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Reservation in Rajasthan

IN RECOMMENDING 14 per cent reservation for the poor among the upper castes in the State, the Rajasthan Government might have taken a politically calculated decision in what is an election year, but the implementation of the proposal will not be possible without the clearing of several legal and practical hurdles. According to the resolution of the State Cabinet, the 14 per cent quota would be in addition to the existing total reservation of 49 per cent for Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. As reservation in excess of 50 per cent is violative of the ceiling laid down by the Supreme Court in the Mandal case, the State Government has forwarded the proposal to the Centre. Clearly, the reservation decision is aimed at preventing the BJP from obtaining political mileage from the agitations organised by the upper castes for reservation based on economic criteria. Already, the Constitutional protection for 69 per cent reservation in Tamil Nadu is pending before the apex court. Without tinkering with the existing reservation quota, it would be impossible to immediately provide for reservation for the poor of the upper castes. And, of course, any such tinkering would renew the social tensions that came to the fore in the days of the pro and anti-Mandal agitations. Thus, the Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, decided to ensure that the 14 per cent quota did not cut into the existing 49 per cent reservation, observing that there should not now be any "heartburning" for others over this move.

The reason why reservation in Rajasthan is turning out to be a socially contentious and politically sensitive issue is the recent accommodation of Jats in the Other Backward Classes category. As the Jats, who are relatively better off both economically and socially, were brought into the OBC category, other castes in the same grouping, more backward than the Jats, feared they would lose out in the race. Also, Rajputs, Brahmins and Vaishyas felt they too deserved reservation like the Jats. While the upper castes started to ask for reservation against economic criteria, those in the lower-end of the OBC category wanted a separate reservation for the "most backward" within the grouping. Not surprisingly, the Social Justice Front, which mooted changes in the reservation system, had supporters from different political parties including the Congress and the BJP. In fact, politicians of different hues attended rallies held by Rajputs and Brahmins demanding reservation for the poor among the upper castes. Indeed, Mr. Gehlot referred to the number of poor people among the Vaishyas as a justification for the quota based on economic criteria.

Whatever the merits of the demand, reservation on economic criteria would run into several practical difficulties. First, there is the problem of enumeration of the beneficiaries. Economic class, unlike social caste, is a porous grouping in continual flux. Moreover, false income certificates are easier to obtain than bogus caste certificates. Additional criteria would have to be formulated to prevent misuse of the reservation for the poor. Even the Supreme Court order to eliminate the creamy layer (comprising the economically well-off among the castes benefiting from reservation) is yet to find acceptance partly because of the difficulties of identifying the creamy layer. But, there is no denying that economic inequality, even without the additional injustice of social discrimination, is debilitating and needs correctives from the state. However, the solution lies in adopting a comprehensive approach to eliminating socio-economic inequalities and not in addressing specific concerns of particular caste groupings.

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