DR.
RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA,
NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW
SESSION 2016-17
SUBJECT: SOCIOLOGY
TOPIC:RESERVATION POLICY IN INDIA
CLASS: B.A., LL.B. (HONS), Ist SEMESTER
SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
DR.SANJAY SINGH ANUSHTHAN TRIPHATI
PROFESSOR ROLL NO. 41
TABLE OF CONTENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
INTRODUCTION
RESERVATION OF
ELECTED BODIES
RESERVATIONS OF
EMPLOYEMENT
RESERVATIONS IN
EDUCATION
ADVANTAGES OF
RESERVATION SYSTEM
DISADVANTAGES OF
RESERVATION SYSTEM
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT-
Firstly I would convey my gratitude to Dr SANJAY SINGH,
who provided me this opportunity to work on such an important
judgement. His lucid notes provided much assistance in this case
analysis. I would also like to thank him further for bringing
further clarity to basic concepts through interactive class
sessions and his other innovative methods.
I would thank Honble Vice Chancellor sir for providing our
institute with all the facilities which are required for the
completion of this project. I further extend my thanks to library
staff of our college who helped me in getting all the materials
necessary for the project.
INTRODUCTION
The systems of reservation of India is a form of positive
discrimination. It follows from the concept of equality of
opportunity as enshrined in the Constitution of India.
Reservation is the result of laws, guidelines, and
administrative action by the different levels of
governments in India, and includes reserved or exclusive
access to seats in the different legislatures, to
government jobs, and to enrolment in higher educational
institutions. There are some differences between how it is
enabled by the central Union Government and by
individual States and Union Territories.
The basis of reservation is the perceived existence of
some sort of historical or contemporary social and
educational disadvantage. The target groups are
identified based on criteria such as gender, caste, tribe,
and linguistic minority status. It is the process of
facilitating a person in education, scholarship, jobs, and in
promotion who has category certificates. Reservation is a
form of quota-based affirmative action. Reservation is
governed by constitutional laws, statutory laws, and local
rules and regulations. 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
object of ensuring a level playing field.
Reservations in elected bodies
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Reservations in education
In India most of the scholarships or student aid is
available only toSCs, 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.
Advantages Of Reservation
system:
1 It result in India developing faster , because many
backward communities who are economically,
socially and mentally backward due to several
reasons and cannot compete in open competition,
get included in education and jobs without much
competition. Because of this the jobs and education
doesn't get acquired by only those advantaged
group, who comprises only around 15-20% of
population, and it get spread to around 50% of
population by reservation, and this is how
Reservation develops India fastly. Had there been no
reservation, most people of India hadn't developed
this much what they now, and development had
been reached only to 15-20% of population, who are
advantageous group to do better in open
competition. Think about the India where only 15-
20% who only comes from few particular
communities, hold all the jobs and their children
getting education in good institutions, and the same
communities are doing good again and again, and
its continually rotating, in education and acquiring
jobs because of their advantageous economical and
social position. The rest 80-85% will remained poor
for longer time as very few from them break this
vicious cycle of poverty and make their way towards
prosperity. How it will be when this will be the case?
India will not develop faster. So because of
reservation India develops faster, and very faster
than what India had developed without reservation.
2 It develops the business and businessman to a
greater extent: I feel that few people understands
that the probability of an individual (child) living a
prosperous and sufficient lifestyle in future depends
upon how prosperous people are there around him. In
the same way, growth of a businessmen very much
depends upon how rich and prosperous his customers
are. If a businessman have 1000 customers of below
poverty line, he is less likely to grow in economical
status much in comparison to a businessman who
have only 10 customers of very rich class. So, IMO
being rich in comparison to others is not important to
really being rich, but having rich customers is
important for growth of the business, and for that we
don't need to seek more rich customers, but to make
our customers richer. Indians don't seems to
understand this, and they like to keep others poor
while they themselves becoming prosperous, and
don't understand how others being poor severely
influence them and their children prosperity. Indians
keep pulling other people's legs for not letting them
grow economically and socially. It has to be
understood that people around us being prosperous is
very important for our prosperity, and this situation is
achieved through Reservation policy, as it develops
those who may not achieve jobs and better education
due to some of their disadvantages. It is because of
Reservations that India is growing as a big consumer
market, and Indian businessmans are becoming richer
and some have place in world's richest. Reservation
one way or the other effects all of our prosperity and
richness, due to which our people are now able to buy
goods of luxury brands, and with Reservation for
assured development of everyone, we cannot be that
prosperous, no matter how rich we might have felt in
comparison to our people. So, its very important to
raise people above from poverty, for our own
prosperity, as more manpower means strength, but
manpower being poor is weakness, so we need to take
away that poverty from the manpower, for our own
prosperity, and this is achieved by reservation policy.
Help eradicating casteism, mixing different
castes with each other, and develop
brotherhood: Think of a school where there is no SC,
ST and OBCs with UC, and only UCs are studying with
other UCs in their schools. Same for the schools for
SCs, STs, OBCs, that they are studying with the same
castes/class they belongs to. Wouldn't it be a shame
for our country? Think again, about that SCs, STs,
OBCs are not in the IITs, IIMs, AIIMS etc. Would it really
be good to feel about if there will be no SC, ST or OBC
in these institutions? For some people, yes, but, I am
sure, that it will be unacceptable for most peoples in
reality if they are well educated and have morals. It
can bring about serious questioning on caste system
and morals of the forefathers. Such things could be
very dividing and dissatisfying, and will either make
society more discriminatory or make it more rebelious.
Some people may think that such situation is what
exactly is desirable, but I think it could be very
undesirable situation. So such situation is not good,
and what reservation do is keep people away from
such dividing, dissatisfying situation, and most
importantly it gives a chance to get mixed with each
other, understand each other, befriend each other,
and know that we are almost the same keeping aside
the influence and prejudices created by society itself.
We are now befriend with other castes, understand
them, and even develop lifelong relationships, is all
because of reservations, indirectly. So what has not
achieved by 1000s of years of casteism in India, is
getting achieved by reservation in just 65 years of
reservation.
So these are the few advantages of reservation I think
about.
Disadvantage of Reservation
1. Likely only 1% of the total people blaming
reservations for them not being able to got admission
in IITs and IIMs and/or better colleges, lose the seats in
these institutions.
CONCLUSION
The issue of reservation has remained a cause of disagreement
between the reserved and the non- reserved sections of the
society. While the unreserved segments, keep on opposing the
provision, the neediest sections from within the reserved
segments are hardly aware about how to get benefited from the
provision or even whether there are such provisions.
On the contrary, the creamy layer among the same segment is
enjoying special privileges in the name of reservation and political
factions are supporting them for vote banks. Reservation is no
doubt good, as far as it is a method of appropriate positive
discrimination for the benefit of the downtrodden and
economically backward Sections o, the society but when it tends
to harm the society and ensures privileges for some at the cost of
others for narrow political ends, as it is in the present form, it
should be done away with, as soon possible.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WWW.YOURARTICLELIBRARY.COM
WWW.QUORA.COM
