With the 'Mahagatbandhan' RJD-JDU-Congress Alliance sweeping the Bihar elections, there are speculations of the resurgence of the Mandal politics of the 90s. If the NDA sources are to be believed, caste-based politics has made a come back in the Hindi heartland and will upset quite a few political pundits who had written off caste politics after Narendra Modi stormed to power in the Lok Sabha elections of 2014. The 'reservation' debate has assumed national importance once again with the Patel community in Gujarat and the Gujjars of Harayana demanding reservation, while RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat calling for an end to caste-based reservation, the repercussions of which were felt in Bihar.
What the Constitution says
Article 15 of the Constitution says that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
There are three exceptions to this rule:
Article 16 of the Constitution provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of employment or appointment to any office under the state. No citizen can be discriminated against or be ineligible for any employment or office under state on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent or place of birth.
There are exceptions to this general rule:
It is thus clear that although the Constitution does believe in equality of all citizens, it also asserts that the interests of the backward 'classes' must be given due attention.
Mandal Commission and its aftermath
The Mandal commission, under the chairmanship of B.P. Mandal, was appointed by the Morarji Desai government in 1979 to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes and suggest measures for their advancement, in terms of article 340 of the Constitution.
The commission submitted its report in 1980 and identified 3743 castes which were socially and educationally backward. These castes constituted nearly 52% of the population excluding SCs and STs. The commission recommended for reservation of 27% government jobs for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) so that the total reservation amounts to 50%, as 22.5% of the seats were already reserved for the SCs and STs.
After 10 years, in 1990, the V.P.Singh government declared reservation of 27% government jobs for the OBCs. This move resulted in widespread protests all over the country against giving government jobs on the basis of caste rather than merit of the candidate. The protests closed down roads, highways, transportation services, government services, businesses and schools and escalated enough to close parts of the nation. A number of Bandhs, Hartals, Dharnas were organised with simultaneous reportings of looting, rioting and destruction of public property. It ultimately led to the resignation of V.P. Singh as the Prime Minister of India while his party, the Janata Dal was split up into many different parties like Rashtriya Janata Dal (Bihar), Samajwadi Party (UP), Biju Janata Dal (Orissa), Janata Dal Secular (Karnataka) and the Janata Dal United (Bihar).
Several of these parties assumed caste-based identities and projected themselves as representatives of a particular community of the backward class. These communities already felt threatened at that time because of the ongoing protests against reservation. This paved the way for 'votebank' politics, where every party tried to identify itself with one or more community (mainly from the backward classes). This type of politics reaped dividends for several parties in various states, given the political scenario at that time, and was subsequently referred to as 'Mandal politics'.
In 1991, Narasimha Rao government introduced two changes to those made in 1990:
The present reservation system has faced a lot of criticism from various fronts. But the strongest voice of protest comes from the student community which sees the current system of reservation as regressive and counter-productive. Caste-based reservation has caused many meritorious students to miss out on a chance to bag a seat at the premier institutions while simultaneously these institutions have to do with mediocre students, with many even dropping out before the end of the course.
In cases of government jobs and appointments to other state run institutes, a compromise has to be made by employing people who are not worthy or capable but have to be employed to fill up the quota that has been specified. This creates problems in the effective and smooth functioning of the state machinery. Several others have pointed out the fact that the caste-based reservation system has emerged as a political tool rather than a social backwardness alleviation scheme, which has created deep seated resentment among members of various castes which is against the spirit of nationalism.
The makers of the Constitution were of the opinion that as the country would progress in the field of education and science, reservation would be phased out systematically, but the Parliament has always succeeded in extending that period, which raises the question whether our elected representatives themselves want to do away with reservation or not.
What the Constitution says
Article 15 of the Constitution says that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
There are three exceptions to this rule:
- State is permitted to make any special provisions for women and children.
- State is permitted to make any special provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
- State is empowered to make any special provisions for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, regarding their admission to educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the state, except minority educational institutions.
Article 16 of the Constitution provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of employment or appointment to any office under the state. No citizen can be discriminated against or be ineligible for any employment or office under state on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent or place of birth.
There are exceptions to this general rule:
- Parliament can prescribe residence as a condition for certain employment or appointment in a state or union territory or local authority or other authority.
- State can provide for reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class that is not adequately represented in the State services.
- A law can provide that the incumbent of an office related to a religious or denominational institution or a member of its governing body should belong to the particular religion or denomination.
It is thus clear that although the Constitution does believe in equality of all citizens, it also asserts that the interests of the backward 'classes' must be given due attention.
Mandal Commission and its aftermath
The Mandal commission, under the chairmanship of B.P. Mandal, was appointed by the Morarji Desai government in 1979 to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes and suggest measures for their advancement, in terms of article 340 of the Constitution.
The commission submitted its report in 1980 and identified 3743 castes which were socially and educationally backward. These castes constituted nearly 52% of the population excluding SCs and STs. The commission recommended for reservation of 27% government jobs for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) so that the total reservation amounts to 50%, as 22.5% of the seats were already reserved for the SCs and STs.
After 10 years, in 1990, the V.P.Singh government declared reservation of 27% government jobs for the OBCs. This move resulted in widespread protests all over the country against giving government jobs on the basis of caste rather than merit of the candidate. The protests closed down roads, highways, transportation services, government services, businesses and schools and escalated enough to close parts of the nation. A number of Bandhs, Hartals, Dharnas were organised with simultaneous reportings of looting, rioting and destruction of public property. It ultimately led to the resignation of V.P. Singh as the Prime Minister of India while his party, the Janata Dal was split up into many different parties like Rashtriya Janata Dal (Bihar), Samajwadi Party (UP), Biju Janata Dal (Orissa), Janata Dal Secular (Karnataka) and the Janata Dal United (Bihar).
Several of these parties assumed caste-based identities and projected themselves as representatives of a particular community of the backward class. These communities already felt threatened at that time because of the ongoing protests against reservation. This paved the way for 'votebank' politics, where every party tried to identify itself with one or more community (mainly from the backward classes). This type of politics reaped dividends for several parties in various states, given the political scenario at that time, and was subsequently referred to as 'Mandal politics'.
In 1991, Narasimha Rao government introduced two changes to those made in 1990:
- preference to poorer sections among OBCs in 27% quota, i.e. adoption of economic criteria in granting reservation.
- reservation of another 10% of jobs for poorer (economically backward) sections of higher castes who were not covered by any schemes of reservation.
The present reservation system has faced a lot of criticism from various fronts. But the strongest voice of protest comes from the student community which sees the current system of reservation as regressive and counter-productive. Caste-based reservation has caused many meritorious students to miss out on a chance to bag a seat at the premier institutions while simultaneously these institutions have to do with mediocre students, with many even dropping out before the end of the course.
In cases of government jobs and appointments to other state run institutes, a compromise has to be made by employing people who are not worthy or capable but have to be employed to fill up the quota that has been specified. This creates problems in the effective and smooth functioning of the state machinery. Several others have pointed out the fact that the caste-based reservation system has emerged as a political tool rather than a social backwardness alleviation scheme, which has created deep seated resentment among members of various castes which is against the spirit of nationalism.
The makers of the Constitution were of the opinion that as the country would progress in the field of education and science, reservation would be phased out systematically, but the Parliament has always succeeded in extending that period, which raises the question whether our elected representatives themselves want to do away with reservation or not.
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