18 July 2024 – The Hindu

Issues associated with the Indian Reservation System

What is India’s Reservation System?

About:

• The reservation system was first implemented in India due to the country’s ancient caste system.
• To put it plainly, it’s about giving specific groups of people easier access to positions in government, academia, and even legislatures.
• Because of their caste identification, these groups have historically experienced injustice.
• The reservation can also be viewed as positive discrimination since it is a quota-based affirmative action.
• It is regulated in India by laws that are upheld by the Indian Constitution.

Background History:

• The initial concept for the caste-based reservation system was conceived in 1882 by William Hunter and Jyotirao Phule.
• With the presentation of the “Communal Award” by British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald in 1933, the reservation system as it is known today was officially established.
• Separate electorates for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans, and Dalits were provided for by the award.
• Following protracted talks, Gandhi and Ambedkar agreed to create a single Hindu electorate with a few reservations when they signed the “Poona Pact.”

Following Independence:

• Reservations were initially limited to SCs and STs upon independence.
• In 1991, the Mandal Commission’s recommendations led to the inclusion of OBCs in the reserved area.
• Because of this ruling and the clause stating that reservations for members of underrepresented groups should only apply to initial appointments and not to promotions, the term “creamy layer” also became popular.
• Recently, the Constitutional (103rd Amendment) Act of 2019 gave the “economically weaker sections” in the unreserved category a 10% quota in government positions and educational institutions.
• The Act adds provisions enabling the government to grant reservations based on economic backwardness to Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution.
• The 50% reservation threshold is exceeded by this 10% economic reservation.

How Did India’s Reservation System Change Over Time?

Amendments to and Provisions of the Constitution:

• The reserve of SC and ST in the Central and State legislatures is covered in Part XVI.
• The State and Central Governments were authorised to reserve seats in government services for the members of the SC and ST thanks to Articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution.
• The Constitution (77th Amendment) Act, 1995 introduced a new section (4A) in Article 16 allowing the government to give reservations for promotions, amending the Constitution.
• Later, the Constitution (85th Amendment) Act, 2001 changed clause (4A) to provide SC and ST candidates who received reservation consequential seniority.
• Article 16 (4B) was added by the Constitutional 81st Amendment Act, 2000, allowing the state to fill open positions designated for SCs and STs in the following year. This eliminates the cap of 50% reservation on the total number of vacancies in a given year.
• Articles 330 and 332, respectively, allow for special representation for SCs and STs by reserving seats in the State Legislative Assemblies and the Parliament.
• Every Panchayat has seats reserved for SCs and STs under Article 243D.
• Every municipality is required to reserve seats for SCs and STs under Article 233T.

Judiciary Declarations:

• The Supreme Court’s first significant decision on the subject of reservations was rendered in the State of Madras v. Smt. Champakam Dorairajan case (1951). The First Amendment of the Constitution was a result of the case.
• The case’s Supreme Court noted that while Article 16(4) of the State’s employment regulations allows for reservations in favour of people from the backward class, Article 15 makes no such provision.
• Clause (4) was inserted into Article 15 by the Parliament in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case.
• The breadth and application of Article 16(4) were addressed by the court in the 1992 case of Indra Sawhney v. Union of India.
• The Court has ruled that promotions should not contain reservations, the creamy layer of OBCs should not be included in the list of beneficiaries of reservations, and the overall reserved quota should not be greater than 50%.
• In response, the Parliament passed the 77th Constitutional Amendment Act, introducing Article 16(4A).
• If the communities are underrepresented in public employment, the provision gives the state the authority to reserve seats for SC and ST people when they are promoted within the public sector.
• The Supreme Court decided in M. In the 2006 case of Nagaraj v. Union of India, the court upheld the constitutional validity of Article 16(4A) and declared that any reservation policy must meet three characteristics in order to be deemed constitutionally valid:
• The SC and ST group ought to lag behind in terms of education and society.
• There is insufficient representation of the SC and ST populations in public jobs.
• This reservation strategy won’t have an impact on the administration’s overall effectiveness.
• The Supreme Court rules in the 2018 case of Jarnail Singh v. Lachhmi Narain Gupta that the state is not required to gather quantifiable evidence on the backwardness of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in order to grant reservations for promotions.
• According to the Court, SC/STs are excluded from the creamy layer, hence the State is not allowed to give SC/ST people who are a part of the creamy layer of their community preference when it comes to promotions.
• The Karnataka law that permits reservations in promotions for SCs and STs with consequential seniority was affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2019.

Why Are Reservations Required in India?

• Historical Discrimination: In the past, several populations in India have experienced marginalisation due to discrimination based on caste. Reservation seeks to right this historical wrong and give individuals who have been economically and socially disadvantaged opportunity.
• Absence of Human Development Indicators: Information and analyses frequently highlight notable differences in caste groups’ access to resources, employment prospects, and levels of education.
• Reservation laws are intended to close these disparities by guaranteeing marginalised communities’ representation and access to opportunities.
• Encouraging Social Justice: Reservations for socially and educationally disadvantaged groups are permitted by Articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the Indian Constitution. The commitment to advancing social justice and equality is reflected in this constitutional obligation.
• Students from marginalised communities are guaranteed access to high-quality education through reservations in educational institutions.
• Consequently, this aids in ending the cycle of poverty and improves these communities’ general socioeconomic standing.
• Backwardness prevalence: In 1980, the Mandal Commission suggested making accommodations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government positions and educational settings. The goal of putting these suggestions into practice has been to address the social groupings’ lack of advancement.
• Socioeconomic Census Data: Data from socioeconomic caste surveys frequently highlight the unequal distribution of poverty and underdevelopment in particular areas. Reservation policies aim to improve these communities by giving them access to jobs and educational opportunities.
• Government Policies and papers: A number of government papers, like the Sachar Committee Report, draw attention to the socioeconomic disadvantages faced by several minority communities. Additionally, reports from the National Sample Survey Organisation show the appalling living conditions of lower castes.
• Fair participation in Public Employment: By guaranteeing participation from all societal segments in public services, reservations in government positions foster inclusivity and diversity. Data from Periodic Labour Force Survey Reports show that some groups are underrepresented in government employment, which lends credence to this.

What Problems Exist with India’s Reservation System?

• Quality of Education and Employment: The main goals of reservation laws are to restrict access to government employment and education. Concerns exist, nevertheless, that these policies might eventually lower the standard of education and the labour force since applicants might be chosen more on the basis of quotas than on merit.
• Reservation Policies May Cause “Brain Drain”: According to some, brilliant people from unreserved categories may go to study or work elsewhere in order to avoid the reservation system, which could result in a loss of talent domestically.
• Resentment and Division: Within society, reservations can occasionally lead to social and economic divisions. This split has the potential to exacerbate animosity among those who lose out on the measures, which could impede social progress and cohesiveness.
• Corruption and Inefficiencies: Corruption, the falsification of caste certificates, and inefficiencies have occasionally tarnished reservation policies. These problems have the potential to impair system efficacy and impede progress.
• Ghost Beneficiaries: Reservation plans frequently use broad categories that might not effectively identify the most underprivileged people who fall into them. Even while they may not be as disadvantaged as others, certain people from reserved groups might still gain something.
• Stigma and Stereotyping: People from reserved groups may occasionally become the target of stigma and stereotyping, which can harm their self-worth and general development.
• Reservation policies may not specifically address economic imbalances, but they often place a greater emphasis on social development than on economic development. Addressing inequality and advancing general development also depend heavily on economic development.
• Political exploitation: Reservation laws are occasionally used for political purposes, which can cause attention to shift from long-term development goals to short-term political aims.

What Kind of Reservation Solution Is There?

• Reboot Infrastructure of Opportunity: Accelerating reforms to the three E’s—education, employability, and employment—is necessary to reboot our infrastructure of opportunity.
• State governments need to focus on performance management, governance, and soft skills instead of wasting more time and resources on small class sizes, teacher qualifications, or teacher wages in order to improve government schools.
• Redesigning the employability system around the five design principles of learning by doing, learning while earning, learning with qualification modularity, learning with multimodal delivery, and learning with signalling value would help us attract enormous new financing for skills from businesses.
• In the workplace, creating large numbers of formal, high-paying, non-farm jobs necessitates lowering regulatory burdens for employers by enacting new labour laws that discourage compliance, litigation, filings, and criminalization.
• Equal Treatment: A key component of advancing equality is making sure that everyone is treated equally and without prejudice. This implies that no one should be subjected to benefits or disadvantages because of their history, including the position of their parents.
• Unbiased Competition: It’s critical to promote competition on an even playing field where people have equal chances to achieve based on their aptitudes, efforts, and skills. This encourages excellence by inspiring people to give it their all.
• Fair and unbiased appraisal of each person’s performance, abilities, and contributions should be used to decide the outcomes. This guarantees that success is mostly determined by merit and achievement.
• Assessing Effort and Courage: Stressing the value of perseverance, hard work, and the guts to go after one’s dreams promotes a culture of accountability and individual effort.
• Use the Resources Wisely: A welfare state is what a modern state is, and a good ancestor is one that makes good use of society’s resources to provide people in need with affordable, high-quality housing, healthcare, and food.
• However, this safety net shouldn’t turn into a hammock: individuals benefit far more from employment than they do from income, thus unemployed individuals cannot earn the same as employed people. And inexpensive food, petrol, or diesel shouldn’t be given to the wealthy.
• Policy needs to speed up the Direct Benefit Transfer revolution for subsidies, made possible by Aadhaar.

Way Forward:

• Gandhiji thought that Antyodaya (welfare of the weak) would lead to Sarvodaya (development of everyone). Building on his ideas, philosophers have argued that justice for all would be ensured if one were to construct the universe without understanding one’s own role in it. Although reservations are a useful instrument for achieving social fairness, it’s time to replace them with something more universal over the next few decades, especially in light of Poorna Swaraj’s years of political manipulation.