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November 2017 Edition of Power Politics is updated.  Happy Diwali to all our subscribers and Distributors       November 2017 Edition of Power Politics is updated.   Happy Diwali to all our subscribers and Distributors       
Issue:Sep' 2017

OTHER BACKWARD CASTES

Who cares for social justice?

Veeraiah Konduri

This is the irony of democracy and politics. The Party that staunchly opposed the VP Singh government's decision to implement the Mandal Commission recommendations is now claiming that carrying forward of social justice (foundational ethos of Mandal Commission) as their ideal. The sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes is a contentious issue since the time of the Mandal Comission. Mr. L.R. Naik, member of that commission in his dissent note proposed to divide the OBCs into intermediate backward classes and other depressed backward classes, i.e. most backward classes. But the Mandal Commission went by the law of the land as on day. The office memorandum issued while initiating implementation of the Mandal Commission categorically stated, " the criteria for determining the poorer sections of other economically backward sections of the people who are not covered by any of the existing schemes of reservations are being issued separately :" The Union Government constituted a Commission.

The Finance minister, while briefing the then Cabinet decisions to the press, not only informed that the Cabinet will soon set up a commission to examine subcategorisation of Other Backward Classes in the Central list of reserved categories, but also made it clear " the proposed commission would submit its report within 12 weeks from the day its chairman is appointed.

VP Singh promising to implement the Mandal report in an election rally in 1989 1. To examine the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes or communities included in the broad category of Other Backward Classes with reference to such classes included in the Central List, 2. To work out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for subcategorisation within such other backward classes , and 3. To take up the exercise of identifying the respective castes or communities or sub-castes or synonyms in the Central List of Other Backward Classes and classifying them into their respective subcategories.
Two issues come to the fore with this decision. The first one, whether the said move of tectonic nature is the brain child of the BJP/ Modi government? Secondly whether the government is carried away under the necessities of political exigencies? This also raises the question whether the BJP government headed by Narendra Modi does have any holistic idea and comprehended with the gravity of the issue? The second issue is the irreconcilability of the TOR, under which the new Commission had to perform.
The National Commission for Backward Classes passed resolution in its meeting on 18th February 2015 conceding the need for subcategorisation and also proposed three umbrella categories to be carved out from among the centrally listed OBCs. Thus, like many other so-called initiatives of this Government, the idea and process for subcategorisation, is also already in the pipeline and the erstwhile Governments' completed the ground work and got the launch pad ready for successive government. But nowhere this is revealed.

Narendra Modi, Amit Sah and Arun Jaitley The modus operandi of the BJP administration is evident even in the case of appointing the said commission. Long back on August 23, 2017, top guns in the Modi administration, Amit Sah and Arun Jaitley told about the ensuing Commission for sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes. Amit Shah, well before the Parliament took up constitutional status of the National Commission for Backward Classes, said in a statement that the various BJP state government's attempts of subcategorising the OBC was proved beneficial and the Modi government is inclined to scale up the task at national level.
The Finance minister, while briefing the then Cabinet decisions to the press, not only informed that the Cabinet will soon set up a commission to examine sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes in the Central list of reserved categories, but also made it clear " the proposed commission would submit its report within 12 weeks from the day its chairman is appointed. The main task of the commission would be to examine the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among caste and communities which would include the broad categories of OBCs included in the Central List" (ANI). This makes it clear that the said decision was taken long back but the government was only waiting for an occasion to launch it, akin to the typical style of Modi style.
Coming to the second question, whether the Modi government had done its homework before belling the cat. To answer this we need to further look into the NCBC's March 2015 report. The NCBC, in its recommendation to the Government two years back, clearly stated the questions for consideration. It asked the Union government to examine, "(i) a policy decision of the Government to

Assessing the quantum of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation itself requires laborious process given the fact that as on today there are 2683 centrally listed Other Backwards Castes. But the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment told media that they had the data of 5000 castes. No one knows what is the dimensions of data the minister refers to.

go ahead, with this nationwide exercise of Sub-Categorisation within the OBCs; (ii) an in-principle approval of the Government for the methodology, the number of subcategories and other issues related thereto as indicated in the report, (iii) Agree to provide necessary funding for undertaking this nationwide project with the help of an expert body like ICSSR." While conceding the UPA's idea of Sub-Categorisation, the NCBC in its March 2015 issued a warning about the finalization of modalities. According to NCBC, "even for submitting the proposal of subcategorisation into three groups, the expert opinion of an expert body like ICSSR is required to be obtained for finalization of indicators, criteria, norms and methodology, etc among OBCs."
The NCBC felt such an expert advice is necessarily important to avoid any kind of mismanagement of the issue. That is why the NCBC warned the Government to go with the ICSSSR guidance while reclassifying the OBCs into three new categories. The verbatim of the government decision clearly shows the short circuiting of the key process of undertaking of a nation-wide exercise under the guidance of subject expert group to be constituted by the ICSSR in consultation with the Ministry of Social Justice, for a better and rational outcome. Instead of undertaking a nation wide special study oriented exercise to meet the occasion, the BJP government cut short the whole exercise to the level of standard government enquiry committee mode.
The above facts gives in impression that the BJP government is going by the electoral exigencies rather than compulsions of social justice and equitable distribution of benefits. The given tasks are not supposed to be met merely by persons of legal standing. Assessing the quantum of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation itself requires laborious process given the fact that as on today there are 2683 centrally listed Other Backwards Castes. But the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment told media that they had the data of 5000 castes.
No one knows what is the dimensions of data the minister refers to?