RESERVATION POLICY IN INDIA: A SOCIO- LEGAL STUDY

(Term paper towards the fulfilment of Continuous Assessment in the subject General Principles of
Sociology)

Submitted By Submitted To

Rishabh Dr. Asha Bhandari

Roll No 1466 Faculty of Sociology

Semester-III-B

B.A., LL.B. (Hons.)

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, JODHPUR

SUMMER SESSION
(July- November 2017)

1|Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. INTRODUCTION 8-12

2. Causes of Reservation in India 13-18

3. Background Study of Reservation in India 19-21

4. Government Policies and Schemes for Reserved Category 22-25

5. Impact of Reservation 26-30

6. Conclusion and Suggestions 31-34

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2|Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the fulfilment of this project presented by me there are many people who remained in veil,
who gave their support and helped me to complete this project.

First of all I am very grateful to my subject teacher Asha Bhandari without the kind support of
whom and help the completion of the project would have been a herculean task for me. She
took out time from his busy schedule to help me to complete this project and suggested me
from where and how to collect data.

I acknowledge my friends who gave their valuable and meticulous advice which was very
useful and could not be ignored in writing the project. I want to convey most sincere thanks to
my faculties for helping me throughout the project.

I would also like to express my gratitude towards the library staff of my college which assisted
me in acquiring the sources necessary for the compilation of my project.
Last, but not the least, I would like to thank the Almighty for obvious reasons.

3|Page
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Aims & Objectives

The research is all about to:-

1. To know the reason for giving reservation to certain sections.
2. To know the social impact of reservation on these sections.
3. To know about the ways of implementation of reservation policy in our society.
4. To analyse the working of NGOs for the reserved categories.

Hypothesis

1. I presumes that the condition of beneficiary groups is improving steadily.

2. I presumes that the NGOs are doing substantial work for improving the status of reserved
sections.
3. There is considerable opposition to reservation policy.

Research questions

The study will seek the answers of the following research questions:
1. What is the condition of beneficiary groups in India?
2. Whether the conditions have changed after the implementation of policies?
3. What are the barriers there in achieving the goal of betterment?
4. What schemes and policies government is running?
5. What NGOs are doing?
6. The reasons of opposition to reservation.
7. Increasing demands of reservation.

Scope and Limitation

 The resources for data & information collection is limited.

4|Page
Method of research

 The methodology adopted for this research work is traditional i.e., doctrinal and non-
doctrinal too.

Sources of Data

 I focusses on obtaining information from both the available sources; they are (1)
primary sources of data, (2) secondary sources of data.
 Primary sources of data include first-hand information available, like case laws,
journals, etc. and secondary sources include magazines, journals, etc.

Methods of Data Collection

 For the purpose of research work, I have done doctrinal research methods. In Doctrinal
research method, I have collected information through library study, books and through
surfing the web.

OBSERVATION GUIDE

I will observe quietly the situations and conditions through which those people go.
Digital tools: I will use different digital and technical tools to collect information about them.

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INTRODUCTION

The system of reservation in India comprises a series of affirmative action measures, also
known as 'positive discrimination' in the UK, such as reserving access to seats in the various
legislatures, to government jobs, and to enrollment in higher educational institutions. It is
intended to favor historically disadvantaged castes and tribes, listed as Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes by the Government of India. The reservation is undertaken to address the
historic oppression, inequality and discrimination faced by members of those communities. It
is intended to realize the promise of equality enshrined in the Constitution.1

The Constitution prohibits untouchability under its Article 17, and obligates the state to make
special provisions for the betterment of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, also spelling
out that such special provisions would not be considered discriminatory, as it would address
existing inequality.

Over the years, the categories for affirmative action have been expanded beyond the lists of
Scheduled castes and tribes to include a special category of Other Backward Classes (OBC).
Consideration has also been given to economically backward in providing reservations.

Reservation is governed by constitutional laws, statutory laws, and local rules and regulations.
The Scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), and in
some states Backward Classes among Muslims under a category called BC(M), are the primary
beneficiaries of the reservation policies under the Constitution – with the objective of ensuring
a level playing field.

Quota systems favoring certain castes and other communities existed before independence in
several areas of British India. Demands for various forms of positive discrimination had been
made, for example, in 1882 and 1891. Shahu, the Maharajah of the princely state of Kolhapur,
introduced reservation in favor of non-Brahman and backward classes, much of which came
into force in 1902. He provided free education to everyone and opened several hostels to make
it easier for them to receive it. He also tried to ensure that people thus educated were suitably
employed, and he appealed both for a class-free India and the abolition of untouchability. His
1902 measures created 50 per cent reservation for backward communities.2

The British Raj introduced elements of reservation in the Government of India Act of 1909 and
there were many other measures put in place prior to independence. A significant one emerged
from the Round Table Conference of June 1932, when the Prime Minister of Britain, Ramsay
MacDonald, proposed the Communal Award, according to which separate representation was
to be provided for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans. The

1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_in_India
2
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/law/highlights-on-reservation-policy-in-
india/39793/

6|Page
depressed classes were assigned a number of seats to be filled by election from constituencies
in which only they could vote, although they could also vote in other seats. The proposal was
controversial: Mahatma Gandhi fasted in protest against it but many among the depressed
classes, including their leader, B. R. Ambedkar, favored it. After negotiations, Gandhi reached
an agreement with Ambedkar to have a single Hindu electorate, with Dalits having seats
reserved within it. Electorates for other religions, such as India's affirmative action program
was launched in 1950 and is the oldest such program in the world.3

After the independence of India in 1947 there were some major changes in favor of the
Scheduled Tribes (ST), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
A common form of caste discrimination in India has been the practice of untouchability. SCs
were the primary targets of the practice, which was outlawed by the new Constitution of India.

In 1954, the Ministry of Education suggested that 20 per cent of places should be reserved for
the SCs and STs in educational institutions with a provision to relax minimum qualifying marks
for admission by 5 per cent wherever required. In 1982, it was specified that 15 per cent and
7.5 per cent of vacancies in public sector and government-aided educational institutes should
be reserved for the SC and ST candidates, respectively.4
A significant change began in 1978 when the Mandal Commission was established to assess
the situation of the socially- and educationally-backward classes. The commission did not have
exact population figures for the OBCs and so used data from the 1931 census, thus estimating
the group's population at 52 per cent. In 1980 the commission's report recommended that a
reserved quota for OBCs of 27 per cent should apply in respect of services and public sector
bodies operated by the Union Government. It called for a similar change to admissions to
institutes of higher education, except where states already had more generous requirements. It
was not until the 1990s that the recommendations were implemented in Union Government
jobs.

The Constitution of India states in article 16(4): "Nothing in [article 16] or in clause (2) of
article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of
any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes. Article 46 of the Constitution states that "The State shall promote with
special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and,
in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from
social injustice and all forms of exploitation."

The Supreme Court of India ruled in 1992 that reservations could not exceed 50 per cent,
anything above which it judged would violate equal access as guaranteed by the Constitution.
It thus put a cap on reservations.[14] However, there are state laws that exceed this 50 per cent

3
https://blog.ipleaders.in/reservation-policy-india/
4
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/critical-analysis-on-reservation-
policy-in-india-1331-1.html

7|Page
limit and these are under litigation in the Supreme Court. For example, in the State of Tamil
Nadu the caste-based reservation stands at 69 per cent and applies to about 87 per cent of the
population slam and Sikhism, remained separate. This became known as the Poona Pact

In parliament, caste and tribe based reservations are provided to make it more representative..
Today, out of 543 seats in India's parliament, 84 (15.47%) are reserved for SC/Dalits and 47
(8.66%)for ST/Tribes. Allocation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the Lok Sabha
are made on the basis of proportion of Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the State concerned to
that of the total population.5

A similar percentage of exclusive seats has been provided for members of designated castes
and tribes in each state legislature. Local self-governments have caste, tribe and gender based
reservation system in place.

A fixed percentage of India's government and public sector jobs are made exclusive for
categories of people largely based on their caste or tribe.

The 1992 Supreme Court ruling in the Indra Sawhney case said that reservations in job
promotions are "unconstitutional" but allowed its continuation for five years. In 1995, the 77th
amendment to the Constitution was made to amend Article 16 before the five-year period
expired to continue with reservations for SC/STs in promotions. It was further modified
through the 85th amendment to give the benefit of consequential seniority to SC/ST candidates
promoted by reservation.

The 81st amendment was made to the Constitution to permit the government to treat the
backlog of reserved vacancies as a separate and distinct group, to which the ceiling of 50 per
cent did not apply. The 82nd amendment inserted a provision in Article 335 to enable states to
give concessions to SC/ST candidates in promotion.

The validity of all the above four amendments was challenged in the Supreme Court through
various petitions clubbed together in M. Nagaraj & Others vs. Union of India & Others, mainly
on the ground that these altered the Basic Structure of the Constitution. In 2006, the Supreme
Court upheld the amendments but stipulated that the concerned state will have to show, in each
case, the existence of "compelling reasons" - which include "backwardness", "inadequacy of
representation" and overall "administrative efficiency before making provisions for
reservation. The court further held that these provisions are merely enabling provisions. If a
state government wishes to make provisions for reservation to SC/STs in promotion, the state
has to collect quantifiable data showing backwardness of the class and inadequacy of
representation of that class.
In 2007, the Government of Uttar Pradesh introduced reservation in job promotions. However,
citing the Supreme Court decision, the policy was ruled to be unconstitutional by the Allahabad
High Court in 2011. The decision was challenged in the Supreme Court, which upheld it in

5
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/reservationinindia.pdf

8|Page
2012 by rejecting the government's argument because it failed to furnish In India most of the
scholarships or student aid is available only to—SCs, STs, BCs, OBCs, women, Muslims, and
other minorities. Only about 0.7% of scholarships or student aid in India is based on merit.6

The University Grants Commission (UGC) provides financial assistance to universities for the
establishment of Special Cells for SC/STs. The cells help universities implement the
reservation policy in student admission and staff recruitment processes for teaching and non-
teaching jobs. They also help the SC/ST categories integrate with the university community
and help remove the difficulties SC/ST individuals may have experienced.

6
chrome-
extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/http://iasir.net/AIJRHASSpapers/AIJRHASS13-
225.pdf

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CAUSES OF RESERVATION IN INDIA

Before talking reservation go to 70 years back when India divided on the basis of Hindus and
Muslims. Bengal divided to build east Pakistan(now Bangladesh) and Punjab divided to build
to make Pakistan (west Pakistan). On than time Muslims are in majority mark in Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar still Bengal and Punjab divided to build India and Pakistan. Now India is a hindu
nation but today in almost 110 crore people muslims get the majority mark in number for this
reason one party in uttarakhand announce that if there are 7 or more children in a hindu family
they will reward a sum of Rs. 100000/-.

There are Christians, Jain, Sikh, and Hindus with higher cast and lower cast including SC/ST
and OBC.

Now It is clear that in a Hindu system there are four categories Brahmans, kshathrias, vaishyas
and Shudras. In Indian Political Economy the number of SC/ST and OBC numbers easily
calculated. But on the other hand the General Hindu category is very large to calculate some
time.

Going to past history when B.R.Ambedkar want Reservation have to be made for SC/ST and
OBC candidates. The Leaders came and left like sun set in the west the reservation policy
stored in cold storage. Every one told next time it will happen. But instead of converting will
to be they want to destroy the reservation.7

As they cancel the reservation policy it has to be noted that Mohammad Ali Jinnah told all
SC/ST and OBC candidates to take under the law of Muslim brotherhood before the 1947 but
The Father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi starting fasting on that issue that all SC/ST
(including Harijan) and OBC turned to Muslims. On that time adopted son of Mahatma Gandhi
who was a SC married a SC woman. It will help to stop the flow of SC/ST and OBC to convert
into Muslims.
The Leaders of Political Economy have to learn from the past history.

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar want reservation according to the ration of the cast and creed of Hindu
Religion, the Muslim religion, the sheikhs, the joins, the Buddhist and also for the christen
communities. But as Gandhi starting fasting on the issue to,’ save lower Harijans from the
religion Muslim as they are the part of Hindu Religion.’ Dr. B.R.Ambedkar stops to talk on
that issue of reservation but after independence Dr. B.R.Ambedkar re-established the
reservation issue to the leader of Now born India. But the leaders dissatisfaction on the issue
of reservation according to the ration of cast and creed forced Dr.B.R.Ambedkar to make a
reservation policy for the lower class Hindus those are the SC, ST and in the category of OBC.8

7
http://www.dalitstudies.org.in/download/wp/0602.pdf
8
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/res_poss.htm

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But after 68 years of independence the leaders want to stop reservation. They did not want to
follow the roster system. Actually the upper caste Hindus are minors in India if we reduce other
religion and the lower cast of Hindu including SC/ST and OBC. But remember if the lower
class including SC, ST and OBC of get other religion. The upper caste Hindus leaders touched
the majority number in leadership of Indian constitution but are minor actually in number if
count all people of India one by another. Should think otherwise how to sit on the chair or give
the reservation as ration of religion in recent time.

After independence Economic reforms done by political leaders. Private companies centralized
to build Life Insurance Corporation of India and many nationalized Banks but the reforms in
cultivation and build steel, iron or cola related plant done with slow pace.

The salary structure between a central government employee and a state government employee
defers. The salary is different in case of new recruited employee with a professor of a collage,
a high school teacher, a primary school teacher, a nationalized bank employee, a state bank
employee and employees working in different District Central Co-Operative Banks.

Except 20% of the employed people of India in the unemployed people in the farmer, worker
did not get sufficient money to buy the essentials goods of a family life. There are also BPL
category people in India.9

Now how people become APL or BPL? The Government give their guidelines to treat APL
and BPL on the basis.

Now the national leaders selected by the people of India get a monthly salary of Rs. 100000/-
tax free. With two Personal Assistants for helping, free House, Electricity Telephone and
Vehicle also. As they are the servant of the people they all get it.

In-equilibrium arises many sectors in monthly pay structure. But if Reservation stop for the
SC/ST and OBC it will show the skeleton of poor economic background of Indian in recent
time.

No political leader wants to start reservation of SC/ST and OBC but to give the three essentials
to the poor people of India the Shelter, the food and the cloth. If poor people literate or illiterate
get those essential things they do not sought for other works done against them which will hurt
them in future.

So it is necessary to start reservation for SC/ST and OBC in every sector whether in educational
she Prime Minister of Britain, Ramsay MacDonald, introduced the Communal Award,
according to which separate representation was to be provided for the Muslims, Sikhs, Indian
Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans, Dalit. The depressed classes were assigned a number of
seats to be filled by election from special constituencies in which voters belonging to the
depressed classes only could vote.10

9
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/res_poss.htm
10
https://blog.ipleaders.in/reservation-policy-india/

11 | P a g e
According to some people, Caste Based Reservation in India started in 2nd Century B.C. where
upper castes enjoyed caste based reservation.

Present reservation system has a long history and has been debated before and after Indian
independence from the British in 1947.

Reservations in favour of Backward Classes (BCs) were introduced long before independence
in a large area, comprising the Presidency areas and the Princely states south of the Vindhyas.
In 1882, Hunter Commission was appointed. Jyotirao Phule made a demand of free and
compulsory education for Smrti along with proportionate representation in government jobs.

In 1891, there was a demand for reservation of government jobs with an agitation (in the
princely State of Travancore) against the recruitment of non-natives into public service
overlooking qualified native people.

In 1901,reservations were introduced in Maharashtra (in the Princely State of Kolhapur) by

Shahu Maharajah.11

Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj, Maharaja of Kolhapur in Maharashtra introduced reservation in

favour of non-Brahmin and backward classes as early as 1902. He provided free education to
everyone and opened several hostels in Kolhapur to make it easier for everyone to receive the
education. He also made sure everyone got suitable employment no matter what social class
they belonged. He also appealed for a class-free India and the abolition of untouchability. The
notification of 1902 created 50% reservation in services for backward classes/communities in
the State of Kolhapur. This is the first official instance (Government Order) providing for
reservation for depressed classes in India.

In 1909, reservations were introduced in favour of a number of castes and communities that
had little share in the administration by the British.
There were many other reforms in favour of and against reservations before the Indian
Independence itself.

Even after the Indian Independence there were some major changes in favour of the STs, SCs
and OBCs. One of the most important occurred in 1979 when the Mandal Commission was
established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward classes.

The commission did not have exact figures for a sub-caste, known as the Other Backward
Class(OBC), and used the 1930.census data, further classifying 1,257 communities as
backward, to estimate the OBC population at 52%.

In 1980 the commission submitted a report, and recommended changes to the existing quotas,
increasing them from 22% to 49.5%.

11
https://blog.ipleaders.in/reservation-policy-india/

12 | P a g e
As of 2006 number of castes in Backward class list went up to 2297 which is the increase of
60% from community list prepared by Mandal commission. But it wasn't until the 1990s that
the recommendations of the Mandala Commission were implemented in Government Jobs by
Vishwanath Pratap Singh.

The concept of untouchability was not practiced uniformly throughout the country; therefore
the identification of oppressed classes was difficult to carry out. Allegedly, the practice of
segregation and untouchability prevailed more in the northern parts of India as opposed to in
Southern India. Furthermore, certain castes or communities, considered "untouchable" in one
province were not in other provinces sector or in working sector and always maintain the roster
system. Reservations in government jobs and in educational institutions was started after
Independence. This was started as an affirmative action to bring fairness and justice to people
who were deprived of this, even shunned, for centuries.12

The first level of reservation was 15% for scheduled castes and 7.5% for scheduled tribes. A
sunset clause was thought of for this, which means that after a time, the levels will be reduced
and ultimately reservations would be eliminated as disadvantaged sections of society became
equal. Unfortunately, subsequent generation of politicians made this into a vote bank. The
whole noble purpose of reservation, which was affirmative action, got lost in the din.

The worst period was during the disgraceful reign of V.P.Singh (By the way, the only Prime
Minister who stuck on to his seat till he was thrown out by a vote of No Confidence in the
Parliament). There was a time when it seemed that 100% of govt jobs and seats in educational
institutions will get reserved, till the Supreme Court intervened and maxed the quota at (I think)
50%.

We have the spectre today of casteist leaders clamoring for reservations. Even the Gujjars (who
otherwise claim a royal lineage), and the Jats (who are kshatriya) want it. The noble spirit,
pioneered by leaders like Nehru, Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule and others has gone aThe following
is a plausible, logical and veritable explanation given by Dr.B.R.Ambedkar. Any objection to
equality? This has obviously been the most contentious part of the slogan of the French
revolution. The objections to equality may be sound, and one may have to admit that all men
are not equal. But what of that? Equality may be a fiction, but nonetheless one must accept it
is the governing principle.13
A man's power is dependent upon:
1. Physical heredity;

12
https://blog.ipleaders.in/reservation-policy-india/
13
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/law/highlights-on-reservation-policy-in-
india/39793/

13 | P a g e
2. Social inheritance or endowment in the form of parental care, education, accumulation of
scientific knowledge, everything which enables him to be more efficient than the savage; and
finally
3. On his own efforts.

In all these three respects men are undoubtedly unequal. But the question is, shall we treat them
as unequal because they are unequal? This is a question which the opponents of equality must
answer. From the standpoint of the individualist, it may be just to treat men unequally so far as
their efforts are unequal. It may be desirable to give as much incentive as possible to the full
development of everyone's powers. But what would happen if men were treated as unequally
as they are unequal in the first two respects? it is obvious that those individuals also in whose
favour there is birth, education, family name, business connections, inherited wealth, would be
selected in the race. But selection under such circumstances would not be a selection of the
able. It would be the selection of the privileged. The reason, therefore, which forces that in the
third resepect we should treat men unequally, demands that in first two respects we should treat
men as equally as possible.

On the other hand, that if it is good for the social body to get the most out of its members, it
can get the most out of them only by making them equal as far as possible at the very start of
race. That is one reason why we cannot escape equality. But there is another reason why we
must accept equality. A statesman is concerned with vast number of people. He has neither the
time nor the knowledge to draw fine distinctions and treat each one equitably, i.e according to
need or according to capacity. However desirable or reasonable an equitable treatment of men
may be, humanity is not capable of assortment and classification. The statesman, therefore,
must follow some rough and ready rule, and that rough and ready rule is to treat all men alike,
not because they are alike but because classification and assortment is impossible. 14

14
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/critical-analysis-on-reservation-
policy-in-india-1331-1.html

14 | P a g e
BACKGROUND STUDY OF RESERVATION IN INDIA

BEFORE INDEPENDENCE
Quota systems favoring certain castes and other communities existed before independence in
several areas of British India. Demands for various forms of positive discrimination had been
made, for example, in 1882 and 1891. Shahu, the Maharaja of the princely state of Kolhapur,
introduced reservation in favour of non-Brahmin and backward classes, much of which came
into force in 1902. He provided free education to everyone and opened several hostels to make
it easier for them to receive it. He also tried to ensure that people thus educated were suitably
employed, and he appealed both for a class-free India and the abolition of untouchability. His
1902 measures created 50 per cent reservation for backward communities.15

The British Raj introduced elements of reservation in the Government of India Act of 1909 and
there were many other measures put in place prior to independence.[2] A significant one
emerged from the Round Table Conference of June 1932, when the Prime Minister of Britain,
Ramsay Macdonald, proposed the Communal Award, according to which separate
representation was to be provided for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and
Europeans. The depressed classes were assigned a number of seats to be filled by election from
constituencies in which only they could vote, although they could also vote in other seats. The
proposal was controversial: Mahatma Gandhi fasted in protest against it but many among the
depressed classes, including their leader, B. R. Ambedkar, favoured it. After negotiations,
Gandhi reached an agreement with Ambedkar to have a single Hindu electorate, with Dalits
having seats reserved within it. Electorates for other religions, such as Islam and Sikhism,
remained separate. This became known as the Poona Pact.

AFTER INDEPENDENCE
India's affirmative action programme was launched in 1950 and is the oldest such programme
in the world. After the independence of India in 1947 there were some major changes in favour
of the Scheduled Tribes (ST), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).

A common form of caste discrimination in India has been the practice of untouchability. SCs
were the primary targets of the practice, which was outlawed by the new Constitution of India.16

In 1954, the Ministry of Education suggested that 20 per cent of places should be reserved for
the SCs and STs in educational institutions with a provision to relax minimum qualifying marks
for admission by 5 per cent wherever required. In 1982, it was specified that 15 per cent and

15
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_in_India
16
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/critical-analysis-on-reservation-
policy-in-india-1331-1.html

15 | P a g e
7.5 per cent of vacancies in public sector and government-aided educational institutes should
be reserved for the SC and ST candidates, respectively.

A significant change began in 1978 when the Mandal Commission was established to assess
the situation of the socially- and educationally-backward classes. The commission did not have
exact population figures for the OBCs and so used data from the 1931 census, thus estimating
the group's population at 52 per cent. In 1980 the commission's report recommended that a
reserved quota for OBCs of 27 per cent should apply in respect of services and public sector
bodies operated by the Union Government. It called for a similar change to admissions to
institutes of higher education, except where states already had more generous requirements. It
was not until the 1990s that the recommendations were implemented in Union Government
jobs.

The Constitution of India states in article 16(4): "Nothing in [article 16] or in clause (2) of
article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of
any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes." Article 46 of the Constitution states that "The State shall promote with
special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and,
in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from
social injustice and all forms of exploitation."17

The Supreme Court of India ruled in 1992 that reservations could not exceed 50 per cent,
anything above which it judged would violate equal access as guaranteed by the Constitution.
It thus put a cap on reservations. However, there are state laws that exceed this 50 per cent limit
and these are under litigation in the Supreme Court. For example, in the State of Tamil Nadu
the caste-based reservation stands at 69 per cent and applies to about 87 per cent of the
population

17
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/res_poss.htm

16 | P a g e
GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND POLICIES FOR RESERVED CATEGORIES

RESERVATIONS IN EMPLOYMENT
A fixed percentage of India's government and public sector jobs are made exclusive for
categories of people largely based on their caste or tribe.

The 1992 Supreme Court ruling in the Indra Sawhney case said that reservations in job
promotions are "unconstitutional" but allowed its continuation for five years. In 1995, the 77th
amendment to the Constitution was made to amend Article 16 before the five-year period
expired to continue with reservations for SC/STs in promotions. It was further modified
through the 85th amendment to give the benefit of consequential seniority to SC/ST candidates
promoted by reservation.18

The 81st amendment was made to the Constitution to permit the government to treat the
backlog of reserved vacancies as a separate and distinct group, to which the ceiling of 50 per
cent did not apply. The 82nd amendment inserted a provision in Article 335 to enable states to
give concessions to SC/ST candidates in promotion.

The validity of all the above four amendments was challenged in the Supreme Court through
various petitions clubbed together in M. Nagaraj & Others vs. Union of India & Others, mainly
on the ground that these altered the Basic Structure of the Constitution. In 2006, the Supreme
Court upheld the amendments but stipulated that the concerned state will have to show, in each
case, the existence of "compelling reasons" - which include "backwardness", "inadequacy of
representation" and overall "administrative efficiency before making provisions for
reservation. The court further held that these provisions are merely enabling provisions. If a
state government wishes to make provisions for reservation to SC/STs in promotion, the state
has to collect quantifiable data showing backwardness of the class and inadequacy of
representation of that class.

18
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/critical-analysis-on-reservation-
policy-in-india-1331-.html

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In 2007, the Government of Uttar Pradesh introduced reservation in job promotions. However,
citing the Supreme Court decision, the policy was ruled to be unconstitutional by the Allahabad
High Court in 2011.The decision was challenged in the Supreme Court, which upheld it in
2012 by rejecting the government's argument because it failed to furnish sufficient valid data
to justify the move to promote employees on a caste basis.19

RESERVATIONS IN EDUCATION
In India most of the scholarships or student aid is available only to—SCs, STs, BCs, OBCs,
women, Muslims, and other minorities. Only about 0.7% of scholarships or student aid in India
is based on merit.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) provides financial assistance to universities for the
establishment of Special Cells for SC/STs. The cells help universities implement the
reservation policy in student admission and staff recruitment processes for teaching and non-
teaching jobs. They also help the SC/ST categories integrate with the university community
and help remove the difficulties SC/ST individuals may have experienced.

New rules implementation of UPA Government do not provide scholarship scheme and
reservation quota of students and employees of colleges under central University and State
University approved by the UGC.

BENEFICIARY GROUPS OF THE RESERVATION SYSTEM

The quota system sets aside a proportion of all possible positions for members of a specific
group. Those not belonging to the designated communities can compete only for the remaining
positions, while members of the designated communities can compete for either reserved or
open position.
Seats are reserved for people under the following criteria:

CASTE
In central-government funded higher education institutions, 22.5% of available seats are
reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students (7.5% for STs, 15% for
SCs). This reservation percentage has been raised to 49.5%20 by including an additional 27%
reservation for OBCs. This ratio is followed even in Parliament and all elections where a few

19
chrome-
extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/http://iasir.net/AIJRHASSpapers/AIJRHASS13-
225.pdf
20
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_in_India

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constituencies are earmarked for those from certain communities (which will next rotate in
2026 per the Delimitation Commission).
The exact percentages vary from state to state:

In Tamil Nadu, the reservation is 18%[25] for SCs and 1% for STs, based on local
demographics.

In Northeast India, especially in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram,

reservation for ST in State Govt. jobs is 80% with only 20% unreserved. In the Central
Universities of NEHU(shillong) and Rajiv Gandhi University, 60% of seats are reserved for
ST students.

In Andhra Pradesh, 25% of educational institutes and government jobs are reserved for OBCs,
15% for SCs, 6% for STs and 4% for Muslims.21

In West Bengal, 35% of educational institute seats and government jobs are reserved for SC,
ST, and OBC (22% SC, 6% ST, 7% for[27] OBC A & B[28])in West Bengal there is no
reservation on religious basis but some economically and educationally backward Muslim
castes(basis surnames pertaining to different profession e.g. cobbler, weaver etc.) have been
included along with their Hindu counterparts in OBC list namely OBC A and OBC B, in both
lists caste from both communities are there. But in higher educational institute, till now there
is no reservation for the OBC community but there is reservation in regard to admission in
primary, secondary and higher secondary studies.

GENDER
The Women's Reservation Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 9 March 2010 by a majority
vote of 186 members in favour and 1 against. As of March 2013, the Lok Sabha has not voted
on the bill. Critics say gender cannot be held as a basis for reservation alone other factors should
also be considered e.g. economic, social conditions of woman candidate especially when
applying reservation for educated women. There also is a growing demand for women
reservation in pre-existing reservations like OBC, SC/ST, physically handicapped etc. Some
groups still demand that reservation for women should be at least 50 per cent as they comprise
50 per cent of the population.In Gujarat, 33% of posts are reserved for females in all
government departments and services, such as police, health, education and general
administration.22

RELIGION

21
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_in_India
22
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/law/highlights-on-reservation-policy-in-
india/39793/

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There is no reservation granted on the basis of religion in the Central educational institutions
at the national level, although reservation has been extended to religious minorities in some
states. The Tamil Nadu government has allotted 3.5% of seats each to Muslims and Christians,
thereby altering the OBC reservation to 23% from 30% (since it excludes persons belonging to
Other Backward Castes who are either Muslims or Christians).23

The Government of Andhra Pradesh introduced a law enabling 4 per cent reservations for
Muslims in 2004. This law was upheld by the Supreme Court in an interim order in 2010 but
it constituted a Constitution bench to look further into the issue.The referral was to examine
the constitutional validity of quotas based on religion. Kerala Public Service Commission has
a quota of 12% for Muslims. Religious minority (Muslim or Christian) educational institutes
also have 50% reservation for Muslim or Christian religions. The Central government has listed
a number of Muslim communities as backward Muslims, making them eligible for
reservation.24

IMPACT OF RESERVATION

The intention of “Reservation” was to improve the conditions of the backward castes and
communities of the society but the effects of reservation have been severe and damaging. The
day a child starts his education by enrolling himself in a school, without choice he has become
a part of the vicious circle of reservation. And this quota system doesn’t end here; it stays with
us till our last breaths. It is very important to gauge and analyze the impacts of reservation on
education to actually know what good and bad this policy has done to our country since
independence.

IMPACTS:
1. Division of Society

We are a secular country and equality is must for secularism to survive. Dividing the population
on the basis of castes and religions has never done any good for the nation as a whole. Instead
of uniting our country, we are segmenting it into fragments.As per the quota system, Scheduled
Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) are the primary

23
https://blog.ipleaders.in/reservation-policy-india/
24
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/critical-analysis-on-reservation-
policy-in-india-1331-1.html

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beneficiaries of the reservation policies under the Constitution. Their respective quotas in the
education system are 15%, 7.5% and 27%.
2. Discourages Performers

Students who put in the best of their efforts to make it in the merit are disheartened if they fail
to get an admission in a good college due to a reservation. They get discouraged and depressed
and such situations lead to frustration and suicidal attempts. Moreover, the reputation of the
best institutes in the nation has been deteriorating due to admissions of candidates based on
quota and not merit. The quality of professionals that IITs and IIMs are producing now is not
up to the standards they have created themselves
3. Used For Benefits

People don’t wish to work and study as they want to avail benefits of their caste. And hence,
they can never develop and prosper leaving the backward classes where there were without any
improvement. People also get fake certificates made to enjoy the benefits of reservation. Even
politicians use castes as an effective tool to earn more votes. They divide the society for their
own good into vote banks.
4. Migration of Merits

When good students don’t find admissions in good colleges and good jobs due to reserve seats,
they prefer relocating themselves to other countries with better opportunities to perform and
make a better living totally based on their performance levels. This has forced many fertile
brains to leave the country and settle abroad.25

There are various other impacts of this system that have affected the lives and careers of
millions of people across the country. It’s high time and this needs attention and amendment.
With time the society and the mind-set of the people have also changed and to match up to the
present needs to need to incorporate changes that can bring better results.

Reservation in our country is introduced earlier to uplift the social and economic status
backward classes but now the Scenario is changed these backward classes now living a
respectful and prosperous life. People of general castes sometimes faced problems in exam so
they opposed this whole system of Reservation.26

The Ironical Condition In India Due To Reservation

RSS chief publicity leader Manmohan Vaidya has said that “the caste-based reservation should
end”. Speaking at Jaipur Literature Festival, the leader said that instead of continuing with

25
http://www.dalitstudies.org.in/download/wp/0602.pdf
26
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/res_poss.htm

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reservations infinitely, attempts should be made to make available to people equal opportunities
for education and other things.

BAD IMPACTS OF BANISHMENT OF CASTE-BASED RESERVATION:

SLOW DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY

In India, communities who are economically, socially and mentally backward, find it very
tough to compete in open competition. That is the reason reservation was introduced in the
system. Reservation helps backward communities to get included in education and in
government jobs which eventually helps our county to develop faster. The end of caste-based
reservation will result in the slow growth of the country.27

UPLIFTMENT OF DALITS WILL BECOME IMPOSSIBLE

The caste-based reservation was introduced in our system for the upliftment of backward
classes in the society. These classes have always been exploited by the upper classes of the
society and reservation helps them in getting their rights and an equal place in the society. If
caste-based reservation ends, the upliftment of backward classes will become impossible and
they will exploitation will increase.

GOOD IMPACTS OF BANISHMENT OF CASTE-BASED RESERVATION

STANDARDS OF HIGHER EDUCATION WILL IMPROVE

Many students of general caste lose their seat in higher education due to the caste-based
reservation. Every candidate will get the equal opportunities to grab a seat and no deserving
candidate will left out of the opportunities which many times happens.28

GOVERNMENT JOBS WILL BECOME APPROACHABLE FOR EVERYONE

The caste-based reservation system gives great opportunities to backward classes in
government sector but it leave people of general caste with very little opportunities. If
reservation system ends, government jobs will become approachable for each class of the
society.

Dalits in India have been living sub-human conditions in India long before independence and
continue to do so long after independence. Only marginal progress can be seen in few urban

27
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/res_poss.htm
28
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/law/highlights-on-reservation-policy-in-
india/39793/

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areas but archaic practices of untouchability (believe me) are practiced even today in many
villages, separate caste based housing clusters, paints etc (Dalit Issues Home Page) But i will
not focus much on that part as it will be vehemently overlooked.

Some people talk about fair competition, but competition with whom (refer the wikipedia link
for Dalit social status). Social infrastructure is reluctantly provided, and when provided is
followed by a great ceremony where the cost of logistics are fought over like Arnab Goswami’s
allegations.29 Most people believe that providing reservation to dalits in govt. educational
institutions and PSUs to be excessive and unfair yet competitive examinations are not the sole
and objective platform of capability. The relatively severe (usual) hardships faced by an
average Dalit student, whether it be economical or social are not figured into the examinations.

And yet all the blame of corruption, mis-administration and poor performance are laid upon
the system of reservation. This is other way of saying that Dalits and Other reserved category
students/People are mentally and morally inferior to the ones who hold the majority of
government and administrative positions.

In a country like India competition will always be biased, but providing a reasonable cushion
i.e. reservation has been helpful in raising up a large no. of people to better their social standing
rather than falling into the viscous circle of poverty and deprivation.

In one of the interviews he proposed a system where economic condition of a family belonging
to lower caste would also be taken into account for reservations.Moreover, according to him,
the concept of creamy layer should be extended to group B and C class employees of the
government and should also be there for SCs and STs. 30This would drastically cut down the
number of people benefiting from reservations when they don't truly deserve it and this system
would benefit those who need it the most.

All in all it should be a balanced approach, and, as people come out of poverty and the system
of caste based discrimination recedes, more and more people should be taken out of the purview
of reservations till it is finally revoked.

We would like to hear your views on this. It’s not about supporting or hating reservations,
rather it’s about using this system in a fair way to uplift the downtrodden. Moreover, it should
not be oppressive for the upper caste people”31

Nobody is in any haste to implement a social reformation (perhaps a revolution) that will
alleviate the Dalit situation, till then people will have to either suck up or have the consequences

29
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/law/highlights-on-reservation-policy-in-
india/39793/
30
https://blog.ipleaders.in/reservation-policy-india/
31
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/critical-analysis-on-reservation-
policy-in-india-1331-1.html

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on their own conscience. India has, for a long time, ignored and used Dalits, now she must give
them some time to build up

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CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

We live in a free country and this freedom is a gift of democracy to us. Our constitution gives
us the right to freedom and most importantly to exercise this freedom in an equitable manner.
At the same time it is incumbent on the part of the state to ensure that equality prevails in all
sections of the society. However in today’s time one of the major roadblocks to this equality is
the Reservation System.

India being a developing nation is currently facing many challenges and the reservation system
being one of them. The biggest question that lies in front of us is whether implementing this
reservation system has really helped the downtrodden? A The current scenario clearly depicts
that the ‘lower’ castes are still discriminated in their daily lives. To uproot casteism it is
important that we fight the reservation system which alone will lead us to development,
competency, equality and unity. The reservation system finds its origin in the age-old caste
system of India. The caste system at its birth was meant to divide people on the basis of their
occupation like teaching and preaching (Brahmins), kingship and war (Kshatriya) and lastly
business(vaish) etc. but soon it became an instrument to divide the society on caste-basis,
creating various walls between different sections of the society. Today we stand divided widely
into Hindu, Muslim, SC, ST & OBCs with newer reservations coming up for other different
sections of the society like Christians, Kashmiris, Jats, Kashmiri Pandits, Tribals etc.

Firstly we need to understand that the reservation system only divides the society leading to
discrimination and conflicts between different sections. It is oppressive and does not find its
basis in casteism. It is actually the antithesis of a communal living.

Currently, as per the government policy, 15% of the government jobs and 15% of the students
admitted to universities must be from Scheduled castes and for the Scheduled tribes there is a
reservation of about 7.5 %. Other than this, the state governments also follow their own
reservation policies respectively based upon the population constitution of each state. So nearly
50% seats are reserved.

The Mandal commission was established in 1979 by the central government to identify the
socially or educationally backward people. It was also set up to consider the question of seat
reservations and quotas for people to redress caste discrimination. It used social, economic,
and educational indicators to determine backwardness. But today are these reservations
actually being utilized on the above mentioned factors? The answer is prima facie ‘NO’
because the benefits are being stolen away by the creamy layer.

The 93rd Constitutional Amendment allows the government to make special provisions for
“advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens”, including their
admission in aided or unaided private educational institutions. Gradually this reservation policy
is to be implemented in private institutions and companies as well. This move led to opposition
from non-reserved category students, as the proposal reduced seats for the General (non-
reserved) category from the existing 77.5% to less than 50.5% (since members of OBCs are
also allowed to contest in the General category).

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Article 15(4) of our constitution empowers the government to make special provisions for
advancement of backward classes. Similarly Article 16 provides for equality of opportunity in
matters of employment or appointment to any post under the State.

“Clause 2 of article 16 lays down that no citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, descent,
place of birth, residence or any of them be discriminated in respect of any employment or office
under the State.” However clause 4 of the same article provides for an exception by conferring
a certain kind of power on the government: “it empowers the state to make special provision
for the reservation of appointments of posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which
in the opinion of the state are not adequately represented in the services”
Thus two conditions have to be satisfied: The class of citizens is backward. The said class is
not adequately represented.

In a case Balaji v/s State of Mysore (AIR 1963 SC649) it was held that ‘caste of a person cannot
be the sole criteria for ascertaining whether a particular caste is backward or not. Determinants
such as poverty, occupation, place of habitation may all be relevant factors to be taken into
consideration. The court further held that it does not mean that if once a caste is considered to
be backward it will continue to be backward for all other times. The government should review
the test and if a class reaches the state of progress where reservation is not necessary it should
delete that class from the list of backward classes.’

What is surprising is that our constitution clearly is a reservation-friendly constitution but

nowhere in the constitution is the term ‘backward classes defined. What actually constitutes a
backward class? What are the determinants of a backward class? These questions remain
unanswered and it is only with the help of judicial pronouncements that they have been given
some meaning. Question arises how can reservations be made for something that has not been
defined?

Today when a student applies for an admission in any university, the admission forms are filled
with questions like ‘Are you SC/ST or OBC or General Category?’ How does it matter which
category does he belong to, what matters is his merit. A category cannot decide whether he is
eligible for admission or not. There many economically worse off children belonging to the
forward classes but they cannot get the fruits of such reservation merely by virtue of belonging
to the ‘general’ category. Sometimes these children belonging to the backward classes do not
even deserve and still possess the necessary merit as against a child who studied very hard for
months to get a seat, thereby snatching away that seat just because he comes from a particular
religion or caste for which our government provides reservation.

Reservation should be purely made on the basis of the economical conditions of the applicant
and nothing else. The kind of reservation policy that our government currently follows does
nothing but divide the society into different sections.

When the then HRD minister Mr. Arjun Singh introduced 27.5% reservation for OBC in
centrally funded educational institutes including IIMs and IITs a petition was moved to the
President and the Prime Minister stating that such a reservation will take India back from where
she is today. Further “everyone understands the need for all sections of the Indian Society to

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get an opportunity to be a part of this economy but reservation based on caste is not an answer
to this. These policies have been in India since the last 50 years and they have failed to meet
their objectives. The government should go into the reasons of the failure. Many students don’t
make it to the institutes because of the economic reasons and those who do not fall in the
reservation criteria don not get a fair opportunity too”.
To remove this evil it suggested the following:

Make education mandatory and free for all till age of 15. Propose reservation based on
economic status. Provide opportunity to students to earn while they study. Instead of
introducing reservations for these backward classes what is required is to bring about
revolutionary changes in our education system at the grass-root level. When proper education
is not provided to children belonging to such categories during the primary stage itself then on
what basis are the reservations provided at a subsequent stage.

Reservations are nothing but means to prosper the vote banks of politicians. They are hindering
the country’s growth, development and competency in all aspects. On one hand the preamble
of our constitution states that we are a free, democratic and sovereign nation and on the other
hand reservation system is chaining all these aspects into its clutches. It is creating disparity
and differences amongst the people. The constitution lays down that every child has a right to
education and no where expresses that any child belonging to a backward class has a little more
of this right than the general category. By reserving one category against another creates a
feeling of division which is now resulting in a chaos with every small section of the society
asking for it.

Reservations on the basis of caste and not on the basis of condition are bad and unacceptable.
Fair and just reservations to uplift the people with poor conditions of life, those who don’t have
meals to eat, clothes to wear and no home to live in. They shall be made on the basis of factors
such as gender as women are more disadvantaged than men since primitive times, domicile,
family education, family employment, family property, family income and if any disabilities
and traumas. The process of reservation should be such that it filters the truly economically
deprived individuals and bring them all to justice.

Thus reservations are anti-thesis of development and equality. We don’t need reservations
based on castes or religion but only to actually provide aid to those who have minimal
resources; and merit should be given equal and due importance in admission procedures as
well employment opportunities. This way we would be successful in removing caste
discrimination and unite the economically rich together in helping the economically poor,
irrespective of their castes.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

WEBSITES AND JOURNALS:

Reservations in India - Ambedkar.org
The Politics of Backwardness: Reservation Policy in India
Reservation Policy and Indian Constitution in India
Critical Analysis on Reservation Policy in India Legal Services India

BOOKS:
Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life
Reservation policy in India
The Politics of Backwardness: Reservation Policy in India
Reservation and Private Sector: Quest for Equal Opportunity and Growth

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