Political Diary

New Delhi, 21 March 2015

SC Strikes Jat Quota

DESERVE DON’T DEMAND 

By Poonam I Kaushish

Quotas and queues have always been the bane of Indian politics. Whereby our netagan are busy in one-upmanship, populist bravado and mindlessness. Doling out reservations like moongphalis to pander to their vote-banks. No longer, as the Supreme Court has its say and way. Hurrah!

In a landmark judgment, the Apex Court struck down the Centre’s last March’s notification to include Jats in the Central list of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in nine States last week. Stating that “caste” and “historical injustice” cannot blind a State in according backward status to a community, it added that new emerging groups such as transgenders and other socially backwards must be identified for quota benefits which should be a “continuous evolution.”

This is not all. Asserting that “self-proclaimed” backwardness would no longer be the yardstick, it laid down new norms for identification of backward classes for reservation and redefined the concept of affirmative action by the Government and held the principle of reservation under the Constitution obligated it “to reach out to the most deserving” class.

Stuck in a quagmire, the Modi Sarkar has two options: Filing a review petition or issue a fresh notification. Towards that end the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) would have to conduct a fresh survey as it had argued against reservation for Jats.

Tragically, in its quest for getting OBC votes our netagan always fail to realize the ramifications of their actions. It would not only further divide the aam aadmi on caste-creed lines but is also short-sighted and antithetical to any hope of narrowing India’s burgeoning divide between the haves and have-nots.

Unfortunately, ground realities and make-believes sociology do not always correspond. Reservations by themselves will not transform the village society whose social structure is built upon an edifice of illiteracy and ignorance which in turn perpetuates an iniquitous caste system.

True, many backward castes families are poverty-stricken. But it needs to be remembered that poverty exists in a family unit and not at the caste level per se. If one has to eradicate poverty, then all poor families belonging to a caste should be eligible for State privileges. But at the same time this would not ostracise those poor families belonging to castes not listed as ST, SC or OBC.

Pertinently, reservation is not the sole panacea for eradicating poverty, nor is it a guarantee that members of castes will get Government jobs or seats in Parliament and State Assemblies.

How will the Government respond if each caste begins to complain of non-representation in Parties or Government departments? Unsurprisingly, merit has been replaced by casteism and by domicile. Forget Government jobs, demands have now come up for quotas in private and public sector employment too.

First thing first. Questionably, is reservation an end in itself? Not at all. Has anyone assessed whether those provided reservation have gained or continue to loose? No. Has an objective study been made to find out the end result? Never. According to a former Chairman of the National Commission on Backward Classes, “the politicians have converted reservation into a circus”.

How does it better the lot of the mass of OBCs or other myriad castes and sub-castes lumped together if a few persons from these castes get jobs? Is it fair that a meritorious person is denied promotion because his promotion quota is full? What purposes does reservation serve when an officer is unable to cope with the decision-making process? How is the Government going to avoid reverse discrimination?

Think. After giving reservations no effort is made to build up the morale of the backward classes to bring them into the mainstream. There are no welfare programmes for them or quality education --- not only to a chosen few through a quota system, but to all through free and compulsory education. (This was supposed to be achieved many yeas ago).

Significantly, in the garb of meting out social justice, the politician continues to bask in reckless ad hocism and announce reservations. Not many are aware that they are not solely authorized to do so. It is the prerogative of the National Commission on Backward Classes, established in 1993 following a Supreme Court directive in the Indira Sawhney vs Union of India.

The Commission’s primary task is to recommend the criteria for inclusion of socially backward classes in the OBC list for reservation in civil services under the Union Government.

The truth is that we are today caught in a vicious circle which has been made a lot more malignant by our unstable and fragmented politics. Not just that. The scepter that haunts the nation is not that of class struggle but of caste struggle. Backwards and forwards have become more meaningful than the Left and the Right in politics.

With everyone propounding their own recipe of a communal harmony, the nation is getting sucked into the vortex of centrifugal bickering. So caught up are all in their frenzied pursuit of political nirvana through separatism, that they confuse themselves and the voter and indeed, history itself. Wherein, it is now difficult to recognize India as the same country which Emerson described as the “summit of human thought’.

If political consciousness terminates at the caste level, the day is not far when divisive caste combinations will dominate Indian politics. Granted it would be suicidal not to take cognizance of the new-found political aspirations of the backward castes.

At the same time, it is equally dangerous to indulge in the ongoing political power games passed on caste rivalries. By that token, the whole social reform movement will become meaningless. Our leaders should remember that universalisation of reservation will mean goodbye to excellence and standards --- a ‘must’ for any modern nation that wishes to forge ahead.

Against this backdrop there is only one solution. Truce between the netas and their progenies. A time for soul searching, not soul searing. They should remember that social justice and equal opportunity is not the prerogative of a chosen few. As it stands the system of caste-based quotas has become divisive and self-defeating.

Will the Court’s order stop this vote-bank politics? Time alone will tell. The need of the hour is to provide quality education to all as reservations are no answer to fulfilling the people’s aspirations. By cramming down quotas in jobs is like putting the cart before the horse.

Undeniably, social justice is a desirable and laudable goal. But it cannot be at the cost of nurturing mediocrity.  Remember, there is no place for double standards or the Orwellian concept of ‘more equal than others’ in a democracy. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. The Fundamental Rights provide for equal opportunities for all irrespective of caste, creed or sex. Let’s not fudge or forget this.

Time now for our petty power-at-all cost polity to think beyond vote-bank politics and look at the long-term implications. No longer will young India accept that power in privilege can be transformed through electoral competition into power in numbers. ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)