Right decision on SC-ST reservation, social upliftment of poor and deprived is easily possible

This is the right time for the Central Government to study the report of the Rohini Commission constituted for sub-categorization in OBC reservation and move forward towards implementing its suggestions. Political parties will have to understand that by excluding those who have already got the benefit of reservation from the reserved categories, their social upliftment is possible by giving reservation to the deserving people i.e. the real poor and deprived.
The decision given by the seven-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on sub-categorization of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Tribes i.e. SC-ST is going to make the reservation of these communities more equitable and also fulfill the objective of social justice.

For a long time, it was being felt that some castes of SC-ST community are taking sufficient advantage of reservation, but some are not getting its desired benefit and due to this they are not able to join the mainstream of the society. Along with this, their socio-economic upliftment is also not happening. The decision of the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the five-member Constitution Bench of 2004.

In that decision, it was said that the castes of SC-ST community are the same and they cannot be sub-classified. The seven-member bench of the Supreme Court expressed disagreement and said that there are backward and extremely backward castes among the castes of SC-ST community. In fact, there is not only a difference in the socio-economic status of the castes of these communities, but there is also a sense of high and low among them.

A judge of the Supreme Court gave a very correct example that the status of a student studying in St. Stephens of Delhi University or any other prestigious college in the metros and a student studying in a college in a rural area cannot be said to be the same.

The Supreme Court also expressed the need to implement the creamy layer system in the reservation of SC-ST. This was expressed because, firstly, creamy layer is applicable in OBC reservation and secondly, there are many people in the SC-ST community who are much more capable and prosperous economically and socially. By sub-classifying the castes of SC-ST society and providing them reservation, it will be easy for the social upliftment of those who are still backward.

After the Supreme Court's decision, many parties have maintained silence. The fear of political loss to the parties who see these communities as a vote bank and do politics on this basis due to sub-classification in SC-ST castes may be the reason for their silence. Whatever may be the attitude of the parties doing caste politics on the Supreme Court's decision, there is no denying that many leaders of SC-ST community have reached high positions.

Similarly, many people of these communities have become IAS-IPS officers by taking advantage of reservation. There is no justification that their children should also get the benefit of reservation. In the Supreme Court's decision, it has been emphasized that if a family has got the benefit of reservation once, then it should not get it further. In a way, the need is being expressed to limit the benefit of reservation to the first generation.

This should be seriously considered, so that the benefit of reservation can be given to as many needy people as possible. It is not right that people keep taking advantage of reservation generation after generation. If the creamy layer system can be implemented in OBC reservation, then it should be implemented in SC-ST reservation as well. This should be done because, like OBC, there are many castes in SC-ST community whose socio-economic status has improved. In a way, these castes are ahead among the backward. Such castes of SC-ST and OBC community are taking more advantage of reservation.

In its historic decision, the Supreme Court has also given the right of sub-classification of SC-ST castes to the state governments. Till now this right was only with the central government. There is a fear of misuse of this right by the state governments. This fear is because the state governments can arbitrarily sub-classify SC-ST castes under vote bank politics.

The Supreme Court will have to see to it that this does not happen. Although it has said that the work of sub-classification should be done on the basis of facts and it can be judicially reviewed, but it remains to be seen whether this happens or not? It is a fact that most of the poor in the country belong to SC-ST and OBC castes. If these poor can be identified in a better way, then the governments can take special measures for their upliftment and bring them into the mainstream.

This is what should happen. In this context, Prime Minister Modi's statement is noteworthy that there are only four castes in the country - farmers, youth, poor and women. It is clear that in the matter of reservation, the maximum attention should be given to those who are the poorest. This is possible only through sub-classification.

Along with improving the reservation system, the central and state governments will also have to understand that reservation is not a means of vote bank politics, but a means of social justice. In our country, many parties do caste-specific politics and emphasize that the upliftment of the poor sections as well as the solution of all the problems of the country is possible only on the basis of reservation. Due to this, they are engaged in demanding caste census.

This notion is not correct because it is not correct to say that the progress made in the country since independence has benefited only the upper castes. Today, people from the reserved classes are also big businessmen in the country. There are many people from these classes who could have earned a living without the help of reservation.

This is the right time that the Central Government should study the report of the Rohini Commission constituted for sub-categorization in OBC reservation and move forward towards implementing its suggestions. Political parties will have to understand that by giving reservation to the deserving people i.e. the real poor and deprived, their social upliftment is possible much more easily than by excluding those who have already got the benefit of reservation from the scope of the reserved categories.