An expert panel set up last year to look into the structure and functions of an “Equal Opportunities Commission”, has recommended that the benefits of the Commission shall be made available to all social groups that feel discriminated and not only to SC/STs, minorities or any other set of pre-defined groups.The committee, headed by Prof N R Madhava Menon, has also drawn up a broad outline for an Equal Opportunities Bill, 2008, that will address a gamut of issues related to discrimination against various sections of the society. The committee has already submitted its recommendations to the Centre. Though the idea to set up the EOC came from the Prime Minister's High Power Committee on the state of Muslims, the EOC envisaged by the expert group is not restricted to SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities, persons with disabilities or to any other set of pre-defined groups. Instead, the panel has proposed that anybody who feels discriminated, as he/she belongs to a particular social group, should be given access to the Commission.The committee further says that it is imperative to recognise "social identities," like even staunchly identity-unaware and universalistic states like France and Brazil have done. In fact, recognition of “social identities” has been a contentious one and was at the centre of the dispute over the implementation of the Mandal Commission. The Mandal Commission recognised categories called Other Backward Classes (not Castes), something the Supreme Court also endorsed by talking of the need to ensure that the “creamy layer” in these communities does not benefit from reservations. All major political parties, the Congress, the BJP and the Left also wanted economic status to be the key factor for determining the degree of backwardness.However, newer regional caste-based political parties argued for recognising an aspect called “social backwardness” by virtue of association to a caste group, and not the level of economic prosperity attained. With the expert group now taking the same line (though the Centre is yet to accept the recommendations) this is likely to re-kindle the debate on what should be the central basis for determining level of social discrimination. The five-member group also consisted sociologists Javeed Alam, Satish Deshpande, Yogendra Yadav and Gopal Guru.Meanwhile, the panel has argued for extending the jurisdiction of the Commission to the private sector as well, “as changes in the country’s economy in the last two decades have meant that most of the emerging and lucrative opportunities lie in the private sector which has so far remained outside the scope of affirmative action.” What the panel says• It is important to go beyond “purely formal approach” to equality• ‘Deprivation Index’ should be the key for establishing the Equal Opportunity Commission• Education and employment sectors should be the priority for the panel• A publicly-debated criteria of evidence is needed for establishing equality of opportunity
