Politicalisation of Reservation

FINAL SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE COURSE

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW-I,SEMESTER V DURING THE ACADEMIC
YEAR 2018-19

SUBMITTED BY:-
SWATI KUMARI

Roll No-171571,B.A.LL.B(hons)

SUBMITTED TO:-
Dr. Annirudh Prasad

Faculty of Contitutinal law-I

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

NYAYA NAGAR, MITHAPUR, PATNA

21-08-2019

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 Table of Contents

Declaration 3

Acknowledgement 4

Research Methodology 5

Chapter 1 – Introduction 8

Chapter 2 –Concept of Reservation and various kinds of Reservation 10

Chapter 3 –Committee and Commission on the issue of Reservation 11

Chapter 4 – Implementation of Reservation and Development 15

Chapter 5 - Politicalisation of Reservation 19

Chapter 6- Conclusion 21

Bibliography

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 Declaration by the candidate
I hereby declare that the work reported in the B.A. LL.B (Hons.) Project Report entitled

“POLITICALISATION OF RESERVATION” carried out under the supervision of Dr.

Annirudh Prasad, Faculty of Constitutional Law,Chanakya National law
University. I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am fully
responsible for the contents of my Project Report.

Swati Kumari

Chanakya National Law University, Patna

20/08/19

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me immense pleasure to express my gratitude towards all those who have helped and
encouraged me for the completion of this project. They all rendered their valuable time and
services in making this project a success.

Firstly, I would like to thank the all mighty God for blessing and giving me support in
completing this project. I take this opportunity to express my deep regards to my guide, Dr.
Manoranjan Kumar for his exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement
throughout the course of this thesis.

At last, but not the least, I express my sincere thanks to my parents for their generous support
and cooperation throughout the project.

Swati Kumari

5th Semester

B.A. LL.B. (Hons) Chanakya National Law University

AIMS & OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

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The objective of the researcher is:

 To know the nature & scope of the politicalisation of reservation

 To study in deep reservation in education, in employment and to study how reservation
has got politicalised.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 Doctrinal method :- Books, internet, journals, judgements etc.

 Researcher is mainly relying on library based study.

SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION

Primary sources- Statutes, precedent & other official documents.

Secondary sources-Websites, articles, news paper, books, journals etc

LIMITATION & SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Due to lack of time and lack of resources my research work is wholly based on doctrinal method
of research, my research work doesn’t rely on non-doctrinal research or empirical research.

Chapter -1

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 INTRODUCTION
The Indian society is characterized by a high degree of inequality based on the tenets of the caste
system and this caste system is highly exclusionary in nature. Exclusion is integral to the system
and thus a consequence of its basic features. Social exclusion between caste groups is ensured
through the practices of endogamy and social separation. In retrospect every caste except those at
the top of the caste hierarchy has suffered from unequal and hierarchal assignment of rights. The
erstwhile oppression people having been located at the bottom of the caste hierarchy are the ones
who suffered the most. For instance apart from manual labor and some occupations that were
considered impure and polluting the erstwhile deprived communities were denied the right to do
business or own property. They were even denied the right to education and civil cultural and
religious rights. Besides they have been made to suffer from residential segregation and social
isolation because they are considered impure and polluting and not fit for social association by
the high castes. After independent the father of Indian constitution Dr. B.R. Ambedkar has
adopted democracy system in the constitution. 1 Now we are living in the greatest democratic
system of India. The principle of democracy people should have equal representation in the all
sections of the nation. Based on the principle of democracy, reservation policy is a series of
affirmative action’s undertaken through reserving access to seats for equal representation in the
government jobs, higher educational institutions and politics to providing reservation for socially
and educationally backwards in India. Reservation policy not had the results aspired to, as it has
not been backed by a more holistic programme that truly addresses historic oppression and
inequality. Reservation is governed by constitutional laws, and local rules and regulations.
Scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes and in some states Backward
Classes among Muslims under a category called BCM are the primary beneficiaries of the
reservation policies under the constitution. The spirit of equal representation pervades the
provisions in the Indian constitution. The main aim of the founder of Indian constitution was to
create an egalitarian society wherein social, economic and political justice prevailed and equality
of status and opportunity are made available to all.

Reservation in Ancient period

1
Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar: Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar writing and speeches, 1, (3, 5, 7)

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 In the ancient pried the Hindu society is divided into four varna, or classes, a convention which
had its origins in the Rig Veda, the first and most important set of hymns in Hindu scripture
which dates back to 1500-1000 B.C.3 At the top of the hierarchy are the Brahmins, or priests,
followed by the Kshatriyas, or warriors. The Vaisyas, the farmers and artisans, constitute the
third class. At the bottom are the Shudras, the class responsible for serving the three higher
groups. Finally, the Untouchables fall completely outside of this system. So Under the caste
system the Brahmin occupied top of the hierarchy whereas the former untouchable occupied the
lowest position in the society. The untouchables known as scheduled castes are the lowest ranked
not only in term of social position but also in term of economy, education and so on. Apart from
the scheduled castes and another community of Indian society which is considered as most
deprived economically, educationally etc. Are the Scheduled tribes. 2 Apart from these
communities the other backward castes or other backward classes also occupy the low position in
the society.

Reservation in Modern Period:

During modern era in 1932 the depressed class led by Dr. B.R Ambedkar demanded for separate
electorate like that of Muslim and other minorities. The Prime Minster of Britain Ramsay
Macdonald also conceded the award to the depressed classes. But to save the life of M.K Gandhi
who had begun a fast unto death at the yeravadh prison of Poona, against the communal award to
depressed classes Dr. B.R Ambedkar and other depressed class leaders agreed to modify the
award. As a result Poona pact was signed. Under this agreement instead of separate electorates
reservation of 78 seats was provided. Before independence the reservation systems favoring
certain castes and other communities existed before independence in several areas of British
India.3 Demands for various forms of positive discrimination had been made for example in 1882
and 1891. Chatrapati Shahu the king of princely state of Kolhapur introduced reservation in
favor of non Brahmin and backward classes much of which came into force in 1902. He
provided free education to everyone and opened several Hostels to make it easier for them to
receive it. He also tried to ensure that people thus educated were suitably employed and he
appealed both for a class free India and the abolition of untochability. His 1902 measures created

2
Subhash C. Kashyap: Our constitution (An introduction to India’s constitution and Constitutional law)
3
David beetham and Kevin Boyle: Democracy

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50 % of reservation for backward communities. The British government introduced elements of
reservation in the Government of Indian Council Act of 1909 and there were many other
measures put in place prior to independence. A significant one emerged from the Round table
Conference of June 1932. According to the Communal award separate representation was to be
provided for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo Indians and Europeans. The depressed
classes were assigned a number of seats to be filled by election from constituencies in which
only they could vote although they could also vote in other seats. The proposal was controversial
M.K Gandhi fasted in protest against it but many among the depressed classes including their
leader Dr. B.R Ambedkar favored it. After negotiations Gandhi reached an agreement with Dr.
B.R Ambedkar to have a single Hindu electorate with Dalits having seats reserved within it.
Electorates for other religions such as Islam and Sikhism remained separate. This becomes
known as the Poona Pact. After the independence of India in 1947 there were some major
changes in favor of the scheduled Castes, scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. A
common form of caste discrimination in India has been the practice of untochability. SCs were
the primary targets of the practice which was outlawed by the new Constitution of India. In 1954
the Ministry of education suggested that 20 percent of places should be reserved for the SC and
STs in educational institutions with a provision to relax minimum qualifying markes for
admission by 5 percent wherever required.4 In 1982 it was specified that 15 percent and 7.5
percent of vacancies in public sector and government aided educational institutes should be
reserved for the SC and ST candidates respectively. A significant change began in 1978 when the
Mandal Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally
backward classes. The commission did not have exact population figures for the OBCs and so
used data from the 1931 census thus estimating the group’s population at 52 percent. In 1980 the
commission’s report recommended that a reserved quota for OBCs of 27 percent should apply in
respect of services and public sector bodies operated by the Union Government. It called for a
similar change to admission to institutes of higher education except where states already had
more generous requirements. It was not until the 1990 that the recommendations were
implemented in Union Government jobs.

Chapter-2

4
Ashok Yadav: Concepts of reservation 2009 retrieved on 19-10-2015

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 CONCEPT OF RESERVATION AND VARIOUS KINDS OF
RESERVATION

According to justice chinappa reddy: “Reservation is not a charity it is representation.”

Reservation in common terms refers to an act of reserving keeping back or withholding
reservation in India law is a form of affirmative action Whereby a percentage of seats are
reserved in the public sector union and state civil services union and state government
departments and in all public and private educational institutions except in the religious or
linguistic minority educational institutions for the socially and educationally backward
communities and the represented in these services and institutions. The reservation policy is also
extended for the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes for representation
in the parliament of India.5 And this representation is giving to the unrepresented community.

Reservation in Legislature:

The constitution empowers the state to take steps to provide due representation to the scheduled
caste and scheduled tribes. Various articles contain provision for the reservation of seats for the
scheduled caste and scheduled tribes in the nation’s legislative assembly of the states. Article
332 in Municipalities Article 243 T in various panchayat (local self government) level bodies,
namely, village, taluk and district Article 243 D. In the parliament caste and tribe based
reservations are provided to make it more representative today out of 543 seats in India’s
parliament 84 (15.47%) are reserved for SC and 47 (8.66%) for ST. Allocation of seats for
scheduled caste and scheduled tribes in the Lok Sabha are made on the basis of proportion of SC
and STs in the State concerned to that of the total population.6 A similar percentage of exclusive
seats have been provided for members of designated SC and ST in each state legislature. Local
self government has SC, ST and gender based reservation system in place.

Reservation in Education:

5
Sukhadeo Thorat and Chittaranjan Senapati: Reservation in Employment, Education and Legislature – Status and
Emerging Issues.
6
Prabuddha Bharata kannada monthly paper (Karnataka) – March – 2014, October – 2014 and July – 2016

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According to Article 21(A), every child should have free education under the 14 years old. And
In the case of education provision relates to non discrimination in educational institutions, equal
representations, and measures for educational promotions. Article 15 (4) states that “Nothing in
this article shall prevent the state from making any special provision for the advancement of any
socially and educationally backward classes for the scheduled caste and the scheduled tribes”. 7
Article 29 (2) provides protection for admission and against discrimination in any educational
institution maintained by the state or receiving aid out of state funds on grounds only of religion,
race, caste, language or any of them.

Reservation in Employment:

The constitution provides for both appointment and promotion in the government service. Article
16 (4) empowers the state to make any provision for the reservation in appointments, or posts in
favour of any backward class of citizens. Article 16 (4A) enables the state to make provision for
reservation in matters of promotion to any group or groups of posts in the services under the state
in favour of the Scheduled caste and scheduled tribes. 8 Article 335 states the claims of the
members of the Scheduled caste and scheduled tribes shall be taken into consideration
consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration in the making of appointment
of service and posts in connection with the affairs of the union or of a state

Chapter-3

COMMITTEE AND COMMISSION ON THE ISSUE OF RESERVATION

7
Bhimasen Hantal: Highlights on Reservation Policy in India
8
Education Safeguards, Department of education. Government of India. Archived from the original on 19 June
2009. Retrieved 2011-11-27, reretrieved on 2015-0811

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Some of the committees and commissions are made for the implementation of reservation in
constitution of India.

 Hunter Commission was appointed in 1882. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule made a demand of
free and compulsory education for all caste along with proportionate reservation or
representation in government jobs.
 Kaka Kalelkar Commission was established in 1953 to assess the situation of the
socially and educationally backward class. The report was accepted as far as Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes were concerned. The recommendations for OBCs were
rejected.9
 Mandal Commission was established in 1979 to assess the situation of the socially and
educationally backward. The commission didn’t have exact figures for a sub caste known
as the Other Backward class and used the 1930 census data further classifying 1257
communities as backward to estimate the OBC population at 52%. In 1980 the
commission submitted a report and recommended changes to the existing quotas
increasing them from 22% to 49.5%. In 1990 the Mandal Commission recommendations
were implemented in government jobs by Vishwanath Pratap Sing. Student
Organizations launched nationwide agitations. Rajiv Goswami a Delhi University student
attempted self immolation. Many students followed suit.
 Sachar Committee headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar and including Sayyid Hamid
Dr.T.K Ooman M.A Basith Dr. Abu Saleh Shariff and Dr.Rakesh Basant was appointed
in 2003 for preparation of a report on the social economic and educational status of the
Muslim community of India.10 Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood was the civil servant appointed
by the PM as Officer on Special on Special Duty to the committee. The committee
submitted its report in the year 2006.

Chapter-4

IMPLEMENTATION OF RESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

9
Implementation of Recommendation of Mandal Commission, Parliament of India. Retrieved 2011-11-04,
Reretrieved on 2015-09-12
10
Article 16 of the Constitution of India Section 4, Constitution of India (1950; in English). Retrieved on 2013-09-08,
Reretrieved on 2015-10-12

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We live in a free country and this freedom is a gift of democracy to us. Our constitution gives
us the right to freedom and most importantly to exercise this freedom in an equitable manner. At
the same time it is incumbent on the part of the state to ensure that equality prevails in all
sections of the society. However in today’s time one of the major roadblocks to this equality is
the Reservation System.

India being a developing nation is currently facing many challenges and the reservation system
being one of them. The biggest question that lies in front of us is whether implementing this
reservation system has really helped the downtrodden?  The current scenario clearly depicts that
the ‘lower’ castes are still discriminated in their daily lives.

The reservation system finds its origin in the age-old caste system of India. The caste system at
its birth was meant to divide people on the basis of their occupation like teaching and preaching
(Brahmins), kingship and war (Kshatriya) and lastly business(vaish) etc. but soon it became an
instrument to divide the society on caste-basis, creating various walls between different sections
of the society. Today we stand divided widely into Hindu, Muslim, SC, ST & OBCs with newer
reservations coming up for other different sections of the society like Christians, Kashmiris, Jats,
Kashmiri Pandits, Tribals etc.11

Firstly we need to understand that the reservation system only divides the society leading to
discrimination and conflicts between different sections. It is oppressive and does not find its
basis in casteism. It is actually the antithesis of a communal living.

Currently, as per the government policy, 15% of the government jobs and 15% of the students
admitted to universities must be from Scheduled castes and for the Scheduled tribes there is a
reservation of about 7.5 %. Other than this, the state governments also follow their own
reservation policies respectively based upon the population constitution of each state. So nearly
50% seats are reserved.

The Mandal commission was established in 1979 by the central government to identify the
socially or educationally backward people. It was also set up to consider the question of seat
reservations and quotas for people to redress caste discrimination. It used social, economic, and
educational indicators to determine backwardness. But today are these reservations actually
11
"Implementation of Recommendations of Mandal Commission". Parliament of India

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being utilized on the above mentioned factors? The answer is prima facie ‘NO’ because the
benefits are being stolen away by the creamy layer.12

The 93rd Constitutional Amendment allows the government to make special provisions for
“advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens”, including their
admission in aided or unaided private educational institutions. Gradually this reservation policy
is to be implemented in private institutions and companies as well. This move led to opposition
from non-reserved category students, as the proposal reduced seats for the General (non-
reserved) category from the existing 77.5% to less than 50.5% (since members of OBCs are also
allowed to contest in the General category).

Article 15(4) of our constitution empowers the government to make special provisions for
advancement of backward classes. Similarly Article 16 provides for equality of opportunity in
matters of employment or appointment to any post under the State.

“Clause 2 of article 16 lays down that no citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex,
descent, place of birth, residence or any of them be discriminated in respect of any employment
or office under the State.”

However clause 4 of the same article provides for an exception by conferring a certain kind of
power on the government:

“it empowers the state to make special provision for the reservation of appointments of posts in
favour of any backward class of citizens which in the opinion of the state are not adequately
represented in the services”

Thus two conditions have to be satisfied:

1. The class of citizens is backward

2. The said class is not adequately represented.

In a case Balaji v/s State of Mysore (AIR 1963 SC649) it was held that ‘caste of a person cannot
be the sole criteria for ascertaining whether a particular caste is backward or not. Determinants
such as poverty, occupation, place of habitation may all be relevant factors to be taken into
12
Ramaiah, A. (6 June 1992). "Identifying Other Backward Classes"

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consideration. The court further held that it does not mean that if once a caste is considered to
be backward it will continue to be backward for all other times. The government should review
the test and if a class reaches the state of progress where reservation is not necessary it should
delete that class from the list of backward classes.’13

We can say that, to ensure social and economic justice is the main purpose of the reservation
policy; thereby realizing the goal of the empowerment of the backward communities. It can
address certain social inequalities that pervade Indian society for so long. For, these social
inequalities leave the so-called low castes deprived in everything from education to economy.
Thus, the policy of job reservations intends to bring about proportional representation, as it is a
mode of distributing benefits based on the proportion of population 15 percent for the Schedule
Castes (SCs), 7.5 percent for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 27 percent for other backward
communities (OBC). Totally 49.5 percent reservation has provided for backward communities.
But even after 69 years of Independent India still reservation policy has not implemented fully.
Ruler Governments have implemented only 8 per cent reservation for SCs, 2.5 for STs and 5
percent for other backward community. 14 Totally 15.5 percent has implemented. Still 33.5 per
cent reservation has remained in government jobs. Ruling Governments are not implementing
reservation facilities provided in the Indian constitution.

Reservations are nothing but means to prosper the vote banks of politicians. They are hindering
the country’s growth, development and competency in all aspects. On one hand the preamble of
our constitution states that we are a free, democratic and sovereign nation and on the other hand
reservation system is chaining all these aspects into its clutches. It is creating disparity and
differences amongst the people. The constitution lays down that every child has a right to
education and no where expresses that any child belonging to a backward class has a little more
of this right than the general category. By reserving one category against another creates a
feeling of division which is now resulting in a chaos with every small section of the society
asking for it.

13
 "SCOURGE OF RESERVATION: THE INVISIBLE CREAMY LAYER"
14
Article 16 of the Constitution of India Section 4, Constitution of India (1950; in English). Retrieved on 2013-09-08,
Reretrieved on 2015-10-12

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Reservations on the basis of caste and not on the basis of condition are bad and unacceptable.
Fair and just reservations to uplift the people with poor conditions of life, those who don’t have
meals to eat, clothes to wear and no home to live in. They shall be made on the basis of factors
such as gender as women are more disadvantaged than men since primitive times, domicile,
family education, family employment, family property, family income and if any disabilities and
traumas. The process of reservation should be such that it filters the truly economically deprived
individuals and bring them all to justice.15

Thus reservations are anti-thesis of development and equality. We don’t need reservations based
on castes or religion but only to actually provide aid to those who have minimal resources; and
merit should be given equal and due importance in admission procedures as well employment
opportunities. This way we would be successful in removing caste discrimination and unite the
economically rich together in helping the economically poor, irrespective of their castes.

Chapter-5

POLITICALISATION OF RESERVATION

For over six decades, Indian politicians and policy makers have remained obsessed with
reservation as the only viable tool for affirmative action. But now, as many powerful groups
15
Laskar, Mehbubul Hassan. Rethinking Reservation in higher education in India, (PDF), ILI Law review.pp. 2930.

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demand reservation, the time is ripe to explore other affirmative options to address inequity and
exclusion.

Five major communities leading protest and demanding caste-based reservation

First Jats in Haryana, then Patidars aka Patels in Gujarat, and now the Marathas in Maharashtra
are demanding caste-based reservations. Maratha rallies throughout Maharashtra, remained
peaceful, while Jat agitation and the Patidars protests held the authorities to ransom for over a
week. Particularly in Haryana, where the agitation turned into a caste feud between the Jats and
non-Jats, resulting in huge loss of property, roughly worth Rs 35,000 crore.
This was not the first time, the agitation by a certain community demanding reservation went
awry. In 2008, Gurjars' demand for status of Schedule Tribe (ST) also met the same fate when
the state wide clashes between Gurjars and Meenas threatened the law and order situation in
Rajasthan.  Meenas who are currently reaping the benefits of  ST status feared for the increase in
competition if Gurjars get inducted in ST category.16  
The system of reservation introduced after the independence was implemented to elevate the
pariahs of the society who always lived on the receiving end. Blame the caste system followed
by the Indian society. The political compulsions, further convoluted by the vote bank politics
derailed this attempt to bring economic, if not social parity in society.
Here are major communities, demanding reservation in India:
Jats in Haryana
During the Jat movement in February, many ridiculed their claim for OBC status as they are
seen as one of the most affluent community in north India. This wasn't for the first time, the
Jats demanded OBC status. In fact in many states like Delhi, UP, Rajasthan (except
Bharatpur and Dholpur), the Jats are in state list of OBC. Gurnam Singh Commission,
constituted in 1990, had listed Jats among the backward classes. But despite several
promises, the Jats weren't given OBC status. The UPA government in 2014 inducted the Jats
into Centre's OBC list, but the case didn't stand the scrutiny in Supreme Court and quota
given to the Jats got quashed.

16
Laskar, Mehbubul Hassan.  "Rethinking Reservation in Higher Education in India"

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Similarly, in Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in September 2014 had removed
the Jats and other four castes from the state's Special Backward Classes (SBC), which irked
the Jats who form a majority community in Haryana with over 50 per cent of the land
holdings. 
Jats even now demand for the inclusion in state as well as Centre's list of OBC and the
leaders have been giving ultimatum to government for another movement for reservation
soon.
Patidars in Gujarat
The Patidar movement in Gujarat, too went in the same direction in Haryana. The movement
led by Hardik Patel turned violent. In July 2015, the protest which began on a peaceful
manner took an ugly turn when Police tried to arrest Hardik in a mid-night raid. Protesters
went on a rampage attacking police and public transport, torching many vehicles.
At least eleven people were killed in various police crackdowns. Despite erstwhile Gujarat
CM Anandiben Patel, who herself belongs to the Patel community appealing for restrain, the
demonstrations continued. 17
Marathas in Maharashtra
Marathas too are demanding reservation through their massive yet silent marches across
Maharashtra.
The move, so far, does not seem to get violent as the state government is keeping a stock of
the situation. Political parties like Shiv Sena and NCP are likely to support their right for
reservation. Bombay High Court too has asked all political parties  litigating in the matter to
submit the synopses of their respective arguments.
Gurjars in Rajasthan
The Gurjar community held a 10-day protest in May 2015 demanding reservation.
Thousands of Gujjar community members blocked railway tracks for days, bringing train
traffic to a halt. The community had organised similar protests in 2008, and 2010 led by
Kirori Singh Bainsla, who, despite several rounds of talk with government, couldn't reach
any agreement.

 Sheth, D. L. (14 November 1987). "Reservations Policy Revisited". Economic and Political Weekly. 22 (46):
17

1957–1962. 

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In 2008, the Gurjar demand for inclusion in ST category was marred by their clashes with
Meena who are major beneficiary of resevation given to category. Soon the bloody clashes
between two communities forced Bainsla to call off the agitation.
However in 2015, Gurjars called off the agitation after government announced it would
bring two laws, providing 5 per cent reservation to Gujjars in the Special Backward Classes
category and another 14 per cent reservation for the economically backward classes among
the upper castes. 
The Kapus in Andhra Pradesh
The Kapu community in Andhra Pradesh has been demanding OBC status for nearly three
decades. Kapus claim that they were classified as BC until 1960, when their status was
changed and quota benefits revoked.
Despite the Chandrababu Naidu government setting up a commission to study their demand,
the agrarian community which comprises of nearly 26 percent of Andhra Pradesh's
population recently has been intensifying their agitation time to time.  Other than these
communities,  many small and large groups across the country have also raised similar
demands for reservation in different categories. However, with such high demands,
governments are in a predicament as the Supreme Court has put a cap of 50 per cent on
reservations. In most of the states the limit has already reached and the government can't
accommodate any new group into the SC/ OBC category.
Recent Development
In a landmark move ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Union cabinet has approved a ten
per cent reservation in jobs and higher education for "economically backward" sections in
the general category. A constitutional amendment bill will be tabled in Parliament Tuesday,
the last day of the Winter Session. The proposed reservation will be over and above the
existing 50 per cent reservation enjoyed by the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the
Other Backward governments Classes, taking the total reservation to 60 per cent. 18

The reservation will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation and the government
will amend Articles 15 and 16 - which are on discrimination and equal opportunity - of the
Constitution to implement it, PTI reported. A Union minister said the bill once passed will

18
Eighty First Amendment, Indiacode.nic.in. Retrieved 2011-11-19, 2015-11-15, Reretrieved on 2015-12-12. 1997

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amend the Constitution accordingly to give reservation to the poor among the general castes and
classes. "The bill will provide a shelter for upper castes under the rubric of fundamental rights.
The court's rule of the maximum 50 per cent quota cannot fetter Parliament's right to amend the
Constitution," the news agency quoted him as saying.The constitutional amendment bill would
be required as the constitution does not provide for reservation on the ground of economic
conditions. 

Chapter-6

CONCLUSION

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Elections in India are fought with an eye on getting votes on the caste system which has its roots
firmly fixed in the Indian social order. Side by side with caste system the question of
reservations has become a major attraction for creating a vote bank during elections. Political
power, economic prosperity and social status were the exclusive privilege of the upper castes.
This peculiar discriminatory caste system in India led to the growth of only a section of the
society dominating the rest of the populace by depriving them of economic opportunities and
equal privileges.

This led to the lack of unity among the Hindus who were divided into the Harijans, Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes and depressed Classes. All these sections of the
Hindu society attribute the existence of their poverty to their exploitation by the upper castes that
deprived them of equal opportunities in pursuing education and engaging in professions of their
choice.This facilitated of the maintenance of caste distinctions and preservation as well as
continuation of perpetual poverty and servile position of the rest of the castes, other than the so-
called upper classes. The British rulers in India realized the inherent weakness in social structure
of India. Taking advantage of this, they passed such laws which injected the communal venom
into the body politics in India.19 They created hatred among the Muslims and the Hindus and
provided for separate electorates for Muslims by the Minto- Morley Reforms of 1919. similarly,
the 1919 Montague-Chelmsford Reforms continued to maintain separate electorates for the
Muslims. This was, later, extended to other minority communities like Christians, Sikhs and
Anglo- Indians. Thus the present caste politics originated during the British rule itself with
reservation of seats for various communities.

Reservation has always been taken as an issue by the great politicians to fill their vote banks.
They give such a greed to these people that the people just think of their welfare and give vote to
them. Reservations have ensured that voters will increasingly vote their caste when they cast
their vote. Caste-reservations have created captive vote banks. In fact it can and has been argued
that by creating captive vote banks caste-based reservations have hijacked democracy.

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Bhimasen Hantal: Highlights on Reservation Policy in India.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

1. Indian Constitutional Law-M.P Jain,seventh edition,lexisnexis

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2.Indian Constitutional law – V.N Shukla, twelfth edition, Eastern Book Company

Website:

https://frontline.thehindu.com/static/html/fl1624/16240950.htm

https://www.indiatimes.com/news/five-communities-demanding-caste-based-reservation-in-india-
262699.html

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