Reservations and politics, and how one shaped the other: From Independence to EWS quota

Shiv Sena Dogra Front workers celebrate Supreme Court decision to upheld 10 per cent reservation to people belonging to economically weaker sections (EWS) in admissions and government jobs, Jammu, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Meanwhile, there were rising demands from backward communities (mostly farming classes) of a need for a similar quota for them. In January 1953, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru formed a commission to consider their demands headed by Acharya Kaka Kalelkar. While it submitted its report in March 1955, this was not implemented.

In the southern part of the country, which saw the rise of Left and regional movements based on social justice platforms such as Periyar’s Dravidian movement, these aspirations were accommodated to some extent. However, in the north, the Congress dominance till 1967 left little room for the backward communities to have their voices heard.

The first leader in the north to rally them was socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia.

Late Sixties to late Seventies:

In 1967, three years after Nehru’s death, eight states, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, saw non-Congress parties come to power.

Charan Singh assumed power in UP, heading a coalition Samyukt Vidhayak Dal government; Rao Birender Singh became the CM leading the Vishal Haryana Party in Haryana; in West Bengal, Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee came to power at the head of a United Front government; Bihar saw a United Front government with Mahamaya Prasad Sinha at the head; E M S Namboodiripad became Kerala CM heading a United Left Front of seven parties; in Madras, C N Annadurai of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam took oath as CM; in Odisha, it was Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo of the Swatantra Party; in Punjab, Gurnam Singh of the Akali Dal. In Madhya Pradesh, meanwhile, after the Congress government fell, rebel Govind Narayan Singh, who had formed the Lok Sewak Dal, was sworn in.

This coincided with the emergence of several backward class leaders in these areas, particularly in UP and Bihar. Charan Singh raised the banner of quota for rural communities and became the leader of these emerging groups. Bihar, between 1968 and 1972, correspondingly, saw several CMs from non-upper castes — Satish Prasad Singh, B P Mandal, Bhola Paswan, Daroga Prasad Rai and Karpoori Thakur.

Even in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (the earlier version of the BJP), rising leaders such as Kalyan Singh in UP belonged to such communities. There was also Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samyukt Socialist party (SSP) and Ram Vilas Paswan, who while being a Dalit, also pressed for reservation for backward classes.

As groups dominated by backward classes came to power in states, and consequently saw greater representation in Assemblies and Parliament, demands for reservation for these communities – now referred to as Other Backward Classes or OBCs — gathered force.

In 1971, the Karpoori Thakur-led Bihar government formed a commission headed by Mungeri Lal to consider the issue. Three years later, the H N Bahuguna government in UP constituted a similar commission headed by Chhedilal Sathi.

Lawyers, teachers and students during a silent march against Mandal Commission Report in 1990. (Express archive photo by RK Sharma)

There was also rising demand to implement the report of the Kalelkar Commission (now called the First OBC Commission), from Nehru’s time. As it was felt that the findings of that commission were outdated, Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who had come to power at the head of a Janata Party coalition which had representation from groups representing OBC interests, set up a new commission headed by former Bihar CM B P Mandal.

The UP government also set aside the Sathi Commission report, saying it would wait for the new panel’s findings.

By the time the Mandal report was submitted though, the Janata Party government at the Centre was history and Indira Gandhi and the Congress had come back to power, having put the Emergency ghost behind them.

While the Mandal report was put on the backburner, in the late Seventies, Janata Party governments in UP and Bihar, headed by Karpoori Thakur and Ram Naresh Yadav respectively, implemented OBC reservation in state government jobs, of 15% in UP and 20% in Bihar.

Early Eighties to early Nineties:

Given its potential to change the political dynamics of the country, the Congress governments in power till 1989 avoided touching the issue. However, first Indira Gandhi and then Rajiv Gandhi came under increasing pressure, especially as the UP and Bihar examples fuelled demands in other states.

Towards the late ’80s, the Rajiv government was bruised and much weakened due to the Bofors corruption charges and the rising momentum of the BJP’s Ram temple movement. The face of the anti-corruption campaign against Rajiv, his former defence minister V P Singh, managed to bring together the disparate Janata Party outfits behind him, this time in the name of the Janata Dal.

In the 1989 Lok Sabha polls, implementation of the Mandal report figured as an electoral plank. Even the BJP promised the same in its manifesto, while importantly, making a concession for its upper caste base by talking about a quota for the poor, as far back as that.

“… Reservation for SCs and STs should be continued as usual… There should also be reservation for OBCs on the basis of the Mandal Commission report. Poor among them should be given priority… Since poverty is one of the main reasons for backwardness, there should be reservation for other castes depending on their economic condition,” the BJP manifesto said.

V P Singh became PM, backed by leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Yadav, Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, all leaders of parties with their base in backward communities. The Deputy PM was Devi Lal, the doyen of the Jats, a farming community, though not OBC. The BJP extended its support to this motley coalition government headed by VP Singh.

After relations between him and Devi Lal deteriorated, and the latter was sacked on August 2, 1990, V P Singh (a Rajput from UP) expected the Haryana leader to take away his OBC base. Then came Singh’s momentous Independence Day speech on August 15, 1990, where he promised that his government would implement the Mandal Commission report.

Students protesting against Mandal Commission report being arrested by the police in Delhi in 1992. (Express archive photo by Gurinder Osan)

While V P Singh would lose power before taking any steps in this regard, he did not just serve Devi Lal an ace, he also swept away memories of his government in UP in the early 1980s, when he faced accusations of being anti-SC/OBC and for targeting several outlaws belonging to such groups in “fake encounters”.

His decision on the Mandal report was challenged in the Supreme Court, and after its order dated November 16, 1992, it was implemented after keeping the “creamy layer” out.

Early Nineties to 2004:

Post-Mandal implementation, the OBCs, the largest single group in the country by numbers, saw a rise in their political power. In Bihar, since Lalu first came to power in March 1990, there has not been any CM from upper castes. In UP, barring a few exceptions, this was also the norm, and the trend of non-upper caste CMs changed only with the rise of the BJP post-2017.

This concentration of power with the OBCs in the Hindi heartland – which is crucial to who rules the country – saw a corresponding rise in calls for a quota for the poor among the upper castes. Many of the OBCs were now considered the prime dominant force in UP and Bihar, particularly the Yadavs, Kurmis and Lodhs (gradually Jats were also declared as OBC in five states, however still not in the central list of OBCs) – replacing the upper castes.

The P V Narasimha Rao-led Congress government that came to power in 1991 first proposed 10% reservation for upper caste poor within months of taking over. However, this was quashed by the Supreme Court.

While the Congress largely failed to accommodate OBCs among its ranks, particularly in UP, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, the BJP was quick to spot the potential and, under L K Advani, the party saw the rise of leaders such as Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Sushil Modi, Sundarlal Patwa, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Gopinath Munde. Groups of Kurmis, Lodhas were brought forward to challenge the political dominance of Yadavs successfully.

The BJP also put its voice behind the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, as well as 10% quota for the poor among the upper castes. It passed a resolution in this regard in its national council meeting in Bangalore in June 1993.

Its 1996 manifesto — for the election that brought it to power for 13 days — the BJP put the 10% quota promise on paper. In the meantime, several states had already started implementing the Mandal Commission recommendations for their government jobs.

2004 until 2014:

Under the Manmohan Singh government, several affirmative actions were taken for deprived sections, including the minorities. The Mandal Commission benefits were extended to OBCs in admissions of Central educational institutions. The Manmohan Singh government also formed a commission headed by Major General (retd) S R Sinho, like its Sachar Committee for welfare of minorities.

In the UPA years, the government regularly collected data from various ministries about the representation of SC/ST/OBC/Minorities in services, and the need for fresh recruitments from time to time in order to monitor the level of recruitment. The UPA government also brought in 3% reservation for differently abled candidates in government jobs.

Post-2014, the Modi era:

Emergence of Narendra Modi at the Centre saw the BJP put OBCs at the centre of its message. During the campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, his popular line was: “I am here to give SC/ST/OBCs what they did not get in the last 70 years.”

The BJP, supported by the RSS, reached out to communities left out in the rise of other OBCs. During his initial two years as Prime Minister, Modi frequently invoked B R Ambedkar, and started outreach programmes targeting Dalits. OBC conferences were started in several states.

In October 2017, the Modi government constituted a commission to sub-categorise OBCs headed by Justice G Rohini, former chief justice of the Delhi High Court. However, the government has been reluctant to share the panel’s findings, and the commission has got extension after extension, with its 13th set to end on January 31, 2023.

In contrast, the Modi government moved more quickly on the EWS quota. Before the Lok Sabha polls of 2019, the government moved a file, which was processed and approved within 20 days, to implement a 10% quota for poor among the upper castes.

The Opposition slammed it as a poll gesture, but with the Supreme Court now putting its stamp of approval on it, the new reservation framework seems here to stay. Moreover, it is set to fuel existing demands from other communities, either demanding reservation or seeking an increase in seats set aside for them.

Watch this space.