In 1991, then Prime Minister P V Narsimha Rao made a provision for 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). It was subsequently struck down as “unconstitutional” by the Supreme Court as Article 15 of the Constitution did not provide for reservation based on economic criterion. In 2019, the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, removed the hurdle by amending the Constitution and inserting a provision to facilitate EWS reservation. It was a paradigm shift in the reservation policy, which had been confined to quotas based on the social and educational backwardness of historically-discriminated castes. It was challenged and the apex court has now ratified the addition of economic criterion.
Both Congress and BJP were enthusiastic about the welfare of the poor among the “forward” castes and have finally succeeded in providing them with a 10 per cent quota in education and employment. This means an “upper caste” person who is not eligible for reservation in the SC, ST or OBC categories and has an annual family income of up to Rs 8 lakh, will have an exclusive compartment for competing for education and employment. The apex court, in 1992, had stipulated an upper limit of 50 per cent reserved seats for backward classes (SCs, STs and OBCs), leaving the remaining 50 per cent for the open category. The new quota of 10 per cent for EWS will reduce the space in the open category to 40 per cent, in which SCs, STs and OBCs will have no entry.
Considering that together, the population of SCs, STs and OBCs is over 80 per cent (but confined to 50 per cent in terms of quota space), the EWS quota amounts to almost a proportional representation for the “forward” castes, who are in a minority but are already overrepresented in education and employment. The new quota reduces the competition for those who have been perennially crying hoarse over the caste-based reservation and raising the pitch after the OBCs were granted reservation by the Mandal commission in 1990.
The new quota seeks to provide relief to the poor among the “forward” communities having income up to Rs 8 lakh per annum, which amounts to around Rs 66,666 per month. Incidentally, this is even though several scholarships, freeships and concessions are available to poor students across communities from the government, public trusts and social organisations.
How poor does one have to be to qualify as “poor”? While legislating the EWS quota, the Modi government has not linked it with those living Below Poverty Line (BPL) but raised the level to include the “forward” middle class, exclusively. At a conclave of Swadeshi Jagran Manch in Delhi on October 2, RSS leader Dattatraya Hosbale expressed concern over poverty and claimed that 23 crore citizens in the country were living on an income of less than Rs 275 per day. This comes to around 1 lakh per annum. Presuming that these include the poor from the “forward” castes, they will be pitted against “forward” middle-class candidates with income of up to Rs 8 lakh in the EWS quota.
There has also been concern about the reservation policy (for SCs, STs, OBCs) being continued indefinitely. Initially, B R Ambedkar had set a deadline of 10 years for political reservation. However, it has continued till date because every government has extended the deadline for a decade more, as most of the elected MLAs and MPs from reserved seats belong to mainstream parties and function more as agents of their political masters rather than uplifting their deprived brethren.
On reservation in education and employment, Ambedkar had not stipulated a deadline, but said that they may continue till needed by society to provide a level-playing field for the historically-discriminated communities. The reservation for SCs and STs continues without any creamy layer being applied, unlike the OBCs and EWS. The presence of SCs, STs and OBCs in education and employment is largely because of the reservation policy. In government departments, jobs are rapidly shrinking with outsourcing of work, contract system and the backlog of reservation not being filled. Yet, a government job is most sought after by job-seeking youths across communities as it is comparatively more secure than a private job and offers power and attractive perks. With a large number of OBCs getting educated after being granted reservation and some SCs and STs preferring to compete in the open category in education as well as employment, the competition has become tougher than ever.
There is no quota system in the private sector, which is the major job creator and is empowered like never before to hire and fire, making employees overworked, underpaid and insecure. With the EWS here to stay — nearly all sections of society have some kind of reservation and yet more communities (like Marathas, Patidars and Jats) are demanding inclusion — can there be a proportional representation for each community as per its population, so that there is 100 per cent quota system? As such, the reservation for “backward” communities exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling in some states (owing to the flexibility granted to states to make out a special case) and the addition of a 10 per cent EWS quota have reduced the space for candidates with pure merit contesting in the open category. The proportional representation would, however, be disadvantageous to the “forward” communities, which are traditionally overrepresented in education and employment. Besides, it would raise the question of merit being compromised, as merit has nothing to do with the birth of a person in a particular community.
Inheriting privileges through the merit of being born in a particular caste and thereby traditionally enjoying reservation in education, scholarship, priesthood, employment, trade and business with divine sanction has been the stark reality for centuries. The egalitarian Indian Constitution seeks to rectify it by offering equality of opportunity irrespective of caste, gender and religion but stands appropriated in letter and spirit.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Mumbai
