Silent Burial of Affirmative Action – Reservation for Scheduled Castes

 

Silent Burial of Affirmative Action – Reservation for Scheduled Castes

It seems the ruling outfits of the day have decided consciously and rather willfully to give a silent burial to the affirmative measures – reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and also for

the OBCs thoughtfully stipulated and enshrined in the constitution of India by our fore-fathers led by Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Chief Architect of the Constitution. It is a matter of concern and worry. The concerned and affected people are watching it carefully and would tend to react and respond appropriately to check this fraud on the constitution and the social edifice of the society at large. The sooner it is realized the better it would be before it gets too late. The affirmative measures like reservations, of course, are temporary measures and would slowly go away with socio-economic development and progress of the beneficiaries that is SCs, STs and OBCs. The churning process to address the issue, involving the judiciary, executive, legislature, media and the civil society, is underway and would certainly result in amicable and just solution under our democratic polity though the main stream of the society is still lagging behind to understand the challenge and come out with a just and acceptable response. Duplicity of thinking and conduct in this regard, on the part of the currently governing outfits and social setups, is writ large with a wide gap in public pronouncements and equally opposite conduct on ground to address the issues. All the political parties are falling on each other to own the legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Babu Kanshi Ram with an eye on the ‘vote bank’ of dalit communities and as such no one has the guts to oppose the reservation provisions for SC, STs and OBCs openly but on the other hand they are determined to abolish the reservations by administrative fraud and treachery with total disregard to the constitutional provisions and social needs to establish a casteless society and just social order. Obviously, the underlying current in the

affected communities i.e. Bahujan Samaj is of restlessness which is dangerous for the national unity and integrity. Our political and social leadership would ignore these ground realities at their own peril. The ground situation does not justify what PM Narendra Modi says, “Dalit reservation quota never suffered a scratch, yet lies are being spread to mislead people”

My immediate provocation to write this piece is the recruitment of 31 senior officers from the PSU’s etc. of the rank of Joint Secretary. Director and Deputy Secretary setting aside the laid down procedure to recruit through the Combined Civil Services Examination conducted by the UPSC as stipulated in the law and the relevant rules and regulations. This so-called lateral entry in the name of merit and specialization does not conform to the ‘affirmative measures’ of reservation for the socially weaker sections of the society namely SCs, STs and OBCs. It is a sheer, to my mind, fraud on the people. While the marginalized segments of the society demand reservation in the private sector, the administration is taking away the reservation provisions by recruiting to the senior echelons of the bureaucracy from the PSUs and private sector. How many SCs/STs/OBCs could make it to this famous lateral entry? I think not a single one. If it is not a fraud on the constitution and the people, then what is it? Can somebody explain?

Lateral entry means when personnel from the private sector are selected to an administrative post of the government without going through the normal procedure and recruitment norms which entail reservations as provided in the law. Obviously, it negates the provisions made for affirmative action to undo the injustice and discrimination meted out to the socially weaker sections of the society for centuries.

 This is mode of selection and appointment to senior positions is in vogue since the government decided to introduce the new system in February, 2017 as recommended by the Niti Aayog. A Joint Secretary, appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), has the third highest rank (after Secretary and Additional Secretary) in a Department, and functions as administrative head of a wing in the Department. Directors are a rank below that of Joint Secretary. The lateral entry not only defies the regulatory edifice to make to the higher echelons of the bureaucracy but also undermines the relevance and efficacy of the Combined Civil Services Examination of the UPSC.

What is the government’s reasoning for lateral entry? On July 4, 2019, Minister of State for DoPT Jitendra Singh told Rajya Sabha that “Government has, from time to time, appointed some prominent persons for specific assignments in government, keeping in view their specialized knowledge and expertise in the domain area”. In a separate response to a similar question in the same House, he said: “Lateral recruitment is aimed at achieving the twin objectives of bringing in fresh talent as well as augment the availability of

manpower.” This reasoning is fallacious as Leader of the Opposition Tejasavi Yadav asked, “You should explain whether UPSC selection procedure is failing to ensure ‘willing, motivated & talented’ candidates for ‘nation building’, or hand-picked ones are more so? Isn’t it another ploy to sideline & reduce reservations for deprived sections?” Obviously, the concerned and affected Groups representing SCs, STs and OBCs have protested the fact that there is no reservation in these appointments. The reservation provisions and norms have been willfully and stealthily bypassed by the government by making these ‘appoints as single appointments’ to escape the ’13 point’ formula for ensuring reservations. It is surprising that the SC Members of Parliament are blissfully ignorant and are not opposing these ‘lateral entry’ machinations intended to dilute reservation provisions by the back door. It is further surprising that UPSC, supposed to be an independent and statutory institution, has termed this so-called ‘lateral entry’ as recruitment for “talented and motivated Indian nationals” as if the Combined Civil Services Examination conducted by the UPSC itself tends to recruit ‘untalented and ill-motivated’ young people. MOS Jitender Singh further justified the ill-conceived scheme as “a major step to place the right talent for the right role’. In the Combined Civil Services Examination, 15% for SCs and 7 and a half % reservations are strictly adhered to even if there may be SC or ST candidates topping the list or getting high positions in the merit list. They would still be counted in the fixed quota. This rule does not apply to ‘unreserved’ positions that are for the jobs open to the upper castes. As of now, only 50% jobs are reserved for 85% SCs, STs and OBCs as per the stipulations of the Judiciary. Less than 15% can have remaining 50% and still cry. How many SCs, STs and OBCs applied for jobs under the ‘lateral entry’ and many got selected from these categories? This data has not been made public. I hope that someone in the RSS, one

of the strongest and biggest organizations which professes to bring about ‘Samrasta” listens.  RSS openly pronounced recently that ‘reservations will remain as long inequality based on caste remains’. RSS needs to prove its credentials. As such there is no justification for ‘lateral entry’ without reservations as stipulated in the law of the land and visualized by our forefathers to establish a ‘just social and economic’ order, the lofty ideal enshrined in the Constitution of India.

All said and done, let me conclude by underlining the historical and constitutional perspective of the reservations and affirmative approaches thoughtfully instilled in our polity. These special provisions were won and obtained with great struggle and tireless efforts by Babasaheb Ambedkar and his associates. Nobody, including Mahatma Gandhi or Veer Savarkar, from the so called upper castes gave these special provisions on a platter voluntarily. The Communal Award of PM Ramsey MacDonaled of 1932 set the tone and direction of the emerging scenario. The upper caste Hindus led by Mahatma Gandhi with view to help the Hindu mainstream floated the idea of reservation and coerced Babasaheb Ambedkar to sign the Poona Pact in 1932. Babasaheb Ambedkar as a nationalist from the core of his heart accommodated Mahatma Gandhi in the larger interests of the country and the society at large. These provisions were included in the Government of India Act of 1935 and subsequently, after Independence in 1947, included in the Constitution of India as Articles 15(4) and 16(4) which were further supplemented by relevant legislation and administrative measures. Any willful and fraudulent attempt to dilute or take away these ‘affirmative measures’ will be considered unwarranted and deceitful. We are a part and parcel of a democratic polity under the constitution of India. Any ruling outfit is open to oppose and withdraw the reservations by bringing the relevant legislation or amending the constitution as laid down in the rules of procedure. It is unbecoming of anyone to support the reservations as ‘lip service’ for vote bank politics and try to abolish the ‘enabling measures’ stealthily. Ultimately, the dictum of “Jis Ki Jitni Sankhya Bhari; Utni Us Ki Hissedar” of Manyawar Kanshi Ram would and shall prevail. There is no other way. The sooner it is understood the better.