Parliament alone must rewrite the rules on SC/ST engagement

First, the good news!

 

That the Supreme Court (SC) has recommended the need for a sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) on economic grounds shows that India’s Reservation policy works. If it had not then SCs and STs would have remained a wretched homogeneous category as they were at Independence. 

 

If the Supreme Court verdict becomes law, it might lead to a fresh round of inter-SC tensions of the kind that never quite happened before. Those castes who may now be dispossessed of Reservations’ benefits, on account of their income, will not lick their wounds in silence. Their views count as they are political heavyweights in large parts of India and have been so for a long time.

 

Clearly, the Apex Court’s decision to deny SC/ST Reservation benefits to those with high incomes is based on good common sense but not good jurisprudence. The two, as we all know are not the same which is why we need lawyers. The judicial tangle will show up when income (no matter what the upper limit) is used to denote the ”creamy layer” among SCs. Here comes the Constitutional hurdle.

 

Once income enters the picture, the Constitutional position on SC/ST Reservations is threatened. As incomes are uneven within all castes, the creamy layer will have to be arrived at individually. This cannot be a community decision. To deny a poor Jatav Reservation benefits because many others in the same community are well off would be grossly unfair and, worse, Unconstitutional too.

 

Our leaders put it in writing, over 70 years ago, that economics should not be used to designate SCs and STs even if some among them are marginally better off. What was most pressing then was to end the misery of those cursed by their caste. As income differences would deflect attention from this overwhelming goal, it was best to treat SCs as a homogenous group for Reservation purposes.

 

On this matter, the Constitution has firmly shut its doors. To yank it open in this fashion might add to the problem instead of sorting it out. Properly speaking, introducing the “creamy layer” in SC/ST Reservations requires first and foremost, Parliamentary,  and not judicial assent. Even states cannot decide on this much as they are straining at the leash to do so for obvious political gains.

 

Though the judges have not recommended the Mandal model to designate the “creamy layer”, but what else is there? The way Reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) were framed by Mandal gave the mistaken impression that that the “C” here stands for “Caste” and not “Class”. This slippage occurred because Mandal gave many more points to caste based “social backwardness” than to income. 

 

Though the space allotted to income was cramped by Mandal, it could formally enter the frame because OBC Reservations were ostensibly meant for “classes”, and not “castes”. This is why, before factoring income in SC and ST Reservations, the matter must go to Parliament first and not to Judges. 

 

Further, those castes that will be hurt by sub-divisions are socially well networked. More importantly, they are often the most numerous among the SCs in their regions and are, hence, political assets. For example, in Maharashtra, the Mahars (Dr. Ambedkar’s caste) constitute 38 per cent of the SC population and in Uttar Pradesh (UP) the Jatavs (Mayawati’s caste) weigh in at 54 per cent. 

 

These numbers clearly makes them electorally valuable. In addition, these two castes economically lead other SCs, in their respective states, by more than a nose. Hardly surprising, then, that they have historically been political vanguards of SC mobilisations too. Under the leadership of Ambedkar and Mayawati all SCs found a voice even if some were much louder than the others.

 

This is not an uncommon story, though in some states the competition between SCs can be more intense. For instance, the Madiga are 48 per cent of the SC population in United Andhra Pradesh, but the Malas aren’t far behind with a strength of 40 per cent. The Malas are somewhat better off than the Madigas and also claim to be superior on the ritual scale. The Madigas, however, are in no mood to agree.

 

Both the BJP and the Congress have sensed the rivalry between the two and have moved in for the kill. While the BJP ostensibly leaned towards the Madigas, the Congress favoured Malas with election tickets. Also, Madiga and Mala are umbrella terms for they are finely sliced internally into 18 and 25 separate groups, respectively, and they are not always politically aligned.

 

Jatavs, too have their job cut out for they have to fend off 65 other aspiring SCs in UP. In time to come, there will be a crush to board that bus, and some could also go under it. Far from ending caste consciousness, this might well spike it. There are about 1,200 SCs, and even if Madigas, Mahars and Jatavs are kept out, not all will not get their seats at once. Periodically, this will create fresh heartburn.

 

This is why it is best to take the Parliamentary route first.

 

( The author is a leading sociologist and public intellectual; he taught in Jawaharlal Nehru University )