India is
probably the only country in the world to have "Caste-based"
reservation which started in the British era before India gained Independence
and still exists.
What has been the Impact of reservations in India? Has it been of
any use?
One
2010 study of 16 of India’s biggest states did look at the effect on poverty in
backward groups of their getting quotas of representatives, from 1960 to 2000.
The report’s authors, Aimee Chin and Nishith Prakash, say theirs is the only
study ever to ask how an affirmative -action policy, of any sort, has affected
poverty in India.
Their conclusion: for “scheduled tribes”, who are conveniently crowded near one another on electoral maps, greater political clout has indeed led to a small drop in poverty.
But for the “scheduled castes”, by contrast, it has made absolutely no difference at all.
The
various quotas have partly achieved their most basic tasks. In public jobs
members of backward groups claim more posts than of old. Dalits had just 1.6%
of the most senior (“Group A”) civil servant positions in 1965, for example.
That rose to 11.5% by 2011, not far off the 16% or so of the general population
that Dalits represent. The share is higher for more junior posts.
Judging a broader impact is harder. Very few Indians have formal jobs, let alone government ones. “The [jobs] policy only matters for perhaps 2% of the Indian work force”, points out Harsh Shrivastava of the World Development Forum, a think-tank in Delhi.
Other than in tweaking quotas (to reflect the local size of a “scheduled” population) states have never experimented, nor competed, to find out whether their jobs policies have any wider, beneficial impact.
Worse,
the policy has probably helped to make India’s bureaucracy increasingly
rotten—and it was already one of the country’s greater burdens. An obsession
with making the ranks of public servants representative, not capable, makes it
too hard to sack dysfunctional or corrupt bureaucrats. In December 2012
parliament’s upper house passed a bill ordering that bureaucrats be promoted
not on merit alone, but to lift the backward castes faster.
MARATHA
KRANTI MARCH
Demands
1. Punishment to
culprits in Kopardi rape and murder case.
2. Reservation in
education and government jobs.
With this request, the vested interests
of the political parties backing this protest has been exposed.
4. Amendment in
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to
stop its misuse.
Other demands include loan waiver
schemes for Maratha farmers.
Appreciation
The
police are appreciating these silent marches for its discipline and cleanness.
Millions of Maratha joined this movement silently.
This is one of the World's Largest Peaceful Protest March. This protest brought
together Maratha Community. Till date in various
regions across Maharashtra, India
almost 20 to 30 Million people have actively participated in this march at
different location
Justice Sawant, former chairman
Justice
Sawant stepped down from the post of chairman of a committee formed by the
morcha. This had followed a representation circulated by the morcha's leaders
to MLAs, MPs and other political heavyweights, claiming that the Justice Sawant
committee had suggested a repeal of the Atrocities Act, as well as pressing for
16 per cent reservation for Marathas. Justice Sawant, who was at the forefront
of designing a strategy to deal with the issues faced by the community, looks
pained when any reference to the committee crops up. Saying that he had not
even attended any of the committee's meetings, he asks how the morcha's leaders
could have named him as the architect of this point of view. "The
representation purported to suggest that [the demand to repeal the Atrocities
Act and the 16 per cent reservation] was the decision of the committee. I,
therefore, found myself in a quandary. These views-which were not mine-were
being presented as mine, since I was 'chairman' of the committee. I felt that
the situation would lead to untoward consequences, apart from the
misrepresentation of my views. Therefore, I took the step of freeing myself
from the responsibilities," he says.
Justice
Sawant insists that the committee was formed without his knowledge, when active
leaders of the morcha met in Aurangabad in September. "They included my
name as chairman of the committee. I was not consulted. I understand some of
the other members of the committee were also not consulted. I learnt about it
through the press. However, in order to avoid misunderstandings and to honour
the sentiments of the people, I did not protest against my inclusion."
According
to him, the Atrocities Act needs only an amendment to Section 9, which gives
police officers the authority to immediately arrest a person against whom an
FIR has been filed under this act. A method of fixing this, he says, is to
amend the act so that police officers are required to take permission from a
local magistrate before making an arrest. He also believes that getting
reservations for Marathas in educational institutes and government jobs will
first require several legal formalities to be taken care of .
On
November 27, Justice Sawant had held a rally in Pune, aimed at persuading the
youth to look beyond the idea of reservations. "Even if [the Marathas] get
their reservations, only a very, very small proportion of the community will
benefit. The vast majority will remain deprived."
After
continuous growing protest in each city and millions of peoples participation
in each Maratha Kranti Morcha, on 13 October 2016 the Government of Maharashtra
took decision and
Increased the upper limit of the Economically Backward Class (EBC) to Rupee 600,000 (Rupee 0.6 Million) and announced extension of monetary benefits under this category to students from all castes.
The students from the EBC category studying in all professional courses will be eligible for the benefits such as fee reimbursement under the Rajshri Shahu Maharaj Scheme, which was named after the Maratha king Rajshri Shahu of Kolhapur who introduced reservation policy for the first time in his kingdom Kolhapur State.
Announced schemes for children of
small land holding farmers under the Panjabrao Deshmukh Scheme. The children of
farmers with small land holding (2.5 Hectare for non-irrigated and 2 Hectare
for irrigated) will be given financial assistance to pay housing rents in
different cities. The upper limit for metros will be Rs. 30,000 a year, while
that for smaller cities, it will be Rs. 20,000 a year.
Should
Reservations really be part of our system?
Since,the
existing reservations have not made any major impact as per the studies.
Although, we appreciate the non violent nature of the marches which may turn into a violent one (Chakka Jam) if the demands are not met and of course, that will only impact more innocents. It maybe the bureaucracy or some hidden agendas and conspiracy. It could be the grudges of Marathas for the Dalits or vice versa. Just for the benefit of doubt, could they be a reverse psychology to abolish reservations all together?
We wonder when will the caste system be eradicated and we treat each other as Individuals.
We would be
happier if the marches were by Maharashtrians than just the Marathas.
The candle march held for Nirbhaya was not a caste based one. All Indians demanded Justice.
The Dalits of the village wanted to take part in the protest since they also felt the same which would probably have made the protest even stronger but they were denied.
So, are these marches really aiming at justice for the rape victim? or is this another attempt of "Divide and Rule" or in Little Finger's words, "Chaos is a ladder."
Keep Thinking!
References:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_in_India
2. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/maratha-agitation-maharashtra-kranti-morcha/1/855493.html
3. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/business/economy/250617/maharashtra-unveils-rs-34000-cr-loan-waiver-89-lakh-farmers-to-benefit.html
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_Kranti_Morcha
5. https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/06/affirmative-action
6. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-rape-murder-teenager-silent-protests-maharasthra-demonstration-inequality-a7346771.html
7. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-37538115
8. http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/three-theories-behind-the-maratha-silent-protests/story-Mr8piR7gypI7AWAH4lgHgO.html
9. http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/04/16/nana-patekar-farmers-suicide_n_9698856.html
10. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maharashtra-government-raises-ebc-limit-to-rs-6-lakh-with-a-rider/articleshow/54840497.cms
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