Political Diary
New Delhi, 23 February 2016
The Burning Haryana
QUOTA DEVIL SINGES NETAS
By Poonam I Kaushish
He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon. This
adage has come to torment political India once again as it grapples
with the reservation Frankenstein in Haryana. Wherein, the Jats are creating
merry hell torching malls, vehicles and blocking national highways demanding a
slice of the education pie and Government jobs. Indeed, a sad reflection of our
times, where quotas and queues are the all-season favourites!
The tragedy of it all is that the Mandal fiend created by
our leaders has come to bite them. Worse, given the level of dishonesty and
irresponsibility which increasingly governs our political system, no leader is
willing to look us in the eye and confess that we are the cause of this mess
thanks to our fixation for self-satiation of vote-banks politics. All forgot
that caste quotas becomes divisive and self-defeating whereby struggle between backwards
and forwards is more meaningful than Left and Right in politics.
According to a former Chairman of the National Commission on
Backward Classes, “The politicians have converted reservation into a circus”.
Think. No study has been done to find out whether post reservations any effort
is made to build up the morale of the backward classes to bring them into the
mainstream. There are neither any welfare programmes for them or quality
education.
Questionably, is reservation an end in itself? Not at all. Has
anyone assessed whether those provided reservation have gained or continue to
loose? No. Are caste quotas the answer for maintaining India’s social
fabric? Never as it only divides people and harms national unity. How does it
better the lot of the mass of Jats or myriad castes and sub-castes lumped
together as OBCs, if a few persons from these castes get jobs?
When does backwardness supercede equality assured by our
Constitution under Article 15(1). 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?
True, it is the Government’s fundamental mission to uplift
the poor and backward classes, educate and provide them equal opportunities. At
the same time, it is equally dangerous to indulge in stoking caste rivalries on
the facetious reason that it to uplift the down trodden.
Undoubtedly, 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. One cannot
ostracise those poor families belonging to castes not listed as ST, SC or OBC.
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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
Not satisfied with a benchmark of 50 per cent, set by the
Supreme Court, our polity continues to bask in thoughtless adhocism, by hiking
the percentage at the drop of a hat. Ranging from 69 per cent in Tamil Nadu to
80 per cent in Bihar and Karnataka.
Time to take note of last March’s Supreme Court’s judgment
wherein it struck down the Centre’s notification to include Jats in the Central
list of OBCs in nine States. Stating, “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.”
Additionally, “self-proclaimed” backwardness would no longer
be the yardstick, it laid 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.
India of 2016 is not the India of 1989 where
a young 18-year old student, Rajiv Goswami immolated himself in public. Today
our polity has to realise that it has to deal with a savvy Rang de Basanti generation aged between 18-35 years who constitute
50% population and believe in action not reaction.
They seek jobs on merit in an over-crowed employment market
where the labour force is growing 2.5% annually, employment is rising by 2.3%
resulting in increasing joblessness. Thus, none has given thought to the
challenge of absorbing new entrants to the job market, 12 million every year
and clearing the backlog. In this scenario where do quotas fit?
Clearly, the Government has to end this evil of casteism
which is eating into our democracy’s vitals. Reservations are no answer for
fulfilling people’s aspirations. These will not only further divide them on
caste lines but come in the way of narrowing India’s burgeoning divide between
the haves and the have-nots. No longer will young India accept that power in
privilege can be transformed through electoral competition into power in
numbers.
After all, supposing, reservations were made for a community
or communities and the total came to 70 per cent of the posts under the State and only 30% remained
as unreserved, would anybody say that this would be satisfactory from the point
of giving effect to the principle that there shall be an equality of
opportunity? It cannot be.
Time to remember Ambedkar’s wise words against reservations
and the hidden monsters behind them. He said: “If you want different societies
to come together, I think it is time that we decide that the use of the word
‘caste’ be banned in this country.”
Adding, “Reservation too should be done away with because it
becomes a hindrance to development.” The Government must rethink the entire
reservation policy and stop the blind application of quotas. Time to think
beyond quotes and queues and put our foot down and assert: Reservations cannot
do! ---- INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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