The Constitution’s 124th Amendment Bill passed in both the Houses ofthe Parliament has expanded the scope of reservation in education and job for the economically weaker section of citizens other than SCs, STs and socially and educationally backward classes of citizens by amending Article 15 and Article 16 with inserting economically weaker section to clause 5.
The economically weaker section shall by notified by the State from time to time on the basis of family income and other indicators of economic disadvantage. The reservation is in addition to the existing reservations and subject to maximum ten per cent. However, with this, the reservation restriction of 50 per cent becomes irrelevant and the weaker section ambit has expanded to economically weaker section also other than social disability and educational backwardness.
It is argued that the economically weaker section of citizens have largely remained excluded from attending the higher educational institutions and public employment on account of their economic backwardness because they failed to compete with their fellow players enjoying more economic privilege. So in order to ensure their representation, Articles 46, 15 and 16 have been redefined to include the economically weaker section. With this move, the long pending demand of the upper caste in India has been fulfilled and the economic criterion of reservation has been introduced. This will further expand the reservation debate and pave the way of demand for others such as religious minority and OBCs who are not yet adequately represented in education, job and governance in proportion to their population.
It is also going to expand scope of reservation to judiciary and public sector jobs which are not yet being covered under policy of reservation and the vast areas of private sector which has been denying principles of equal participation of diverse social groups in their workplaces.
Reservation helps in ensuring participation of all in national life and integrating people from diverse social background to serve the country as its citizens in equal capacity. This is also being viewed as sharing of public opportunity among all its citizens with equity and equal opportunities. Reservation has contributed to change the age old caste-based occupation and created scope for abolition of untouchability and caste-based discrimination by unifying people of different caste/social groups in a common workplace to serve the country.
The history of reservation in India can be traced back to the row over non- representation of majority section of communities in education and governance in princely States during early twentieth century. It was mostly the non-Brahmin castes which were excluded and deprived of participation in governance and other areas of public life due to lack of education. The princely State of Kolhapur was the pioneer in introduction of reservation in 1902 for backward and depressed classes currently known as SCs, STs and OBCs. Later, it was followed by Mysore, Madras, Bombay and Travancore and mostly, supported by the ruling upper castes to bring inclusiveness in governance.
The Poona Pact of 1932 between Gandhi and Ambedker was a turning point of political reservation in State and Central Assemblies for the SCs. The Macdonald (Prime Minister of UK from 1929-35 from Labour Party) Award for separate electorate for SCs was rejected by Gandhi and Congress with the apprehension of segregation of Hindu society and its ramifications over national life. The anti-British struggle was also inclusive of struggle against caste based social inequality and man-made social discriminations. It was the aspiration of freedom movement to build an egalitarian society based on constitutional governance which is being reflected in making of our Constitution.
The Constitution has made provision of reservation for SCs and STs in education, job and legislatives to integrate these people in national life through ensuring their fair representation in all spheres of social life. Later, in 1951 the Constitution’s first Amendment Act 1951 by inserting Clause 4 in Article 15 included socially and educationally backward classes of citizens where both Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr Ambedker played a major role to expand the scope of reservation to OBCs. The process started in 1953 with appointment of first Backward Classes Commission under chairmanship of Kaka Kalelkar, Member, Rajya Sabha from 1952 to 1964, to identify castes or communities in the country and to prepare a list of such backward communities for the whole of India along with examining the difficulties and for recommendation of steps.
The report was submitted in 1955. The four criteria to identify the BCs were considered on the basis of low social position in the traditional caste hierarchy of Hindu society, lack of education, and inadequate representation in Government services, trade, commerce and industry. But it was unsuccessful in moving further with controversies of criteria of identification. The identification of caste and communities and their correct population has been controversial in the absence of caste census. However, the current SECC 2011 can help in solving the problem.
The Government of India appointed a five-member second Backward Class Commission under the chairmanship of BP Mandal, Member, Lok Sabha from Bihar, in 1979 when Morarji Desai was Prime Minister and the commission submitted its report in 1980. The criteria adopted by the commission were social, educational and economic. The commission recommended reservation for BCs in Central Government jobs, educational institutions along with a set of affirmative relaxation policy similar to SCs and STs. The recommendation was adopted after ten years by the then VP Singh Government with 27 per cent of reservation. But it was challenged as unconstitutional and later, cleared by a nine- member bench of the Supreme Court. Now, along with the Centre, almost all States have been implementing the OBC reservation.
The State of Tamil Nadu has 50 per cent reservation for BCs, out of total 69 per cent, which includes 26.5 per cent for BCs, 3.5 per cent for backward class Muslims, and 20 per cent for most backward classes.
The Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of seats in educational institutions and of appointments or posts in the services under the state) Act 1993 enjoys protection of 9th schedule 257, A, inserted under constitutional 76th Amendment Act 1994 with effect from August 31, 1994.
The Government of Odisha has enacted Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes Act 1993 and has implemented reservation for OBCs late almost after 40 years of independence with very less percentage in comparison to other States though OBCs constitute a major portion of the population and continue to remain backward in many respects of social, educational and economic development, besides in political representation.
There are more than 209 communities identified as SEBC in the State which are traditionally resources less and socially treated as lower in caste hierarchy as higher than untouchables. The Government of Odisha has made legislation for 27% reservation in job and educational institutions but later reduced it to 11.25% because of the compulsion of 50% criteria imposed by the Supreme Court. The SCs and STs constitute 40% of the States’ total population and there is 6% minority population. Together, they constitute 46% of the total population. Though SCs and STs have reservation in proportion to their population but the OBCs and minority population have not yet got reservation as per their population percentage in the State.
So it is desirable that the Government of Odisha must ensure justice for its OBCs and minority population in ensuring their fair representation in educational and economic sector of the State.