotas.In1992, t
heNar asi
mhaRaol edgov ernmentatthecent rehad
proposeda10percentr eservati
onbasedoneconomi cstatus.Howev er,
Indir
aSawhneyandot hersvsUni onofIndia’j
udgementst ruckdownt he
mov eandal soputacaponr eservati
onsnotexceedi ng50percent .The
courtnotedt hat‘backwardclasses’asidentif
iedintheConst ituti
oncan
onlybedeci dedont hebasisofcast eandnoteconomi ccr i
terion.
“Reservati
onf orbackwar dclassseekst oachievethesocial purposeof
sharinginser v
iceswhi chhadbeenmonopol i
sedbyf ewoft hef orward
classes,
”itsaid.

Morerecently,
.In2011,thethenchiefmini
sterofUt tarPr adesh,
May awati
hadwrit
tent othecentr
al gover
nmentaskingf orreser v
ationforthe
economicall
yweaki n2008Ker alagover
nmentandRaj asthangovernment
twi
cein2008and2015hadat t
empt edt
ogiv ereserv ati
ont opoorinthe
uppercastes.Howev er
,noneoft heseat
tempt shav emetwi thsuccessyet

Giventhehi stor
ical backgroundofreser vati
onsinI ndi
a,t
heModi
government ’smov eanunpar al
lel
edt urnofev ents.Howev er,t
hel egal
it
yof
i
tremai nsdoubt ful .“Thev al
idi
tyofreserv at
ionont hebasisofeconomi c
backwar dnessint heabsenceofsoci albackwar dness,wil
l dependonhow
manyoft he11y ardst i
cksofbackwar dnesslaiddowni nIndraSawhneyf or
OBCr eser v
ationi ssat i
sfiedbythebili nSupr emeCour tscanner ”writ
es
scholaroflegal studi esFaizanMustaf ainhi scolumni nt
heI ndianExpr ess.

I
ntheabsenceofreser
vati
onsfortheeconomical
l
yweakersecti
ons
t
hough,t
hegov er
nmentisexpect
edandi nsomecasesprov
idingwelf
are
measur
esforthem.Housingschemes,schol
arshi
ps,
heal
thinsur
anceare
someoftheprovi
sionst
hroughwhichthegover
nmentisexpect
edt
oupl
i
ft
thosewhofal
li
nthecategoryofeconomical
l
yweakersect
ions.

gl
obal
Trend
againstt hedi scriminator yauthorit
y–hal foft hecommuni t ywillremai n
under represent edwhi l
et heot herhalfwi l
l r
akei nallbenef i
tst obecome
absol uteandunaccount abl e.Toaddr esst hei nhumansubj ugationoft he
mi noriti
es( bl
ackswhower esoldassl aves, lowcast eswhoar ef orcedi nto
bondedl abouret c),ast rategyhadt obef ormul at edforthei nclusionoft he
mar ginalisedsect ionsoft hecommuni tyint othemai nstream.Hencet he
concept ionofAf fir
mat i
v eact i
onwhi chwasf oundedt ocheckr acial
discriminat i
onofi mpov erishedclassesespeci al
lydur ingjobappl ications-
sot hatt heempl oyeesar enotdi scri
mi natedagai nstduet ot hei
rr ace,
colourornat ionalit
y.SignedbyJohnF.Kennedyon1961, theimpor toft hi
s
measur ewast oar restthemal i
ciouspr acticesofr acism thathad
segr egatedt hesoci etyint odisparateopposi ti
ons.Theemphasi swast o
eraset hepol arisingnot i
onofr acewi t
haconst ituti
onal author i
tyand
l
egi t
imacy .

det
ermi
nedgoal
foraf
fi
rmat
iveact
ion
 
Toallowequalopportuni
ti
esf
ortheclasseswhohavebeenexcl
udedand
under
playedi
nacademi cs–schooladmissi
on,schol
arshi
ps;
andcar
eers–
promoti
onssalar
yhikes,et
c.

 
Ori
ginal
lyagai
nstraci
aldi
scr
iminati
on,i
twasextendedtoi
ncl
ude
di
scr
iminati
onbasedonsex,disabil
i
tyet
c..pr
ovi
dingsubst
ant
iveequal
i
ty
i
sinthedomainofaf f
ir
mati
veaction

 
Itwast
obeenfor
cedforafi
xedper
iodoft
imet
il
lthemar
ginal
i
zedar
e
abl
etor
egai
nthei
rri
ghtsi
nthesoci
ety
.

gr
oundofCr
it
ici
sm
I
nunderscori
ngthesepoi
ntsaboutAffi
rmati
veact
ion,itseemstobea
democrati
cmeasuretoenddiscr
iminat
ion.Howev
er,despitei
tsbest
i
ntent
ions,i
thasbeensever
elydenouncedduetoi
tsflawsandl oophol
es.

Rev
erseDi
scr
imi
nat
ion
IntheschemeofAf fi
rmat iveact i
on,theMaj ori
tyfeelexcludedand
discri
mi natedagai nstast heal locati
onofj obsandposi ti
onsi nacademi cs
i
sbasedonaquot asy stem orr eservat i
ons.InIndia,thegovernment
continuest ocementr eser vat
ions, andi ncreasest hequotast ogai nv
ote
bank, andt hemaj orit
yf eelacut el
ysi deli
ned.Thesy stem ofreser v
ati
on
wasmeantt olastf oradecadeorso, butithasbecomesoest abli
shedin
thecont empor arytimes, t
hatthemaj or i
tyarenat ural
lyi
nder i
sionofi t
.The
burningi ssueofPat i
darReser v ati
onAgi t
ationinIndiaisabef it
ting
exampl eofr ev
ersedi scriminationinI ndia.Patelsasapr osper ouscastein
Indiaareseeki ngt ober ecogni zedas‘ backwar dclasses’
.Indoi ngso,they
demandr eservat
ionsi njobsandeducat i
onalinstit
uti
onst he

samewayt hedisadv ant agedOBCsar eent i

tl
edto.Wi t
hconsi derable
quot asputasidef ort hemar gi
nalised, t
hemaj ori
tyhast obeart hebruntof
tightenedandhencehi ghlycompet it
ivev acanci
esandpost sr esulti
ngin
manymer i
tori
ouscandi dat esl
osi ngatacademi candcar eeroppor t
unit
ies.
IfPat el
swhobel ongt oacommer ci
al communi tyfearthelossoft heirj
obs
orunav ail
abil
ityofjobsal together,i
tspeaksv ol
umesonRev erse
discriminati
oninI ndia.Whati sRev ersedi scr
imi
nat i
on-si
mplyput ,
whent he
maj orit
yfeelsdiscri
mi natedagai nstasopposedt othemi noritythatiswhat
reversediscriminationi s.

Howt
oresol
vesuchaf
arci
cal
mat
tert
hati
smaki
ngamocker
yofour
democr
ati
ccount
ry-

Br
ainDr
ain
Thisist
hemostobv i
ousaf termathofidenti
ty-
basedpol i
ticsinIndi
a.Due
toreser
vati
ons,andquot abasedsy stems,thepublicfeelschall
enged,
underminedandev enrejectedasselecti
onsinjobsandeducat i
onar e
madeont hecrit
eri
onofCast ethanMer i
t.Hence,theintel
ligent
siai
s
for
cedtowor kabroadandt hephenomenonofBr ai
nDr ainkeepsdraining
I
ndiaofitsthi
nktanks,learnedscholarsandintel
lectual
s.

Agai
nstConst
it
uti
on
Iftheconstituti
onstri
vesforanegali
tar
iansociet
ywi thequalr
ight
sfor
everyoneirrespecti
veofcaste,col
ourandcreed,thenthecaseof
preferenti
altreatmentasevi
dencedinthepolici
esofAf fi
rmati
veActi
on
may /will
strikeasadoublestandard.Duetothisreason,inmanycountr
ies
Affir
mat i
veAct iononthebasisofraceisdeemedi l
legalbuti
nIndi
asuchis
notthecase.

Cr
eamyl
ayer

Ithasbeenwi t
nessedthatthereareeconomi cdi
vi
sionsev eni nthe
i
mpov eri
shedclassessuchasOBCs.Most l
ythewell
-offsectionsoft he
samecommuni tytendtoseizethereserv
ationswhil
et hepoorr emainpoor
andunabletoaccesst hewelfareschemesmeantt or ehabi
lit
atet hem.In
ordertoapprehendsuchapr acti
ce,theconceptofcreamyl ayerwas
i
ntroducedinIndiaaccordi
ngtowhi chtheupperandmi ddl
esect i
onsof
OBCsar enoteli
gibleforreservati
onsall
owi ngthepoorOBCsaccesst o
government’
swel f
arepr ograms.Inthissetup, t
hesecti
onsbel ongi
ngto
l
owcast esthathavepr ogressedineducationalandjobcir
cleswi l
lnotbe
ent
ertai
nedasmar ginali
sedandcancompet ewitht
hemaj ori
tywithoutt
he
hel
pinghandoft her eservat
ions.Concurr
ent l
y,t
hepoorcastescanbenef i
t

f
rom t
hequot
asyst
em,andadv
ancet
hemsel
vest
othel
evel
ofnotneedi
ng
r
eser
vati
onsi
nthel
ongrun.

TheLogi
cal
Scenar
iof
orAf
fi
rmat
iveAct
ion
TheUni tedNat ionsHumanRi ght scommi tteei ni
tsst atementon
Affirmat iv
eAct ionhasasser tedt hat ,“t
hepr i
ncipleofequal it
ysomet imes
requiresSt atespar tiest otakeaf f
irmat iveact ioninor dert odi minishor
eli
mi nat econdi ti
onswhi chcauseorhel ptoper petuat ediscriminat i
on
prohibitedbyt heCov enant”.Suchal ineofr easoni ngi sindeedv ery
signifi
cantbuti tshoul dcomewi thacav eat/conditiont hatDi scri
mi nati
on
cannotbeel imi natedbyDi scriminat ion.Supr emeCour tinr egardt o
Rev ersedi scr i
mi nationhasdecl ar edandcaut ionedt heI ndiangov ernment
that,“Reser vati
oni snecessar yf ort r
anscendi ngcast eandnotf or
perpet uatingi t.Reser vationhast obeusedi nal i
mi tedsense, otherwiseit
willper petuat ecast eism inthecount ry.”Inkeepi ngwi ththislogical
admoni shment ,onet hi
ngi scl eart hattheobj ecti
veshoul dbet oeliminate
cast enotcementi tandsuchat argetshoul dbet hekeywhi ledebat ing,
discussi ng, protestingoragr eeingt oAf fi
rmat iveAct ion..mor eorl ess
samegr oundi sgi venbyt hepr esentgov ernmentt obackeconomi cbased
reservat i
ont oeconomi call
yweakersect i
onoft hehi ghercast e

whatcoul
dbet
hewayahead
I
mposeaTi
meLi
mit
Themajori
tyofcomment sonAffi
rmat i
veActi
onhav ebeenthatitshould
i
mposeat i
mel i
mi tt
oi t
sappli
cation.Asthi
swasi ncl
udedinthecar dinal
chart
eroft
heAf f
irmativeAct
ion,henceitshouldbekeptinmind.
Other
wisethepercentageofreservati
onswil
lincr
easemakingt hemaj ori
ty
i
neli
gibl
eorunwil
lingtoapplyforIndianj
obsandeducationali
nstit
utions.

Cast
eBasedorEconomi
cBased
Therehasal
sobeenar esoundingsolut
ionof f
eredtorecti
fyAffi
rmat
ive
Acti
on-makeiteconomic-
basedthancast e-
based.Thatisinst
eadofcaste
bei
ngthecri
teri
ont oal
l
ocatejobsreser
v ati
onshouldbeoneconomi c
basi
s

Ear
mar
kedSchol
arshi
psf
orMi
nor
it
y
Thepubl icwheni tcomest ojoballocati
onorschol arshipsfortheminori
ty
suggestt hatwhynothav esepar atescholar
shipear mar kedfortheminor
ity
.
Thegr antswhi charemeantf orthegener al
categoryshoul dnotbe
fr
agment edintosmal landsmal lerporti
ons;rat
herexcl usivegrant
sshould
beassi gnedf orthemi nori
ty.Thatis,noquotasshoul dbeputon
scholarshipsf orgeneralcategory;i
nsteadspecialgrantsshoul dbemade
avai
lablef orthemi nori
ty.

Fr
eeUni
ver
sal
Pri
mar
yEducat
ion
I
tisbet
tert
opr ov
idefr
eeeducati
ont
otheunpr
ivi
l
egedpar
tsoft
hesociet
y
t
hanarmingthem wit
hjobswhichmayormaynotbewi
thi
nthei
rski
l
lsetor
capacit
y.I
ftheminori
tyar
eprovi
dedwi
thpr
opereducat
ionst
art
ingfr
om
pri
mar yl
evel
,thent
heycanbeempoweredt
ocompet ewit
hthemajori
tyon
thegroundsofmeritt
hancast
e.

Concl
usi
on
Per hapswhati tneedsi scont i
nuousr evi
sion,recti
ficati
onandr ewri
ti
ng
witht hesol eobj ecti
vetoempowerpeopl esot hattheydonotneedi t
any mor e.SuccessofAf fi
rmativeAct i
on, afterall
,woul dbei nitsexti
ncti
on
thancont i
nuat i
on.I t
saim shouldbet osubv ertcasteandnotpr opagateit
-
i
ft hisposi ti
vemeasur eisappliedwi t
ht hisobjectiv
ei nmi nd,itcanprove
honestt oitsoriginalagenda.reservationont heeconomi cgr oundissims
tobehav ethesol uti
onofoft hepr oblem relatedTuaf f
ir
mat iveacti
onin
Indiat odayt her
ei smor eneedt ot akecar etheeconomi call
ypoorsect i
on
oft hesoci etybecausemor eorl esswehav ecameupf rom thet ort
ureofof
cast esy stem prev al
entinIndi
ansoci et y
.sot hingscangopar al
lel

equalityisani mportantnot i
onofPol i
tical Science.I tisdemonst ratedin
ChineseDi cti
onar ythatequalit
yr efertot hepr ocessi nwhi chpeopl eare
entit
ledt ot hesamet reatmentint ermsofsoci ety
,economy ,l
awsandt he
samest atus.Thati st osay ,
peopl epossesst hesamesoci alstatusand
enjoyt hesamet r
eatment .Inthepol i
tical thought ,equalityisdescribedt hat
allhumanbei ngsareequal ,andequal ityi ndist ri
bution,namel yequal
distr
ibut i
onofweal th,socialoppor t
unitiesandpol i
ticalpower .Therear e
diff
erentt ypesofequal it
ysuchaspol itical,soci al
,legal,natur
al,and
economi cequal it
y.Ther eisast r
ongl inkbet weenf reedom andequal i
ty.
Regar dingaf fir
mat i
veact i
ons, i
tcanbeappr aisedt hatAf f
irmativ
eact ionis
consider edt obeanef fecti
vewayofel i
mi nat i
ngorr educingtheimpactof
discri
mi nation( Crosby,Iyer&Sinchar oen, 2006) .Newsr eport
ssi gnif
ied
thataf fi
rmat i
v eacti
oncal lsforwoment obegi venspeci alconsiderati
oni n
empl oy ment ,educationandcont ractingdeci sions.
 r
efer
enceandsour
ces
1.Conceptofequali
ty-https:/
/www. ci
vil
ser
vicei
ndi
a.com/subj
ect
/Pol
i
tical
-Sci
ence/not
es/equal
it
y-social
-pol
i
tical
-and-
economic.ht
ml

2.reser
vat
ionandaff
ir
mati
veacti
on-
htt
ps://
www.thehi
ndu.
com/op/
2004/
08/
24/
stor
ies/
2004082400321400.
ht
m

3.detail
sof103r dConsti
tuti
onal AmendmentAct-
https:
//i
ndianexpress.
com/arti
cle/research/
ten-
percent
-quot
a-upper
-cast
e-
reserv
ations-economical
l
y-weaker -
sections-
5548550/

4.hi
stor
ical
backgr
oundofreser
vat
ioninIndi
a,const
it
uentassembly
debat
es,MandalCommissi
onandaf t
ermath-Indi
anpoli
tyLaxmikant
.

5.Uni
tedNat
ionvi
ew,prosandconsofaff
ir
mativ
eacti
oninIndi
a-
htt
ps:
//www.
thehi
ndu.
com/ op/
2004/
08/24/st
ori
es/
2004082400321400.
ht
m