India ready for quota? Question merits debate

OPINION WITHOUT RESERVATIONS: SC upholds OBC quota but keeps creamy layer off it. Is it a right decision?

              

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Rajdeep Sardesai

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Keywords: The Quota Question, Reservation

To this, Gupta said, "The politicians who want the creamy layer to be retained in the quota purview are expressing partisanship in a very bare-knuckled, in your face, no holds barred kind of attitude - which would really be shocking anywhere else in the world."

However, he added that if the creamy layer was allowed in, then one would have taken away the raison d'être (reason for being) of the reservation system.

"Remember also, that the Mandal formula gave 12 points to social backwardness and only four points to economic backwardness, which only showed that Mandal wanted to camouflage the interests of the well-to-do backward class people. This is exactly why certain politicians are so interested in keeping up Mandal," he stated.

Education: A mission impossible for backwards

Gupta made a very valid point saying that as far as going to the people was concerned, the poor backward class people in villages are not really thinking of IITs and IIMs.

"For these people, even going to school is like mission impossible. Will any of these creamy layer people ever stand up for the people in the villages? Never. They are simply thinking of their own career prospects," he said.

Keeping this point in mind, one would like to know whether the Supreme Court judgement at any point say that primary education and secondary education are what need to be focussed and improved upon in terms of quality and access? This is something that was extremely important, much before one can move to reservation.

Harish Salve defended the Supreme Court saying that Justice Bhandari's judgement was a scathing indictment of the manner in which one never talks of primary eduction, but always talk of reservation in IIMs and IITs.

"Justice Bhandari's judgement and the Chief Justice's judgement reflect this concern. The entire fight against the creamy layer gives out the true motivation of what exactly is going on here. This particular judgement resonates economic criteria over and over again as a very important part of classification of classes," he stated.

Rajiv Gandhi did not approve of Mandal

Salve also brought forth the point that one of the most scathing indictments of Mandal ever was Rajiv Gandhi's speech in Parliament as the leader of Opposition. At that time, Rajiv Gandhi had blasted the Mandal report to bits.

For years, the Congress was very critical of the Mandal report. In fact, right through the 80s, the Congress did not support the Mandal report. It was V P Singh who brought the Mandal report in. Today, Arjun Singh has adopted Mandal - Mandal Part II in a sense - and the Congress is embracing it.

Rajiv Gandhi had clearly stated that society would be divided because of reservations.