Reservation Policy in India: A Critical Evaluation

Abstract

Very recently Rajasthan witnessed a huge tug of war between Gurjars and the State Government regarding admission of Gurjars in the Scheduled Tribes list. This was greatly protested by Meenas who are already having the status of Scheduled Tribe. There was a very complicated tripod created when even the Jats of Rajasthan started agitating. This scenario has raised the eyebrows of even other castes like Brahmins, Rajputs who were demanding reservations earlier. This development has taken place when the public memory is still fresh regarding the AIIMS Doctors' strike against reservation when the Union HRD Ministry's proposal of 27 per cent reservation for OBC students in Centrally-funded universities has re-ignited the merit v. caste debate in the education sector, reviving the furore the Mandal commission recommendation raised in 1991.India’s First Prime Minister, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru was against this very system of reservation and time and again stated that it will lead to mediocrity. But this system continued and helped to widen the gulf between already divided Indian society. Even staunch believers of religions who boast to be casteless have been rushing for reservations on caste lines. However, the question that arises here for a critical appreciation is ‘when the Government is announcing its intent to bring in reservations even in private sector, how far this tool has helped in reality for the social development and upliftment of the weaker classes’?Also, another interesting angle to this issue is the recent elections in UP, where Ms. Mayawati has given a new twist to this tale by advocating a new dimension to ‘social engineering’. The entire caste politics in UP has been meandered excellently by the BSP and its advocacy for social engineering has helped it to garner the votes of two extreme cross sections of society i.e., Brahmins and Dalits. It is in this background, the author (i) proposes a deeper enquiry into ‘whether in this new experiment lies the solution, of the menace, which is dividing the country indiscriminately, or fuel that ignites further the already engulfing flame’? (ii) travels back into the pages of history to trace the origin and development of reservation in India from pre-independence era to the modern times; (iii) compares the system of reservation as exists in India with experiences similar, if any, in other countries; and most importantly, (iv) finds out the effectiveness of this system to uplift the marginalized with the help of the empirical data so as to suggest certain needful changes for the effective utilization of the present day system.