ERADICATE CASTE; END RESERVATION: DEFEND NATION

Thousands of young and some not so young people have assembled at Jantar Mantar protesting against caste-based reservations in institutions of higher learning and all employments under state. Media coverage has been fairly muted. But police oppression has been far more violent and brutal than what was witnessed during Cockroach Janata Party led agitation. There are clips on social media platforms showing pro-reservation groups violently attacking peaceful protestors, and particularly targeting young women, right under the nose of police. Unfortunately, some cops also appear to be unleashing violence and intimidating protestors in total violation of law of the land.  

Protestors contend that they are facing brazen discrimination in a free society on basis of their identity; Despite doing significantly better on parameters of merit, their comparative access to opportunities far higher learning and employment with state has been curtailed. Whereas a small minority of richer members of SC, ST and Other Backward Communities, who collectively constitute nearly 75 percent of total population of the country are getting overly preferential treatment ignoring merit, skill and even threshold level of efficiency in institutions.  

They maintain that issue is not about employment and education lone. The entire process is undermining spirit of democracy, national cohesion and our aspiration for optimal and comprehensive advancement as a nation. Such open caste politics has eliminated space for political accountability and efficiency in governance. Even corruption appears justifiable on account of caste and identity politics. The entire issue has deepened caste divide that in return appears to have substantially hollowed out our democracy, where people no longer identify with each other as citizens. This is making a mockery of rule of law, free and fair competition as well as natural rights of all citizens as enshrined in the constitution. 

Reservation is a highly emotive issue that has polarised society to such an extent that a solution shall be extremely difficult for the same.  Beneficiaries of reservation allege systemic discrimination of their forefathers over centuries. There is enough substance in the same. Members of Dalit community have faced brazen discrimination until recently. But evidences suggest that these may have originated largely during medieval era when India itself was under foreign rule. The poorest among the local population were more oppressed than the rest. The remedial measures in form of reservation did help improve plight of Dalits in many pockets of the country. Yet poorest of the poor, continue to face indignity and humiliation irrespective of their identity.

But sustained political mobilisation in name of caste, over the last several decades, has vitiated entire social environment to an extent that emotional and psychological cohesion of India as a state and society has come under threat. I recall exchanging few words with an illustrious former civil servant turned former parliamentarian and former Minister a few months back. He cautioned me that even word against reservation could invite such mob lynching that one's corpse would be found only in some deep gutter and hence no sensible person should ever attempt it. 

Numerical arithmetic of caste politics is such that no political party could afford to oppose caste-based reservations. Simultaneously, there has been large-scale articulation of hate on social media against financially poorer members of so-called socially higher castes. Some of the majoritarian caste groups have threatened to expel and enslave section of so-called higher caste, violate their women and frame them up in fake cases as they controlled the systems now. They charge members of Brahmins, Thakurs and Vaishyas of denying rightful opportunities to majority of Indians. Such hate helps mobilise significant sections of Hindu population and entire Muslim population who otherwise account for over 90% of Indias against 10 percent of Savarna population.

National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Fairness

     The discourse over reservation has perverted into clash of sub-Hindu identities at the cost of national cohesion, efficient governance and rule of law. In contest of privileges, the very core principles of governance and national security and national power have been relegated to irrelevance. In eight decades of independence, massive social engineering and re-engineering has taken place. Many members of OBC, ST and SC have become financially and politically powerful. The current phenomenon is not merely about reverse discrimination alone. It is about entitlement at the cost of optimisation of national strength. It is true that several members of Dalit community and even OBC continue to live in abject poverty. Yet at the same time, a significant section from them who have been uplifted, continue to corner most benefits in name of disadvantaged caster. Simultaneously, many communities from the so-called higher caste were never wealthy and yet sections among them were charged with perverting religious practices and rituals especially during pre-independence days. Some of these atrocities keep happening even now. But it appears more an outcome of deficient rule of law.

Nationalist and patriotic forces who advocate national cohesion and rule of law, maintain that true issue is erosion of national cohesion and denial of equitable access to opportunities. These are crushing of the spirit of genuine competition that fosters excellence. The percetpion is gaining ground that the current system is breeding entitlement, obfuscating governance, legitimising corruption, and perpetuating societal fissure. All of these seriously threaten our long-term security and optimal progress as a state and civilisation. Indiscriminate and sustained use of reservations no longer remains a ladder to uplift the disadvantaged. It has rather become a fortress for vested interests, possibly pursuing geopolitical agenda of global deep states seeking to crush optimal progress of India. They need not wage a war for this. By foisting mediocrity and entitlements at cost of excellence, innovation and integrity, they shall be able to choke optimal progress of India.

    Genesis of Reservation: From Interim measure in 1950 to Mandal Commission:

Reservations were brought in Indian constitution, initially for 15 years only as an interim measure to ensure representation for most impoverished and deprived castes as well as certain tribes in govt services and institutions of higher learning only as an interim measure. Simultaneously, it was expected that with rule of law, universal access to quality education and creation of dignified employment opportunities for all, the need for reservations shall  end. However, reverse happened. Successive regimes found reservation as a convenient tool for political mobilisation. No one dared ending reservation in 1965 and it has been successively extended. In fact hundreds of newer communities have been added in the list of Scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribe with suspected agenda of expanding support base.

Amidst all these, Mandal Commission recommendations were implemented sometime in 1990. The background of its implementation was interesting.  Vishwanath Pratap Singh, the then Prime Minister who had formed a government following 1989 polls suddenly found himself in precarious position following withdrawal of support by his associate Chaudhary Devi Lal, a political strong man from Haryana. It is believed that it was out of panic that Singh implemented these recommendations that were lying cold storage. His objective was to surge mass support in his favour by stoking caste identity. He did it at a time when sections of Indians were talking about implementation of Directive Principles of State Policy, which envisioned building a fairer, just and an achievement-oriented society.

     Implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations in 1990 had triggered violent protests, including suicides among students. A large number of youth and leaders from even OBC communities had voiced their apprehension that the move would deeply fracture in India’s social fabric and national cohesion.

    Since then reservation has appeared less about empowerment of communities and more about political arithmetic that has allowed successive regimes evade accountability on governance performance and hide behind caste arithmetic and oppress anyone who questioned them. It was remarkable that in 2014, BJP was able to bridge caste divide to a substantial extent by securing landslide victory in name of Hindu unity. This was the era when UPA regime appeared too meek to resist sustained Islamic terror attacks and was overly placating Muslim hardline groups by going soft on Islamic terrorism.

The Enormity of the Problem

    The issue of reservation appears to have assumed monstrous proposition since then. There have been instances where people with minus or big negative markings have secured seats in specialist branches of medical and engineering colleges whereas those with much higher positive marks have missed out. This is being cited as day light murder of merit, which is impacting comprehensive performance of the nation and bringing down standards in every sphere. India’s premier medical and engineering institutions, such as AIIMS and IITs, have witnessed repeated controversies where merit seats shrink and reserved seats expand disproportionately. The net consequence is serious decline in institutional excellence. When doctors, engineers and scientists are recruited not over competence but over caste, the sanctity of healthcare delivery to national infrastructure and scientific progress of the nation appear compromised or sub-optimal. 

    Similar is the plight of civil service. Leadership level roles in bureaucracy are not meant for employment generation. These are expected to provide high quality regulatory and enforcement services to drive excellence in overall governance and national productivity. But the steel frame of state is being held hostage to caste identities. Officers are recruited and promoted not on performance but on entitlements. Corruption is justified in the name of caste loyalty. Rich elites within backward communities ensure their dominance by keeping their own communities poor, thereby perpetuating dependency and resentment.

 Identity Obscures Performance in Governance

 Governance parameters—efficiency, innovation, accountability—become irrelevant in Indian democracy where caste loyalty supersedes competence. Ministries, universities, and public institutions are filled with individuals who owe their position less to excellence and more to entitlement.

Corruption, nepotism, and rent‑collection are rationalised are more often, in private,in name of empowerment of backward and oppressed communities and their right to help out their own community. The rule of law has been turning increasingly unsustainable amidst rising levels of corruption and caste loyalty. Individuals even within the backward and scheduled communities lack motivation and urge to optimise their potential and excel to the best of their capacity. The net outcome is institutionalisation of mediocrity and total cap on innovation. This is what explains an entire ecosystem, characterised by corruption, entitlement and reservation, where Indians living inside India are rarely known for excellence and innovation whereas same Indians do so very well once they migrate to advanced economies and societies, governed by higher quality of rule of law and meritocracy.

Elites from SC/ST and OBC communities have become disproportionately powerful in politics and business. Even Prime Minister of India has repeatedly claimed that he belongs to one of the most "backward" communities. This is a clear indicator that definition and meaning of backward has nothing to do with deprivation. Wealthy members of these communities, otherwise monopolise benefits, while the genuinely poor remain excluded. This entrenches inequality within communities and perpetuates resentment across society.

 Need for A Deep and Long View

    Indians, especially their elite, need to extricate themselves from self-seeking petty parochialism and mutual hate towards each other. There are many case studies by eminent sociologists like M N Srinivas, Yogendra Singh, Ghurye, Andre Beteille etc who have demonstrated that castes or Varnas were never closed groups. Even royalties, after defeat in wars were condemned to status of outcastes or Dalits whereas leather workers became Brahmins and tribals and Shudras became Kshatriyas and royalty. The word Dasa and Dasyu has been intermittently used in Vedic texts appears more in context of tamed communities who might have been violent and aggressive otherwise and robbing or attacking the dominant tribes.

    Contrary to Islamist historians seeking to project that India also practiced organised slavery, Kautilyan work or for that matter its predecessors like Parashara, Bharadvaja, Vaisalksha, Vatavyadhi, Pisuna etc have never mentioned about organised slavery. One of the primary reasons that ancient India lacked impressive monuments like palaces of Kings or private tomb of royals and elite was absence of organised slavery. All mega structures all over the world – varying from Egypt, Rome, West Asia and China etc had been built by slave labour. Whole of West continued to trade in slave labour until the end of 19^th Century. Even Oxford and Cambridge history of India written in 19th Century by the Western experts have maintained children from same family were assigned different castes depending upon their aptitude and ability. It is unfortunate that in course of time these divisions became hereditary.

    Things could never have been ideal in an externally subjugated prosperous society. Hereditary entitlement in name of caste may have played a prominent role in decay and degeneration of India. It is time that Indians realised this and came out of this trap to appreciate their real governance challenges and priorities.

Meritocracy Alone Sustains Excellence

    A vibrant society thrives on meritocracy and fair competition. Entitlement driven politics or bureaucracy or political mobilisation in name of caste robs  democracy and patriotism of its soul. Instead of uniting citizens under a common identity, caste and entitlement fractures society and kills excellence.

    We have seen how societies like Singapore have risen from poverty to prosperity by institutionalising meritocracy and not seeking refuge in entitlements. Competence, innovation, and integrity sustain all round excellence of that island nation. Similarly, South Korea’s investment in universal education and competition transformed it into a technological powerhouse. Norway or model democracies of Scandinavia have institutionalised fairness and equal opportunity in all dimensions of life to outperform giant states on parameters of public infrastructure and efficiency of governance institutions. Even China’s sustained surge is driven by exceptional level of meritocracy and performance driven specialist leadership in civil service. India has enormous potential and strengths. Reservations is not the sole form of entitlement but it would be seen that the biggest votaries of reservations are all entitlement driven dynasts in Indian politics and the rest have also fallen in the trap. On the other hand, we have allowed entitlements and caste politics to crush our comprehensive potential and national cohesion.

 Towards Future

India needs to restructure its bureaucracy, the enforcement arm of state to ensure:

1. Universal Access to Quality Education : investments in schools, universities, and vocational training can enhance productive capacities of our entire population. Instead of raising competition for few super rewarding jobs, every job should offer a degree of dignity and reasonable level of economic security.

2. Creation of a culture of genuine leadership  at district level: Instead of current collector Raj, I have recommended creation of capable people’s representatives and experienced and mature CEOs from bureaucracy. They must plan and build capacities in collaboration with all concerned within the state and central govts to ensure gainful employability of entire population. Details in this direction are available in my interviews and other papers.

3. Universities, civil services, judiciary and defence forces are strictly kept away from caste politics:  These must induct and reward incumbents on basis of performance and excellence.

     We are living in a highly competitive world. We must appreciate that any fissiparous or divisive measure that fractures our national cohesion and leads to sub-optimal performance on governance parameters threatens not merely national cohesion but also our long-term security as a nation.Reservation was conceived as an interim corrective. It has long outlived its utility. Its time we transcended from caste divide to national cohesion.  Perpetuation of every form of entitlement threatens our national cohesion and national power. We must move towards creating fair and equitable opportunities for all and harness the same for optimising our collective strength as a nation. Liberation from caste and religious divide is a precondition for this purpose.

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