From crutches to physiotherapy
Balbir K. Punj

The All India SC&ST Confederation's rally at Delhi's Ram Lila Maidan in support of reservation in private sector, judiciary and armed forces portends major economic and social upheaval. Ironically, Mr Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic liberalisation, on becoming Prime Minister, exhorted the corporate sector to adopt a policy of caste-based reservations. The Congress Government in Andhra Pradesh tried to test waters by declaring five per cent reservation for Muslims, which may have become a blueprint for the UPA Government's policies. The Defence Minister has sent verbal instructions for providing 20 per cent quota to minority (read Muslims) community in paramilitary forces. Where are we heading for with this policy of reservation?

When Rajiv Goswami, the poster boy of anti-Mandal agitation died earlier this year, the media remembered him less for his attempt at self-immolation and more for the oblivion he had slipped into. It saw him as an antedeluvian icon, whose legend was out of sync with the call centre era. The fundamentals of the job market that had begun to change within a year (1991) came of age during the NDA years. Though Rajiv Goswami himself never got a government job despite no hike in reservation, many of his batch mates did get into private sector jobs created by liberalisation. The unexpected return of reservation issue is poised to upturn the applecart.

Obviously, jobs in the Government sector are shrinking. Economic considerations have forced the Government to even withdraw scheme of pensions for those recruited after December 31, 2001. Wishes might be horses for the Marxists, but PF rates can never be so for UPA despite its claim of being a people's Government. Hence, proponents of reservation have now targeted the private sector. But the operational grammar of that sector is completely different.

The definition of private sector has changed in the last 13 years. Once synonymous with few industrial houses, MNCs and pharmaceutical companies, it now includes BPOs, call centres, IT majors, media companies and biotech to name just a few. Not only economy but also technology has changed dramatically. Does the scheme of reservation fit into this transformed world?

Demands for reservation are indicative of a parasitic mindset that overlooks the gospel of construction, "Let others fight for building the asset, we want fixed share of pie when it's built." Moreover, the policy of reservation made more sense in government jobs that are relatively stable-one entered at the age of 21 and retired at 58. However, private sector is characterised by retrenchment, closure, merger, acquisition and sell-offs. These can affect the fortunes of all employees including those who have gained entry through reservation. However, simultaneously, an employee in the private sector can move from one organisation to the next and perhaps venture into his own business. Thus, except for the top brass, private sector is a place for young people.

While an employer is biased against those who are above 35, the employee himself views reaching the age with dissatisfaction. Private sector doesn't go by fixed rules of stipulated salary hike and timely promotions. It goes by performance, incentives and the ability to strike a deal with the employer. It is not compatible with reservation. "Brain Drain" occurred when the country offered no scope for employment for those who were both competent and educated. By sealing the prospects of employment in the private sector, we will create new section of "deprived people".

But then should we not work towards an economically less disparate and socially more harmonious society? We must, otherwise the goal of development will be lost. The goal of development is not to make the strong weak, but the reverse. Babasaheb Ambedkar did not want reservations because he did not consider it the panacea for the emancipation of Dalits. He was himself a highly educated professional lawyer; and he wanted education, not reservation, to be the instrument of Dalit empowerment. But whether it is secularism or reservations, those who pretend to be the followers of Ambedkar, reinterpret him in the opposite manner.

In the present economic order the positions of OBCs, SC&ST, and Dalits can be alleviated (which are mutually on antagonistic terms) by opening avenues for self-employment or generating regular business. Chandrabhan Prasad in his column Dalit Dairy once lauded Vajpayee who advocated this proposal. For instance, an ITDC hotel's requirement of a stock of grocery, greengrocery, dairy products run up to several hundreds of kilos every day. People from disadvantaged sections of society can be given preference for meeting whole or part of this demand. This, in any case, is better than affixing an employment quota when even regular employees are losing jobs due to losses and disinvestment.

Moreover, the Armed forces should be kept out of this divisive and debilitating policy of reservation. In fact, the SC&STs and OBCs will lose nothing since there are plenty of unfilled posts in the armed forces. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee recently deplored the fact that so many posts in Indian Navy were lying vacant. So many unfilled vacancies at junior commissioned officer or soldier's level can imperil our country's security in the long run. Muslim intellectuals have often pressed for increasing the Muslim quota in the Armed forces. That may be seen as their dream of reestablishing Muslim dominance over India. India is secular because Hindus constitute the majority of its population, but something counts more than the civil population and that it is the Armed forces where Hindus and Sikhs predominate.

But if Hindus, especially caste Hindus of this populous nation, are reluctant to come forward in enlisting themselves in Army, it is not appropriate to turn away those who are coming forward. From Rana Pratap's Veel forces to Albert Ekka and the Bangladesh war, Dalits, tribals and OBCs have remained a major part of the fighting force. Mr Udit Raj should not waste time in asking for reservations in armed forces, he just needs to send his boys for recruitment. Instead of lowering once own morale and crippling the economy with reservation mentality, it is more honourable to come and bravely join the Army. The country should welcome any body who is prepared to defend its borders.

The Janata Party Government (1977-79) had set up a commission under parliamentarian BP Mandal. Its task was to undertake a study and suggest means to ameliorate the condition of the traditionally disadvantaged sections of society. It had suggested 27 per cent quota for OBCs and 22.5 per cent for SC&STs over the already existing reservations. The Indira Gandhi Government that followed and before which the report was presented, threw it into garbage bin. She felt it would reinforce the caste divide in society, that had been on the wane since Independence.

However, VP Singh; imposed the suggestions mentioned in the report, with the sole intention of getting even with his Deputy Prime Minister and rival in the National Front Government, Chaudhary Devi Lal. He intended to take the wind out of the sail of the Jat leader's campaign who had planned a massive farmers' rally at the Boat Club against the policies of the National Front Government. Mr Singh's decision was not born out of concern for OBCs, but sheer political vendetta. The blazing protest against Mandal Commission in the cities of northern India split Indian society horizontally. No body wants a repetition of those days.

Fortunately, the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and Ram Rath Yatra undertaken by Mr Lal Krishna Advani preserved the integrity of Hindu society at that critical hour. People do not stop to contemplate on this positive aspect of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. While we believe in harmony and empowerment of all sections, it is neither economically nor socially viable to practice politics of reservation. Reservations are crutches, we need social physiotherapy.