Reservation amidst the Din of 'Development'

Author(s): MAANVENDER SINGH

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 51, No. 38 (SEPTEMBER 17, 2016), pp. 65-69
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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 Reservation amidst the Even the Haryana government that is
showing a certain benevolent attitude

Din of 'Development' towards certain politically affluent classes

by promising to bring them under the
fold of reservation is quite unabashed
insofar as crimes against Dalits in the
MAANVENDER SINGH state are concerned. Its record on this
count has been abysmal for 2014. 2 In
It is important to clarify that other words, even as the debate on the

the rationale behind instituting since the Mandai Commission report issue of social justice is dominated by
It was sincewas hasaccepted
accepted
but thetheview
beenthatMandai
reser-more but the Commission than view two that decades report reser- questions raised on reservation, issues
reservation in jobs and
vation is an unfair privilege given to the like land, atrocities against the lower
educational institutions was not castes and Dalits and their sociocultural
backward classes has not changed. In
to eliminate economic inequality fact it has grown even more fierce in its isolation are conveniently forgotten or
but to dismantle the monopoly expression to the point that every now pushed aside.
and then a violent demand is made to
of a few castes in government Constitutional
either end it or accommodate an agitating
services and educational and Judicial Position
community, irrespective of its place in
institutions and to create equal the social hierarchy. A similar mentality
It is important to clarify that the rationale

opportunities for the backward was reflected in the Jat agitation inbehind instituting reservation in jobs
classes in an otherwise Haryana earlier this year and that
and educational institutions was not to

resulted in widespread violence and

eliminate economic inequality but to
unequal society. destruction of public property. It was
dismantle the monopoly of a few castes
astonishing to see the assurance with
in government services and educational
which this agitation was conducted and
institutions and to create equal opportu-
the manner in which the state tolerated nities for the backward classes in an
it. Now compare this to the response of otherwise unequal society. Thus, affirm-
the state against the students who raised ative action or reservation was given on
slogans in the Jawaharlal Nehru Univer- the basis of social exclusion and discrim-
sity (jnu), demanding azaadi from dis- ination caused by the caste inequalities
crimination; the charge of sedition were that lead to economic and political
slapped against them. The more imme- exclusion as well. Constitutionally, the
diate concern seems to be an attempt to provisions for reservation exist to correct
create a sense of legitimacy for reserva- the existing negation of the right to
tion on an economic basis. equality as guaranteed by Article 14 of
The overall debate appears to be divi- the Constitution. In other words, Articles
ded on two grounds. On the one hand 15(4) and 16(4) were meant to ensure
there are those who not only totally Article 14 of the Constitution.
reject the idea of taking a relook at the Further, the inclusion of the Scheduled
policy of reservation but also support Castes (ses), Scheduled Tribes (sts) and
further addition to the ever expanding the Other Backward Classes (obcs) fol-
list.1 On the other hand is the anti-reser- lows different criteria. In the case of the
vation brigade, which clearly sees no use ses, the basis is that they suffered
for reservation in digital India. Interest- great discrimination in the form of
ingly, this group does not hesitate to lean untouchablity (Galanter 1984: 124); res-
in favour of the demand for reservation on ervation for the sts is on the basis of
an economic basis. And in this, the de- their distinct cultural practices and
mand for reservation is even couched in physical separation from mainstream
progressive terms, that is, pitching the de- society. The extension of reservation be-
bate on reservation as one of caste (histori- yond the ses and the sts is based on the
cal discrimination) vs class (economic dep- premise of identifying such obcs which
Maanvender Singh (maanvenderso8@gmail rivation). However, no shame or anger is can be given reservation under Articles
com ) is a PhD scholar at the Sikkim University,
displayed about the atrocities against 15(4) and 16(4). The identification of
Gangtok.
Dalits and other marginalised sections. such backward classes was left to the

Economic & Political weekly E33S3 September 17, 2016 vol li no 38 65

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state by setting up a commission to by the lower castes. However, contrary to Therefore, as a matter of policy, it was
enquire into the conditions of socially this, the state has consistently denied made clear that economic backwardness
and educationally backward classes caste any space in policies of social im- needs to be backed up by social and edu-
(sebcs) under Article 340 of the Consti- portance, one such being reservation. A cational backwardness and hence caste
tution.3 Article 15(4) is categorical that point that became clear when the gov- was an important criterion for defining
special provisions can be made for the ernment abandoned the colonial prac- backwardness. However, in practice, the
advancement of the sebcs and for ses tice of collecting caste-wise data for obsession with economic criteria contin-
caste Hindus, which might have provid- ued which became clear with the sub-
and sts.4 Further Article 16(4) permits the
state to make special provisions foruseful information on the condition
ed mission of First Backward Classes Com-
reservation in appointments for any of obcs.8 This mistrust of caste was mission report (Kaka Kalelkar Commis-
backward classes, which in the opinion sion). The government did not accept
strongly reflected in the day-to-day lan-
guage of politics that laid significance on
of the state are not adequately represented the recommendations opposing the adop-
in services.5 the secular vocabularies for creating tiona of caste as the criteria for backward-
casteless nation. Nevertheless, it must
It is pertinent to point out here that in ness and preferred the application of the
be stressed here that these meaningseconomic test. Indeed, the Chairman of
the judicial sense the backward classes
were contested both within and outside
include the ses, the sts and the obcs, the Commission, Kaka Kalelkar too lent
which in the opinion of state are socially
the realm of politics. himself to this idea. Any plurality to this
and educationally backward.6 Insofar asThe Nehru government overlooked discourse came from the socialist leader,
the nexus between social discrimination
the judicial position on reservation Ram Manohar Lohia, who rejected the
based on economic criteria is concerned,
and economic deprivation and went by idea of pitching class against caste in both
it has been in the negative. The higher
the rationale of class to tackle inequality politics and in the policy on reservation.
(both economic and social) by state-led Criticising the simplistic view of class
judiciary has been categorical that Article
economic development. It looked at politics, Lohia (1964: 79-105) attacked
15(4) speaks of only social and education-
al backwardness and hence such reser- class, rather than caste, as the source of both Nehru and the left parties for per-
all inequalities and held out that thepetuating the caste system. He argued
vations are permissible only on such cri-
public sector-led economic development that caste was dismissed as a reality to
terion.7 More importantly it was settled
will take care of both caste and class
in Indra Swahney v Union of India (1992) demean the claims of the historically dis-
inequalities. These were the reasons
that caste is an important criterion to criminated classes. Similar attacks were
behind a dominant section within the
determine backwardness, making it clear launched on the caste parties for their
that reservation has to focus on histori- Congress insisting upon taking the eco-
sectional approach to establish their nu-
merical hegemony in politics.
cally discriminated sections of the society. nomic criteria for defining the backward-
However, the judgment in Ashoka Kumar ness on the eve of independence. It was Lohia (1964: 97) who started
Thakur v Union of India (2008) tried to Meanwhile, it may be recalled that
the politics of social justice based on the
reverse the progress in this direction, idea of socialism to build a horizontal
the debate over caste vs class partly
contributing to the revival of the para- came to an end with the first constitu- political coalition among the various
noia on caste-based reservation, by mak- tional amendment. The question of sections on the axis of caste, class and
ing suggestions in favour of reservation amending the Constitution came up gender and argued that the true doctrine
based on economic criterion and com- within a few months after its adoption of equal opportunity would have to undo
and the reason for the first amendment
mitted judicial indiscipline in doing that the work of 5,000 years by giving prefer-
(Balagopal 2009). that introduced Article 15(4) was to ad- ential treatment to lower castes over a
dress the lacunae in reservation policies period of few decades (Lohia 1964). He
Caste vs Class?
that unravelled after the Supreme Court attacked Nehru directly for assuming
The explanation cannot be found in the the Communal go (Government that with the removal of poverty through
quashed
intricacies of the constitutional scheme Order) of Madras.9 Even during the de- a modern economy, these segregations
and the judiciary's interpretations; the bate over the addition of Article 15(4), will automatically disappear. "Poverty
fact is that this debate has been shaped strong arguments were made in favour and these two segregations" he stressed,
by the continuous interplay between the of making reservation on an economic thrive on each other. "All war on poverty
idea of modernity and social justice, asbasis. However, Nehru, at this stage, was is a sham, unless it is, at the same time, a
the state in postcolonial India made an not willing to define backwardness only conscious and sustained war on these
attempt to end the caste system. To this, in economic terms. He argued: two segregations," he held (Lohia 1964: 1).
Deshpande (2013) has argued that in If I added economically I would at the same Soon his arguments and those of other
order to do so the state entered into con- time not make it kind of cumulative thing socialist leaders, seeking preferential
but would say that a person who is lacking
flicting processes where on the one hand policies came to occupy Indian politics,
in any of these things should be helped.
the institution of caste was delegitimised
Socially is a much wider word includ- which finally led to the partial implemen-
and on the other it was recognised to re- ing many things and certainly including tation of the Mandai Commission report,
dress the historical discrimination faced economically.10 which recommended 27% reservation in

66 September 17, 2016 vol li no 38 E32H Economic & Political weekly

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favour of the obcs. It now meant that nation-building process the themesthat
of hunger can be dealt with.13 Now, to
modernity and secularism scuttled the
reservation was not just about represen- do so, the state needs more public sector-
tation of the excluded classes in servic- programmes on social justice, in con-
oriented economic strategy and an in-
es, posts, education and creating finan-temporary times the model of develop-
creased spending on social sector, an ap-
cially affluent people among the lowerment has done the same even makingproach
it that has been discontinued post
castes. Reservation, in the more impor-possible for the nation to revert backliberalisation.
to Most importantly the neo-
tant sense, was meant to break the mo-the old debate of instituting reservation
liberal policies which the state has been
nopoly of the upper castes over institu- on economic basis. promoting fiercely have destabilised the
tions of power at the political level; a The Nehruvian concern, it must be agricultural structure resulting in rural
monopoly that was antithetical to thestressed here, was ideological in choos- distress. Add to it the total neglect on the
idea of democracy. In terms of politics,ing class rather than caste and was clos- issue of minimum wages of workers in
the principles of the Mandai Commis- er to the left intellectuals, who believed the unorganised sector which directly
sion report were short-lived and got that class forces would bring about a affect the poor sections of society. It is
diluted to establish the hegemony of asocial change. However both ideological the crisis of neo-liberal policies that has
few castes in Indian politics. This becomes poles stand on the same footing on the resulted in the rising number of farmer
clear from the fact that both Uttar
fact that they support economic and not suicides.14 Therefore it will not be wrong
Pradesh and Bihar, which were citadels
caste (historically discriminated) as the to argue that the current pattern of pov-
of Mandai politics, top the chartcriterion
of for reservation, clearly lacking erty is the fallout of growth models
crimes against Dalits, debunking the
the historical understanding of emanci- based on neo- liberal economic policies,
patory discourse.
myth of bahujan unity at both the politi- which now every state is bound to follow
cal and social level.11 Further the under the logic of capitalism. The failure
Poverty, Reservation and Beyond of demand for reservation on economic
parties - Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya
Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United) and the important part of this debate basis may have been visible in Gujarat
The other
Bahujan Samaj Party (bsp) - which is whether
were at all reservation can be treated after the Patidar agitation but there is
founded on the principles of socialism
as a poverty alleviation programme. It is every possibility that soon it might ac-
have now nothing to do with them. quite clear that poverty, though it can quire a pan-India character and it is im-
Over
the years, all of them have sided to discrimination, can hardly create minent that such demands for reserva-
leadwith
exact replica of caste discrimination tion on an economic basis will be raised
the neo -liberal agenda by sharinganpower
with both the Bharatiya Janatafor Party
which the system of reservation was more vocally in the days ahead.
(bjp) and the Congress in coalition
instituted
gov- in the first place. Besides, if Hence it is important to stress that the
various data on poverty is analysed, it extension of reservation based on eco-
ernments. They are guilty of confining
caste to politics and have consistently
shows that the poor among the Dalits nomic criteria can be justified only when
failed to raise the issue of discrimination
and the obcs number much more as there is equality among the masses,
in the socio-economic domain. which means the old reservation policy
compared with those among the others.
Further the political liking for the This thus establishes that caste (social)
has been effectively implemented in case
neo-liberal agenda of development has based discrimination leads to economic of the ses, sts and obcs. Data, in this
led to the stagnation of both politics anddeprivation.12 This further signifies that
regard, highlight that much remains to
policies of social justice limiting thepolicies on poverty eradication need to
be achieved through the system of reser-
claims of backward classes only to jobinternalise the issue of caste-based vation. For example, employment in
reservation. Particularly, the success ofdiscrimination rather than taken government
up as services in 2015, that is, 25
the bjp in hegemonising the discourse ofexclusive economic policy concerns.years after the implementation of reser-
development, in which caste as a reality vation for the obcs based on the Mandai
Poverty itself is the result of extreme
Commission
is denied any role, has helped the anti- deprivation that can only be sorted out report, showed only 12%
reservation forces as they sit in news-by major institutional changes, oneobc such
employees in the central services.15
rooms and criticise the politicians forkey area being land redistribution that The condition in educational institu-
tions is more depressing; a report
retaining caste in the age of globalisa- also targets the issue of caste disparities.
tion. However, when they fail to gainContrary to this, the current National published in the Hindu , in 2012, high-
any legitimacy, even after such labour, Democratic Alliance (nda) government lighted that more than 50% of teaching
they distort the principle by advocating (much like the previous United Progres-
positions for ses and sts are lying vacant
that it be granted to the forward or sive Alliance government) continues to
in central universities. It is an irony that
dominant classes by creating a falseavoid any radical institutional change while the scs/sts are given admission in
criterion of economic backwardness. and in fact proposes a draconian educational
land institutions, they are not
Once again, class is pitted against caste, allowed to teach in such institutions and
acquisition law in one form or another.
though for different reasons, in both
The other important need is to raisethe logic given is that it affects the
peo-
form and content, from the Nehru era ple's
of purchasing power as well as efficiency
the of institution. Add to this the
politics. So, if in the first half of the dismal
foodgrain availability in the country so figures such as that in rural

Economic & Political weekly E3359 September 17, 2016 vol li no 38 67

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India, only 4% of the sc/st families have also made them much more dependent
sector and other low-paying jobs in the
a member employed in government agricultural sector or industries.18 As theon the rich peasant.
service (secc 2010). 16 recent secc (Socio-Economic Caste Cen- One needs to go back and highlight a
There is no doubt that the reservation sus) data has indicated, around 62.7% of few points from the "holy book" of the
policy itself is flawed in many ways; one the Dalits are engaged in manual labour caste-based parties - the Mandai Com-
shortcoming is that it has created an as against the 51.1% of all households. Amission report - which argued that res-
elite among the ses, sts and the obcs contrasting figure comes out in the caseervation policies alone cannot tackle the
that is grabbing most of the opportunities of the obcs, where there is no such uni-problem of backwardness and strongly
guaranteed. However, quashing reserva- formity as seen for the ses (as most arerecommended for some structural changes
tions for this reason or introducing the landless). The National Sample Surveyin the agricultural sector. The report
economic criteria as the only basis for (nss) 70th round data highlights thatopined that the highest priority of the
reservation will only accentuate the around 47.6% of the obcs own less than
state governments should be to enact
problems of the backward classes. two hectares of land and around 53.33%
and implement progressive legislation to
Moreover, as the public sector shrinks own more than two hectares of land. change the basic structure of existing
due to privatisation and higher education This uneven and oppressive system, in production relations.
becomes more privatised, the reserva- turn, is the creation of the Indian state Further it is totally misleading that
tion model is being affected increasingly. which has failed miserably to implement the creation of assets itself creates hon-
In the latter area, both state and judiciary land reforms. Although the Nehru regime our or respect in a social hierarchy and a
have declined to intervene and address abolished zamindari, it failed to carry Dalit is still treated as an untouchable
the issue of discrimination (Teltumbde
forward structural changes (Kohli 1987: irrespective of his ascendancy.19 The
67). The unchecked reforms, subse-
2010). The T M A Pai case, wherein the best way to check this will be to look
quently, resulted in the creation of a into the condition of the ses who have
full bench defended the fee hike in private
unaided professional educational insti-class of modern landlords belonging, suffered most due to the caste system
tutions, and further ruled that education
mostly, to the dominant caste and some and to check whether much has changed.
obcs; the Green Revolution, subsequently, Take, for instance, the violent incidents
can be pursued as an occupation by the
resulted in creation of a new ruling class as in Khairlanji (2006), Mirchpur (2010),
private people, opened the gate for pri-
vatisation of education. And much later,
in rural areas, which due to its numeri- Dharmapuri (2012), and Bhagana (2014).
cal strength plays a decisive role in poli-
in Ashoka Kumar Thakurv Union of India Such violence is a reminder of the fact
(2008), the Supreme Court held reserva-tics and is made up of Jats, Gujjars and that any progress or minimum demand
tion in such educational institutions as the Yadavs in Northen India (Jaspal made by the lower castes is met with
1990). This has not only rendered the violent retaliation from the dominant
an unreasonable restriction that infring-
es their right to select students and af-Dalits and the lower strata of the obcs castes and abject inaction by the state
vulnerable on the economic front but
fects autonomy and the essence of un- machinery. So any act that derecognises
aided institutions.
Now, it clearly appears that reservation
has reached a dead end and lost its effec-
Economic&PoliticalwEEKLY
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 = NOTES

the hier
20i4_Table
has come down to 5,650 showing a decrease of
on 8 March
50% (see Rajalakshmi 2015; Sainath 2010).
as attem
3 The Presi
15 The report was published in Times of India, 2015.
thesionruli consist
16 http://www.secc.gov.in (accessed on 7 March
2016). to investig
Indian
educational
s
17 See SECC data that shows majority of landless
the Dali
ritory of
belonging to Dalits, http://www.secc.gov.in In
they labou
(accessed on 7 March 2016).
argue ag
to the step
18 Factory Act 1948, Insurance Act 1948 covering
or any stat
working condition and health safety, provid-
Conclusions improve th
ing compensation are not applicable to majority
that shoul
of workforce that are engaged in unorganised
Notwithstanding the commitment to union or
sector. The recent data shows that 97% of people
an
which such
social justice, in more than six decades, engaged in unorganised sector work without
der appoin
written contract, 93% of them do not have
caste identities have prospered and the the procedu
social security benefits such as pension or
4 Nothing i
old order seems to have adapted well to health insurance. See http://mail.mospl.gov.in
29 shall
(accessed on 7 March 2016). pre
modernity, maintaining its identity at a cial provisi
19 Anand Teltumbde provides a narrative of anti-
psychological level. It is quite clear citizens
that or cially and
Dalit state in post Kairlanji protest, where even
for the Scheduled Castes and the
by no means can reservation end the Scheduled Tribes. the affluent among Dalits were not spared by
the police and charged with murder, arson and
atrocities against the lower castes and
5 Nothing in this article shall prevent the state other criminal cases.
from making any provision for the reservation
the sociocultural isolation they face. of
The
appointments or posts in favour of any back-
discourse on social justice ward class of citizens which, in the opinion of
itself becomes REFERENCES
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Sainath, P (2010) "India's Farm Suicides: A 12-Year
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12 The 2004-05 data shows around 38.5% SCs
counterpunch.org/2010/02/04/india-s-farm-sui-
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SECC (2010): Socio Economic and Caste Census
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over the issue of reservation and more 13 Prabhat Patnaik argues that necessary condi-
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notes
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not engage in export-oriented farming on a ayana, pp 68-74.
1 The allegory, h
more or less fixed land (Patnaik 2014). Thorat, Sukhadeo (2009): Dalits in India: Search
text of the ongo
14 In an interview, Hannan Mollah discloses how for a Common Destiny, New Delhi: Sage Publi-
2 Incidence
government is manipulating the suicide of cation, p 251. or r
Castes
farmers, where he highlightsduring
that in 2013,Unni, Krishna, JP & Ors TMA Pai Foundation & Ors v 2
Bureau's,
11,772 farmers committed suicide. The figure http:/
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