DC discusses the issue of reservations for the socially backward in society
Quotas did not help Dalits much
“The Shudras (Dalits or the lower castes) should not acquire knowledge and it’s a sin and crime to give them education. If a Shudra intentionally listens to recitations of Vedic hymns, and if his aim is to memorise it, his ears should be filled with (molten) lead. If he utters (a word from) the Vedas, his tongue should be cut,” went the Code of Manu (Manusmrithi) which is still one of the scriptural basis for Hindu civil law in India.
This discrimination that was shown and is being shown against Dalits over the past 3,000 years is an answer to those who argue against reservations for Dalits and why caste-based reservations for them in education and employment are needed for ensuring social equity in a society struggling under the caste system.
Those who are fighting against reservations for Dalits being implemented for over six decades should realise that the sins committed against Dalits for over 3,000 years cannot be erased in just 60 years.
Dalits constitute around 16.6 per cent of India's population but their control over resources of the country is less than five per cent.
Close to half the Dalit population lives Below the Poverty Line and 62 per cent of them are illiterate. Despite reservations running for six decades, the representation of Dalits in government services continues to be minimal.
At the very top level of the bureaucracy, out of a total of 149 secretary-level officers, there are no SC officers while there are only four ST officers, as of March 2011. At the next rung of additional secretary, out of 108 officers, there are just two each from SC and ST.
Further down, out of 477 joint secretaries, 31 belong to SC -- that is, 6.5 per cent -- and 15 belong to ST, that is 3.1 per cent.
There is no reservation for these posts but one would expect that out of the pool of officers from SC and ST entering Civil Services through quota, a better proportion made it to these top rungs.
That has not been the case. Even in the most sought-after Civil Services, their representation is poor. Out of 3,251 directly recruited IAS officers, SC officers made up 13.9 per cent and ST officers 7.3 per cent.
This shows that the underprivileged sections or Dalits are not yet getting the full advantage of reservations envisaged by the Constitution-makers. As you move up the ladder, there are fewer employees/officers from SC/ST.
The high proportion of SCs in Group D is because 40 per cent of the sanitation workers are SCs. This pushes up their overall employee strength. It denotes the harsh reality that despite talk of ending discrimination and socio-economic uplift, Dalits are still made to do mostly menial jobs.
Some 60 years after Independence, Dalits remain the most vulnerable and marginalised community in India.
Mallepally Laxmaiah - The writer is founder chairman, Centre for Dalit Studies
Time to review reservations
“If at the end of the ten years, the Scheduled Castes find that their position has not improved or that they want a further extension (of the period of reservations for them), it will not be beyond their capacity or their intelligence to invent new ways of getting the same protection which they are promised here,” stated architect of the Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar, in the Constituent Assembly on August 25, 1949.
He was replying to the debates on Article 334 of the Constitution which inter alia provide for reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the people and in the legislative assemblies of the states.
Initially, the Constituent Assembly legislated these reservations for ten years from the date on which the rule came into being.
The Constituent Assembly was told by Dr Ambedkar that the “decision to limit (reservations) to ten years was really a decision that has been arrived at with their consent” (consent of other members of the Constituent Assembly).
He also stated that these reservations cannot be allowed to carry on beyond ten years except by an amendment of the Constitution.
Therefore, every ten years, Article 334 is being amended by substituting the 10 years with 10 more. At present, the amendment is effective for a total of 70 years since its start, and the period of the latest amendment ends by 2020.
Article 14 of the Constitution guaranteed equality before law to all, while Article 16 provides for equal opportunities in matters of public employment. The state has a duty to harmonise these special and vital provisions of the Constitution which form perhaps the basic features of it.
The intention of the Constituent Assembly to limit the power to extend reservations to 10 years by amendment is obvious.
What was expected of any extension is a real and genuine exercise to justify a blanket extension for further 10 years and absence of any further ways, better or best, than what was provided under Article 334.
However, a mechanical way of doing things is irrational and impermissible in law. An amendment to the Constitution should not be lightly moved, handled or viewed.
The 70 years period by any standard is sufficiently large enough to transform any society or any group. If nothing has happened even after such long years, it is time to look back and review what better things should be done.
Extending mechanically the same 10 year period again and again is not the way forward. Political rights and social uplift should exist shoulder-to-shoulder. With reference to special enactments which have now come up, the State and all concerned should review the progress achieved and take a conscious decision either to continue reservations in the same way or in any other way.
SS Prasad - The writer is a senior advocate at the Hyderabad High Court
