Events & Issues
New Delhi, 17 November
2022
EWS Verdict
ENDING ABUSE OF QUOTA SYSTEM?
By Sagarneel Sinha
It has been quite common to hear from the upper castes that
the reservation system hampers growth. They often argue that the system
discriminates against them and say it doesn’t judge based on merit. Not just this,
but a section criticises the Dalits for getting benefits through the
reservation system.
In fact, on social media platforms such as Twitter, it has
been a daily routine for this section of upper castes to ridicule the Dalits
and call them “fools”, who got jobs only because of the reservation system that
doesn’t reward “merit”. In this battle, this section of “upper castes” is
accompanied by a section of non-resident Indians, who too routinely disparage
this system. The strange argument put by this section is that this system is
the root cause of casteism; so to remove casteism, they argue, the reservation
system has to be removed first. This section ignores the very fact that this
quota system has been introduced to address the social injustice caused by
casteism.
Actually, the bitter truth is that this section of upper
castes has been unable to digest the fact that the socially marginalised Dalits
have been progressing well, thanks to the benefits of the quota system. Having
said that, it is also a fact that a section of them are marginalised due to
economic reasons. As a result, the Narendra Modi-led BJP government brought the
Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota through the 103rd Constitutional
Amendment. Recently, the Supreme Court upheld the government’s decision of 10%
reservation for people belonging to EWS for admission to educational
institutions and government jobs. Obviously, many aren’t happy with this
verdict as they view it against social justice.
Before the introduction of the EWS quota, there have been
reservations for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Castes.
Still, some gaps remain to be addressed but it is no denying that the
reservation system has benefitted these sections of society. Similarly, this
EWS quota addresses the economically marginalised section of the forward
castes. True, the forefathers of a large section of “upper castes” were
superior in society but that can’t be the reason to ignore the marginalised
section of this caste.
The argument that the EWS takes away the benefits of the
SCs, STs and OBCs is quite exaggerated as their quota remains the same.
Currently, there is 15%, 7.5% and 27% reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs
respectively. EWS is an additional quota, and it doesn’t interfere with that
prevailing. For a society to prosper, the marginalised sections need to be
uplifted. And EWS aims to do precisely this and is a welcome step as it addresses
one of the economic inequalities of society. It is wrong to vilify marginalised
people from the forward castes. Unfortunately, for a section of Leftists and
Liberals, it has been a daily routine to unnecessarily criticise all the people
of the forward castes because of some of the wrong deeds done by a section of
their forefathers.
Apart from this, due to EWS, the forward castes can no
longer claim the reservation system discriminates against them. Many of them,
who don’t use their caste to identify themselves and are habituated to calling
Dalits, STs and OBCs “casteist”, today are going to benefit from the same
reservation system they despised the most, only if they satisfied the criteria
needed to come under the umbrella of EWS. Definitely, this strengthens the
reservation system as now some of its fiercest critics are going to get
benefits.
Coming down to sheer politics, it is estimated that the
“upper castes” constitute around 25% of the country’s population. Currently,
this section has been seen as the major vote bank of BJP, which too introduced
this EWS quota to pacify the “upper castes” ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha
elections. Only a few months ago, it lost power in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan
and Chhattisgarh to the Congress, and it was said that a major reason for the defeat
was the growing dissent of the forward castes against the BJP. Importantly, the
party didn’t waste any time and was quick to introduce the EWS quota, which was
beneficial.
The Supreme Court verdict on EWS quota has been welcomed by
most of the Opposition parties, including Congress and CPM. The latter has only
expressed its concern about the criteria to decide the EWS quota. It believes
the present Rs 8 lakh per annum and 5 acres of agricultural land would allow a
large population, which is not poor, to access benefits of reservation and this
would discriminate against the poorest of the poor. However, one of the Opposition
parties opposing the EWS verdict is the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu.
This speaks of the clout the “upper castes” enjoy in
general among most political parties, which no longer are ready to ignore their
issues. Remember, the Congress still has a committed vote bank among a section
of the forward castes, particularly the Brahmins. And with the acceptance of
the verdict the party has in a way pacified the anger of a section of “upper
castes” that their interests don’t matter to any political party. Of course,
the benefit of the reservation decision would in all likelihood pay off more
for the BJP as it has maintained that the
quota is aimed at empowering the EWS who don’t benefit from the caste-based
reservation.
Lastly, there are concerns about the limit of reservations.
This EWS exceeds the 50 per cent ceiling for reservations, however, in the end,
their getting reservation should put an end to the bickering against the
backward classes for bagging quota benefits. Nevertheless, there are drawbacks
that remain within the reservation system that need attention for further
reforms. A political consensus is thus critical, as the quota system did not
give birth to the evils of casteism. Now that every caste is a beneficiary, the
big question is whether the reservation debate will eventually end. Or will new
demands from those ‘deserving’ and left out emerge? Remember, the reservation
system opened the Pandora’s Box, and the lid may not be closed entirely.
---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature
Alliance)
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