Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Creamy layer

The Supreme Court verdict excluding the creamy layer among the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes from the purview of reservation in government jobs and promotions is a step in the right direction. In the almost 60 years since the reservation policy has been in place, the influential among the reserved categories have cornered all the benefits, denying them to the vast majority. Economic criteria must form a part of any privilege extended to the marginalised sections.

Why should the son or daughter of a bureaucrat or grandson of a judge be entitled to reservation, which is meant for the uplift of the most backward among the backward?

Peayen Mani,
Saratoga, California

The judgment is a boon to both the rural and urban poor. The opposition to it by some sections of society and political parties is unfortunate. Why don't the affluent among the SCs and the STs agree to give up their prerogative in favour of their less fortunate brethren?

K. Gopal Reddy,
Anantapur, A.P.

JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav's statement describing the verdict as unjust because it seeks to introduce an economic criterion to the reservation policy is surprising.

If economic deprivation does not count for special treatment, what does? Reservation is meant to benefit the backward among the oppressed, not the affluent.

Y. Sridhara Rao,
Hyderabad

The Left, the JD (U), and the TDP are indulging in vote bank politics. The creamy layer did not exist when the Constitution was framed. The situation on the ground has changed. It is time for those who have enjoyed the benefit to pass it on to the more deserving among them. It will surely pave the way for the elimination of the caste system.

K. Giridhar,
Hyderabad

When will our politicians learn to accept court verdicts with grace? If the judgment is in their favour, they hail it and quote extensively from it. If not, they criticise the judiciary and say the people will reject the verdict. What a shame!

K.V. Sundaravadanan,
Chennai

The opposition to the exclusion of the creamy layer is understandable. There are enough studies to show that the bulk of the benefits of reservation has been appropriated by a few sections. The most disadvantaged among Dalits have been denied opportunities to come up in life. What they need is a strong leadership of their own to fight the injustice.

A. Seshan,
Mumbai

Over 50 years of reservation has not done much for the most backward. This is because while parties have been using the policy to further vote banks, it has created a new class of elites among the reserved categories that has a vested interest in keeping the most backward in the same condition.

Dominic Ayyanikkatt,
Kulithalai, T.N.

The Supreme Court's intervention is an affront to social justice and will certainly stall the implementation of reservation for OBCs in Central educational institutions. It has equated social backwardness with economic backwardness. Education has been denied to the socially oppressed for ages and not to the economically backward. In spite of economic emancipation, the social status of the oppressed remains the same. The creamy layer should not be excluded if the purpose of reservation is to be achieved.

T. Marx,
Karaikal, Puducherry

Despite two generations benefiting from reservation, the SCs and the STs are not adequately represented in power and administration. Socio-economic indicators still point to the need to continue reservation for these categories. On the other hand, there is a case for identifying the creamy layer among OBCs. This is because of the large grouping of castes under OBCs. With respect to the SCs and the STs, creamy layer identification is premature.

V.R. Srinivasan,
Rochester, New York

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