India Needs A Caste Count

Context: A new intervention strategy is needed to emancipate groups that are still at the bottom of the ladder.

Reservation policy – A synopsis

• Constitutional provisions – Towards social integration that pave way for creation of classless ethos: Constitution provides both an economic and social fillip to weaker sections who had been discriminated against historically.
  • Part XVI delineates Special Provisions relating to certain classes, including reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Anglo-Indians in the Legislatures. The objective is to provide a political voice to the disempowered.
  • Article 335 provides for reservations for SCs/STs in public employment both under Union and States.
• Reservation in public employment for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) based on the recommendations of Mandal commission report, 1990 (27%).
  • This was subsequently extended to educational institutions.
• Ceiling of Reservation: Supreme court verdict (Indra Sawhney v. Union of India) upheld 27% reservation for OBC, ceiling the reservations at 50%.
• Exclusion of creamy Layer: To ensure that those who really require reservation get it.

Issues with the current reservation system

• Not able to meet its objective to provide a political voice to the disempowered: Reservation system was supposed to end 10 years after the commencement of the Constitution. However, it has been extended every 10 years since.
• Source of tensions: OBC reservations sparked off similar demands from socially powerful and upwardly mobile caste groups.
• Legal challenges: Reservations provided by successive governments either within 27% quota for OBCs or beyond 50% ceiling were struck down by various courts.
• Undermine meritocracy: Nations are built by an intricate interplay of social inclusion and meritocracies. A biased priority for inclusion could adversely affect efficiency of administration.
• Created silos as the benefits of reservation have been more far-reaching vertically than horizontally.
• Controversies around demand for caste census: Though such a census could address the data gap in caste paradigm, there are risks such as
  • A potential tool cross 50% ceiling: As the strength of OBCs are numerically much higher.

Way forward: A new paradigm of affirmative action

• Reassertion original dream of transforming India into an egalitarian and classless society.
• Fresh socio-economic caste census to address data gap.
• New socio-economic impetus for emancipation of caste groups that are still at the bottom of the ladder.  Shift focus of affirmative from emancipating an individual to a caste group as a whole.