VIEWPOINT
AMITABH SHUKLA
Politics of quota has for long
brought in social turmoil and unrest. The last century was witness to fissures
within the Indian society and intense turmoil so much so that we thought that
Other Backward Class politics would be over with a new millennium.
We thought that with the
implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations first in Government
jobs by VP Singh and then in educational institutions by Arjun Singh, there
would no longer be any politicking on the issue and it has been settled. As it
turns out, this is not the case.
All of a sudden, the Congress
Government in Haryana has pulled out a rabbit out of its hat and recommended
reservation for the dominant community of the state — Jats. I don’t know how many Jats in the State would
feel happy if they are called backward in the State or elsewhere as they
control agriculture, land holding and the politics of Haryana like no community
does. They are the dominant caste of the State as per the definition of noted
sociologist MN Srinivas and traditionally the rural society has revolved around
the castes which control land holding and in Haryana Jats clearly occupy that
position.
Whatever criteria you adopt,
whichever agency you rope in for a survey and however hard you try, I simply
can’t understand how Jats could be termed backward in Haryana. If you have
already taken a decision this way or that way, you can always invent a
convenient logic for that. This is what precisely happened with the Haryana
Backward Classes Commission which recommended that Jats are indeed backward and
need the benefits of reservation to come to par with other communities.
Leave apart the Commission, even
the Haryana Cabinet showed a knee jerk reaction, quickly jumped at a conclusion
and decided to accept the recommendations of the commission the very day it was
submitted to the state government. The next day, the Chief Secretary of the
State writes to the Central Government asking for reservations for Jats, Jat
Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois and Tyagis. Everything was fast forwarded.
My problem is not with
reservation per se. You need affirmative action in a country like India
where historically caste has always been crucial to the social identity of an
individual and will continue to be so, at least in the rural areas. But in this
age and era, more than reservations, you need expansion of educational
institutions and empowerment. In any case, when Government jobs are shrinking
and private sector expanding, reservation is of little use. In educational
institutions, gradually the private ones are acquiring a prominent position and
a few years down the line, top institutes would be in the private sector. So,
reservation is not going to help any community in this era, more so in the next
decade or so. You need other modes of affirmative action.
The problem lies in milking the
emotional issue for political ends. This is what VP Singh did in 1989 when he
removed the dust from the Mandal Commission report which was lying in some
deserted shelves of South Block to pre-empt Devi Lal, also from Haryana, to
challenge his position as the Prime Minister. VP Singh never believed in OBC
empowerment, nor did he take any policy decision favouring the OBCs all his
life in various positions he held like the Finance Minister or the Chief
Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He remembered the report only when his position was
challenged after becoming the Prime Minister of the country.
Now when the Bhupinder Singh
Hooda Government faces a challenge from the Khap leaders of the Jat community
and also other community leaders, it has all of a sudden decided to go ahead
with the recommendations of the Commission. Several Khap leaders have decided
to march to Delhi and block the
national Capital from four sides of the state demanding reservation. The
decision of the Hooda Government is simply to placate this section and the
reason is not far to seek — it is vote bank politics. If the essential supplies
in Delhi get blocked even for a day
or two, it would affect the standing of Hooda in the eyes of the Congress high
command. Obviously, he would not like that to happen.
So, what do you come out with?
You take a decision to increase quota to 57 per cent. As the State Government
has no authority on the issue, you lob the ball in the court of the Centre.
Everyone knows that the upper limit of quota has been set at 50 per cent by the
Supreme Court and the decision cannot be implemented unless a Constitutional
amendment is brought about. You can always argue that you have done all you
could and there was nothing more to do as the issue is in the domain of the
Centre.
Haryana Government has to realise
that the issue is not as simple as it thinks it to be. It has let the genie out
of the bag and no one for sure knows when it will go back. Already, the Jat
community in the State has been vertically divided — pro Congress sections
backing the Government while the anti-Congress section up in arms. What if the
agitation turns violent again and threatens the law and order situation of the
State.
Some important Khap leaders have
demanded that they need reservation but it should be within the ambit of 27 per
cent which is already in place in Government jobs and in educational
institutions. They have brushed aside the recommendations of the Haryana
Government which asks for an additional 10 per cent saying this was impossible
given the limitations imposed by the Supreme Court and improbability of the
Central Government moving a Constitutional amendment bill which could also be
subject to judicial scrutiny.
Now, those castes which are
already within the ambit of 27 per cent as per the recommendations of the
Mandal Commission are feeling the pinch and could turn violent if more
communities, particularly a dominant community like the Jats, are included in
this. It is natural for them to feel offended if this was done as it would
snatch away quotas from them. So,
Haryana practically sits on a caste tinder box just because of the hurry to recommend
reservation for the Jats.
If a lollipop to the Jat
community was not enough, the Haryana Backward Classes Commission wants to give
additional reservation to Brahmins and others based on economic status. Well,
there has to be some limit to populism. Can someone tell the Commission? You
can’t go on and on providing reservations to everyone under the sun.
So a Pandora’s Box has been
practically opened on an emotional issue. If you do not learn the lessons of
history, you are condemned to repeat it. (December 17, 2012)
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