Parliament last week passed a historic amendment to the Constitution when it adopted a Bill to provide 10 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to the economically weaker sections (EWS) among the upper castes, or those who are not covered under any reservation plan. As per the reform, EWS is defined as families with income (includes agricultural income as well as from profession) below Rs 8 lakh per annum. In rural areas, such families who own agricultural land below five acre and residential house below 1,000 square feet and in urban areas, those with residential plot below 100 yards in notified municipality or residential plot below 200 yards in the non-notified municipal area will be considered as part of this category.
While both houses of Parliament have given almost unanimous assent to the Bill, we are yet to see if it passes judicial review. However, if passed, the amendment would be historic in the sense that for the very first time economic class would form the basis upon which an affirmative action programme would be undertaken in India. The reservation system in Independent India first came into effect in 1950. In the ensuing 70 years it has undergone several twists and turns. However, what remained rooted in place is the centrality of caste in deciding the way quotas were allotted.
In order to understand why the 10 per cent quota for the EWS is an unprecedented move, we need to reflect upon the unique role caste plays in our socio-economic fabric, and why it has been favoured over the economic criterion in deciding reservations.
Caste and reservations
When the makers of modern India sat to pen down the constitution of an independent India, they realised the need to give visibility to the diversity within its social landscape while at the same time levelling them out in an equal socio-economic strata. Caste, in this regard was a very important factor to be taken care of. While this unique social category had existed in the Indian subcontinent for centuries, the decennial census started by the British in the late 19th century had institutionalised it as the foremost social division characterising India.
Recognition of caste discrimination and the need to rectify the same was noted even before the Constitution of the country was framed. B R Ambedkar was the foremost pioneer of separate political representation for the lower castes. His vociferous efforts culminated in the allotment of separate electorates for the lower castes, now grouped under the name “Scheduled Castes”, in the Government of India Act (1935).
Thereafter the Constituent Assembly promised to transform India into a casteless society. The Constitution of India was framed around the ‘fundamental rights of citizenship’.Thus, rights were to inhere in an individual rather than any ethno-religious community. But keeping in mind the unique role that caste had played in historically discriminating against entire groups of people, it was also deemed necessary for the Constitution to recognise its existence, through provisions for the advancements of the scheduled castes and tribes.
The Constituent Assembly saw long and heated debates and discussion to decide upon the precise nature and duration of these provisions. P Kakkan of Madras had argued that “The government can expect necessary qualification or personality from the Harijans, but not merit. If you take merit alone into account, the Harijans cannot come forward.” Kakkan like many who were in favour of caste-based reservations also believed that such provisions should not exceed the period of 10 years.
There were others, however, who wished for a longer period of reservations. “the backward communities suffer from two disabilities, namely, social disabilities and educational disabilities. I want this reservation for 105 years which has been the period during which opportunities have been denied to them,” said T.Channaiah of Mysore. Sardar Patel and Nehru were among the few who also pointed out to the harm that the reservation system could cause. For instance, Patel was clear that the reservation system cannot be drawn on communal lines since it would conflict with the secular ideal of the democracy. “This Constitution of India, of free India, of a secular state will not hereafter be disfigured by any provision on a communal basis,” he had said.
Keeping in mind the needs of the lower castes, Article 46 of the constitution states that:
“The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.”
Further, Article 15 of the Constitution prohibited “discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth”.