Reservation in education is the biggest fraud played upon the first
principle of fundamental rights i.e. equality.
‘Divide a loaf by a knife—what’s the
answer to that?’
‘I suppose—’ Alice was beginning, but the Red Queen answered for her.
‘Bread-and-butter, of course. Try another Subtraction sum. Take a bone from a
dog: what remains?’
Alice considered. ‘The bone wouldn’t remain, of course, if I took it—and the
dog wouldn’t remain; it would come to bite me—and I’m sure I shouldn’t
remain!’
‘Then you think nothing would remain?’ said the Red Queen.
‘I think that’s the answer.’
‘Wrong, as usual,’ said the Red Queen: ‘the dog’s temper would remain.’
-Through the Looking-Glass
Article 14. The State shall not
deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws
within the territory of India.
Article 15. The State shall not discriminate
against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of
birth or any of them.
Article 16. Equality of
opportunity in matters of public employment
(1) There shall be
equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or
appointment to any office under the State
(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them,
be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect or, any employment or
office under the State.
These are the
contents of the Constitution of India. It is held sacred by the many who were
and are deriving benefits of the flagrant violation of the first principle.
The First Amendment
of the Constitution of India trampled upon the fundamental rights of majority
of Indians. It amplified Art 15 (3) by adding
(4) Nothing in this article or in clause
(2) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for
the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens
or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
This is genesis of
powers of the State to provide reservation in education.
The
belief that the Constitution provided reservation in education only for 10
years is incorrect. The provision for 10 years applies to reservation of seats
in Lok Sabha, Assemblies and elections to local bodies. Contrary to common
belief, the politicians have not been extending reservation in education. That
reservation is open-ended. It is not likely to stop after ten or twenty years.
It’s designed to go on forever.
As
is the reservation in government jobs. They may shrink. The government may downsize
its operations. Class IV jobs may be outsourced. But the government goes on
increasing percentage of reservation, regardless of consequences. Reservation
means not only provision of seats, but fees subsidized by the State, special
provisions for lodging, boarding, scholarship and training for the new reserved
class. Plus the other economic entitlements in the name of special provisions
like soft loans via various Backward Class Development Corporations,
apprenticeship in government run institutions etc.
Nondiscrimination
on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them was
a fundamental right. Reservation curtailed it. Reservation discriminates
between otherwise equal citizens on all grounds that the Constitution specifically
prohibits. Reservation is the worst form of discrimination. It continues for
generations. Its benefits are gained by birth and not by any voluntary act.
Neo-Buddhists,
converts from one religion to another enjoy reservation. The category Scheduled
Tribes is discrimination on account of alleged race. They are described as
original inhabitants [मूलनिवासी] by
the radical elements, thereby stamping all others as outsiders. Reservation for
Scheduled Castes [SC] is discriminatory on ground of caste. Birthright of
reservation to ward of a reserved category student is discriminatory on ground
of descent. Domicile rules are discriminatory on ground of place of birth and
residence.
The State
discriminates on all grounds prohibited by the Constitution. Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh have provided reservation to Muslims, based on their religion.
Maratha
reservation has been granted on the basis of caste. The reservation for female
seats on various local bodies is perverse discrimination on the ground of sex.
Constitutional
principles are followed more in breach than in compliance.
Constitution
has been amended 103 times, altering its nature. Today, it’s a caricature of
the all-inclusive, benevolent, egalitarian document that it was intended to be.
Far from inducing fraternity amongst citizens, the seeds of discord sown by the
discrimination are bearing ever bitter fruit.
The
worst changes have been the provisions enabling reservations. Though founding
fathers debated about the quantum of reservation, no time limit was provided.
Though the Constitution provides for socially and educationally backward
classes, no yardstick has been devised in the seventy years of its functioning
to define what these classes should mean and include. The age old division of
castes has been perpetuated and further entrenched by reservation policies. The
very caste which was the basis of discrimination is now a source of fierce
pride. Far from annihilation of caste, the reservation system has made caste
the primary identity.
Qualification
and eligibility for professional courses has been diluted from time to time.
There is now no minimum qualifying marks criterion for reserved category
candidates. The disparity in cut-off numbers is gut-wrenching. The meritorious get
admissions to the prestigious colleges in branches of their choice. Merit is a
matter of distinction amongst the eligible and qualified. So the cry of “save
merit” is a misconception. Merit is already safe. What is at stake is the fate
of the ‘other’ qualified and eligible students. They are the most affected by
reservation policy.
Traditionally,
medical education has been the most sought after field for the topmost talent
in India. But increasing percentage coupled with so many parallel reservations
frustrates the efforts of students to secure a seat in an adequately equipped
government medical college. After their studious efforts at securing sufficient
marks in qualifying examinations yield expected results, reservation snatches
away their chance to get any seat in a professional course. The better off
amongst them are forced to seek admissions in private colleges or deemed
universities at exorbitant cost. Rest of the talented pool is just refused the reward
for their dedicated study for four or more years.
Situation
is similar in colleges offering other professional courses. The IITs lose many
students in the first year itself, leading to loss of utilization of
infrastructure and manpower deployed at huge cost.
All
around the country, there is outcry against the poor quality of teachers
appointed from reserved category. There are news about villages striking to
protest against appointment of substandard teachers appointed on reservation
quota. The adverse impact on excellence in work and administration due to
appointment of under-qualified candidates to responsible government posts is
being subjected to ridicule on social media.
The end is not in sight, but the battle has begun. The
open category is owning up to its past and claiming impartiality.
Why should they suffer for the alleged excesses of their ancestors? Why should
a person incapable of doing routine calculations find his name in the list of
admissions to prestigious colleges? Why should a person scoring zero in two subjects out of
three be held eligible for admission to a professional course where much more
qualified candidates do not get a seat?
Reservation as it exists today is the
curse of India. Rethinking reservation policy may provide resurgence of India
as a dominating force on the world map. Reservation, quota or आरक्षण; by whatever name called, the special provisions made by the government
for advancement of backward classes are hated by people who do not benefit by
it. Much has happened since the adoption of the Constitution about seventy
years ago. Yet, there has been no review of the widely despised policy.
According to
critics, the unending conferral of benefits on people born in certain castes
(above 500 in Maharashtra) is inherently flawed because caste alone does not
make a person disadvantaged. Further, the benefits include not only procuring
seats but also in scholarships, fees waiver, lower qualifying marks and age
relaxation etc. The list goes on. They include advantage in chance of
education, post-graduation, employment as well as promotion.
Reservation in
education and employment is a hot topic of discussion, particularly amongst the
youth and their parents. With ‘career’ being of utmost concern, Indians view
good education as a guarantee of assured economic wellbeing. Employment on
salary is a gateway to a safe life in India where very few people think of
starting a new venture unless they are forced to.
Since the
extension of reservation to Marathas in Maharashtra [SEBC] and Economically
Weaker Sections [EWS] by the Centre, the debate around reservation has taken a
new head. It intensified after the statement of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat that
there should be a cordial debate between those opposed to reservation and those
in its favour. There is renewed awareness about the issue, but little
understanding of it.
The beneficiaries of
reservation have appropriated Constitution as a sacred text. The government has endorsed
this by making reading of the Preamble mandatory on certain occasions. The Preamble
has literally been engraved upon prominent places in premises of Courts and
other official places. But the Constitution did not originally provide for reservation
in education and employment.
The
Constitution provides reservation for political offices i.e. the
Panchayats, the Lok Sabha, the legislative assemblies of the States and the
Municipalities. And those reservations are for a specific period. The
Constitution of India originally provided
Article 334.
Notwithstanding
anything in the foregoing provisions of this Part, the provisions of
Constitution relating to
(a)
the reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in
the House of the People and in the Legislative Assemblies of the States;
shall cease to have effect on the expiration
of a period of (ten) years from the commencement of this Constitution.
The ten years
have been unanimously extended every ten years. The seventh extension will
expire in 2020. The original (ten) years has been replaced by (seventy) vide
the 95th Amendment to the Constitution.
The part of
the Constitution enabling the State to make provisions for advancement of
backward classes or Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes is contained in
sub-clause (4) of Articles 15. This was introduced by the First Amendment to
the Constitution in 1951. The First Amendment was the first and biggest blow to
the idea of qualification and competence being the criteria for selection for
education. The first thing changed in the Constitution was the assurance of
equality of opportunity and non-discrimination.
In the name of
special provisions, the pitch was queered for under-qualified and substandard
candidates. The very idea of non-discrimination and equality of opportunity was
subverted by the introduction of special provisions, the foremost being reservation.
The enabling provisions have been used
by State Governments to confer untold benefits upon the ‘reserved’ categories.
As mentioned above, the list is endless. The socialist welfare state idolized
by Nehru, and modeled on the U. S. S. R. meant that the government took upon
itself the upliftment of the citizens. The Social Welfare Department schemes
are virtual charities dispensing aid to all; looking for opportunities to
bestow benefits on as wide a range of citizens as possible. For a resource
hungry nation such as India, this is a disastrous policy. The special measures
to be taken by the government for the downtrodden could have been a good step
towards removal of inequalities. On the contrary, it has created a society
polarized between the privileged at birth by reservation and those qualified
for the seat by hard work.
Fundamental Rights, the third part of
the Constitution in which the right to equality and prohibition of
discrimination on the grounds of “religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or
any of them” are enshrined itself empowered the government to trample upon the
rights of millions of deserving candidates from getting seats in education or
employment that they deserved. There is no end in sight. The demands for
evermore concessions, facilities and privileges are ceded by state governments.
They do so to please the sizeable population which has been voting en masse for
parties giving sops. More and more castes, groups and communities are seeking
reservation or inclusion in a category with more opportunities. Powerful
communities which have ruled states for decades by political strength have
become vociferous in their demand for inclusion in ‘backward class’ or for
grant of reservation.
The politically strong Maratha
community which was categorized as ‘forward caste’ by the Mandal Commission has
successfully obtained reservation in Maharashtra as Socially and Educationally
Backward [SEBC] Class, the only caste to be so characterized, distinct from the
346 castes included in the Other Backward Classes [OBC]. It is ironic that
Kunbis, a caste which has been held to be the same as Marathas, is included
along with (Leva, Kunbi, Leva Patidar) Kunbi Maratha and Maratha Kunbi at
Serial No 83 of the list of OBCs in Maharashtra. With the Bombay High Court
upholding the SEBC reservation at 12% for education and 13% for employment,
coupled with 10% given by EWS, Maharashtra students are burdened by 74%
reservation.
The provision for reservation in
education is discretionary, that is, the government has provided reservation in
education as a special measure. The reservation in employment is mandatory.
Lost in the din is Article, which 335 provides that claims of the SC and ST
shall be taken into consideration while employing people for service in the
Union and States. However, the provisions of special measures in employment are
to be used only when the government thinks that the backward class is not
adequately represented in services under the state. There is no such
qualification for educational seats.
Various states have made reservation
laws different in percentage and composition. Disparity in reservation in
various states is because reservation is a State subject. The only central
reservation is the latest EWS. It is yet to be tested in the Supreme Court.
Decision on that matter by the Supreme Court will provide a guideline to the
future of reservations in India.
Recent events have galvanized the
otherwise pliant ‘open category’ into action. Protest marches, dharna
andolan, ghantanaad, loud posters against reservation are seen in various
cities. Social media is abuzz with unreserved (अनारक्षित) pride. There
is discussion about the size and extent of open category. Ways and means of
tackling the issues are being discussed. Various organisations with differing
aims and ideologies are matching horns for public attention and wider following.The open category has found a new voice to talk about ending reservation.
The nation’s resources are poured into confirming that
education qualification tested by scientific methods is the only criteria for
successful completion of professional courses. Sadly, that confirmation comes
from the high rates of dropouts of students from the reserved category in the
first year itself.
There is bound to be fierce resistance to the
increased reservation. How tolerant should the public at large be? The ‘cordial debate’ suggested by Mohan Bhagwat may
not happen. But debate and furious discussion around the topic of reservation
is underway and thriving.
It
is argued that total reliance of the said class on these provisions have made
them less competitive. The incentive to study hard is taken away by the assurance
of a seat for a reserved category student, and hence their poor performance,
goes a theory. The founding fathers believed that the oppressed classes would
never be competent to compete with the privileged few on basis of merit.
The
insertion of special provisions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was supposed to
be bestowal of special favours on an underprivileged class. That has long been
turned topsy turvy. A proviso to the Constitutional promise of equality before
law given as a fundamental right has become the most potent tool for
discrimination against open category students. The ‘special provision’ of
reservation has snatched away 74% seats from the open category. Exception has
become the norm. Normalcy in education i.e. opportunity on the basis of qualification
and eligibility is gasping for survival. Something is seriously wrong.
Time
to ask some serious questions. If the reserved category students are otherwise
capable, and only the idea of an assured seat is making them complacent, why
not remove reservation in seats altogether? And if they are inherently
incapable of achieving higher education or competing on the basis of merit with
other students, why are the government bent upon so much to make them occupy
seats meant for only the best and most studious candidates?
© Adv.
Shrirang Choudhary
