advertisement
The Union Cabinet on Monday, 7 January, approved a 10 percent reservation for economically backward upper castes in government jobs and education.
As the decision came, just a few weeks ahead of the general elections, the intent and motive of the proposed move came under intense scrutiny. The BJP and its allies projected the decision as a welcome one, while those in the opposition were more skeptical, some going to the length of terming it as yet another jumla.
The need and viability of the move – both in terms of legality and propriety – also came under the scanner.
Here is all you need to know about the decision, explained in three cards.
The government has put forth a set of eligibility criteria for those who intend to be the beneficiaries of the new quota scheme. The economic backwardness will be determined by their family income, agricultural land, residential house and residential plot.
Eligibility Criteria:
The bill for reserving 10 percent seats for economically backward section of the upper caste is likely to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, 8 January.
Now, for the decision to be implemented on ground, it will need an amendment of Articles 15 (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth) and 16 (equality of opportunity in matters of public employment) of the Constitution.
Both these articles, at present, do not provide for economic backwardness.
A constitutional amendment, in turn, requires the following steps to be fulfilled:
Further, the amendment may be challenged in the courts on the grounds that it violates the basic structure of the Constitution.
Apart from the constitutional amendment mentioned earlier required to accommodate financial status as a criteria for reservation, the Cabinet’s decision will also have to overcome the hurdle of the Supreme Court’s cap on reservation at 50 percent.
In 1992, when the PV Narsimha Rao government attempted to introduce a 10 percent reservation for economically backward classes, SC had struck it down by citing this.
The government is hoping that its decision will go through as the SC’s cap is applicable only on reservation for backward classes and will not come in the way for a provision for economically weaker sections, once the constitutional amendment in Articles 15 and 16 are put in place.
Kalelkar and Mandal Commisions
The debate and deliberation on reservation started soon after the independence when the first Backward Classes Commission was appointed under Article 340(1) in 1953 under the Chairmanship of Kaka Saheb Kalelkar.
The Commission submitted its report in 1955, listing as many as 2,399 castes as socially and educationally backward. The then government, however, did not accept the report as it was not satisfied with the commission’s approach in determining the criteria for identifying backward classes under Article 15(4).
While India already had reservation for SCs and STs in place at that time, the Mandal Commission recommended a 27.5 percent reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The Indra Sawhney case ensued after VP Singh’s government decided to implement the Mandal Commission report.
The government’s decision is widely being seen as an attempt to win back the general category voters – a core base of the ruling BJP – who have shown signs of drifting away in the recent times.
The BJP’s backing for reservation for Dalits in promotions, and its bringing a Bill to overturn the Supreme Court’s order on Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which made some offences under the Act bailable, is believed to have given birth to some resentment among the BJP’s core voter base.
In a panel discussion on Bloomberg Quint, political commentator Amitabh Tiwary said that the BJP is looking to woo the Hindi heartland, which has around 30 percent of general category voters.
These castes have similar status, both economically and socially. Even as they do not fall under the OBC category, they lag behind other forward castes in terms of important indicators like land holding and education.
Going into the general election, the BJP is aiming at a win-win situation by trying to woo its core voter base without alienating the backward castes, as the 10 percent reservation will be implemented over and above the existing quotas.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: 08 Jan 2019,02:57 PM IST