Login Register
Follow Us

Will quota for the poor be a game changer?

Although reservations had existed even prior to independence, the scope of reservation, as a means of empowering the deprived sections of our population, has only been expanding, since our Constitution came into force 69 years ago.

Show comments

Amitabha Bhattacharya
Former IAS officer

Although reservations had existed even prior to independence, the scope of reservation, as a means of empowering the deprived sections of our population, has only been expanding, since our Constitution came into force 69 years ago. And irreversibly so. 

Departure from traditional criteria

However, the recent move of the government to get the Constitution amended to introduce up to a maximum of 10 per cent reservation meant for a sub-group of the general category based purely on economic criteria is important for many reasons. Firstly, it marks a departure from the traditional criteria based on identified castes/tribes/socially and educationally backward classes. Secondly, it is also a tacit admission of the growing economic disparity of our people that requires to be addressed. Thirdly, it creates a new category in the population termed economically weaker sections (EWSs) that deserves to be covered under the Constitutional provision. 

The Constitution of India (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, is intended to fulfil the mandate of Article 46 of the Constitution and amend the relevant provisions of Article 15 [w.r.t. reservation in educational institutions] and Article 16 [for reservation in public employment and appointment]. Despite criticism by the opposition parties about the motive and timing of the move, the Bill had been passed in both the Houses of the Parliament and the Presidential assent obtained on it in the shortest possible time. It also shows how secretively the government can move and how fast it can get things done if there is a political intent.

In a democracy like ours, where popular demands cannot be ignored and competitive populism often holds sway, there may be no escape from reservation in public employment and admission to all non-minority educational institutions, at least in the near future. With the introduction of the enabling provisions, one can foresee that the state governments will compete with each other in providing similar reservations for which demands have been raised from time to time. Once reservation is taken as a fait accompli, one should examine its consequences in order to create a system where the proposed benefits could seamlessly flow to the most deserving in a transparent manner.

While an affirmative action like reservation aims at providing equitable access to opportunities, based on the degree of social, educational and (now) the economic deprivation of different sections of population, there often has to be a trade-off between equity and merit (as judged through examinations), especially in the context of very limited opportunities. This decision to arrive at a trade-off has never been easy, complicated further by the shrinking size of public employment opportunities. It may be remembered that the hitherto reserved categories cover over two-third of our total population. In this context, let the implications of this sudden move by the union government be analysed.

Analysing the implications

It has been argued that this pre-election initiative goes against the Indra Sawhney case where the Supreme Court has prescribed an upper limit of 50 per cent for reservation. This weak argument goes against the spirit of the landmark judgment delivered in the context of constitutionally-mandated social reservation (vertical reservation). 

Already, some states, including Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, have breached the ceiling and are continuing to do so, under court stay or otherwise. While the union government must have armed itself with legal opinion, this 10 per cent reservation from out of those meant for general category (currently 50.5 per cent, at the central level), irrespective of religion, may perhaps be treated as horizontal reservation. It may be noted that states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had made one-third reservation for women, horizontally, against all categories of SCs/STs/OBCs and OCs (GCs). Therefore, while the proposed Constitutional amendment will definitely face a legal challenge, the government action does not appear to be legally unsound.

New Issues and challenges

However, the proposed categorisation (EWSs) will raise new issues that require to be handled by the Executive. Firstly, the basis of arriving at the 10 per cent figure requires explanation, especially because reservation for SCs/STs and even for non-creamy layer amongst OBCs has some correlation with their respective populations. Therefore, clarity is needed on how this 10 per cent figure has been arrived at.

Secondly, now that a new category has been identified for reservation, there would be an increasing demand for scholarships and other economic benefits for this group, as also a clamour for increasing the age, permissible attempts and reduction of cut-off marks, especially by those aspiring for the higher civil services examinations. The government should be prepared for additional budgetary allocation to meet such demands. 

Thirdly, there would be new challenges, administrative in nature, to identify such candidates. The identification of SCs/STs and OBCs is much easier than verifying the claims of the new EWSs. Based on the affidavits furnished by the candidates, some independent, transparent and non-intrusive verification methods have to be devised so that reservation provisions cannot be misused easily. 

Fourthly, though the economic criteria are not covered by the amendment and require to be notified from time to time by the government, it is believed that the income criterion of up to Rs 8 lakh per annum has been fixed for the new category. Currently, an income of Rs 8 lakh and above is fixed for the creamy layer of the OBCs. Except that it may have been expedient to have done so, one may ask if there has been any empirical basis behind this figure. This issue requires consideration.

Fifthly, there may be demand from certain sections of the SCs/STs and OBCs to introduce similar sub-categorisation, based on economic criteria, within their respective quotas as well. The government should be prepared to face such challenges.

Finally, one may wonder if this reservation tends to foreclose the prospect of reservation for women across categories.

One presumes that, all issues raised above have been examined at the government level. Given that reservation is to continue and that a primary responsibility of the government is to create an inclusive society by reconciling the interests of various conflicting groups, much of the success of this well-intended move will depend on how ably it has anticipated the problems that may arise and how effectively it seeks to address them. That way, the potential unrest in our inequitable society can be contained and resolved to a large extent. Then only this move has the potential to be a game changer. Otherwise, its implementation may cause administrative nightmares.

Show comments
Show comments

Top News

Most Read In 24 Hours