OBC RESERVATION IN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS- DELAYED JUSTICE
Supreme Court's recent hold on O.B.C.reservation of 27% in higher educational institutions has once again created a nation wide furore among the students.As a student of sociology,I understand that the reservation in respect of the backward class in central government jobs and educational institutions has been deprived since 1950.
The first Back Ward Class Commission chaired by Kala kalekar gave its Report to the Nehru Government, but added a Note that He is not in favour of providing any kind of reservation to OBCS.The first blow was meted out to the backward class by the then Home Minister Mr.Sardar Vallabhai Patel and the Prime minister,when they were not interested in tabling the COMMISSION'S REPORT in the PARLIAMENT.In 1961, on a personal level Nehru opposed to the reservation to obcs principally.
While Janata came to power after the defeat of the CONGRESS at the Centre,the Government headed by Mr.Moraji Desai appointed the Mandal Commission.It gave its Report,one of the finest reports in Independant India.Mrs.Gandhi,on receipt of the Report, kept it in the cold storage in 1980.Only, when V.P.Singh assumed office as the Prime Minister, he ventured to implement the recommendations of the Mandal commission.This bold step saw the topple of his Ministry by coalition forces within.His audacity and forthright stand still reverbates in the minds of the millions of the obcs in India.
In 1992,Indra sawhney challengsd the reservation orders of the Government of India in the Supreme Court.The court upheld the reservation to the obcs on the basis of social and educational backwardness, as constitutional and ceiled the overall reservation to 50%. It was a full bench decision and it also struck down Mr.Narasima Rao government's order reserving 10% to Forward castes,on economic criteria,as unconstitutional and settled the matter of the anti-reservatin lobby,once forever.
Now, the present Government after much discussion in both the Houses of Parliament, enacted the Act(93rd CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMEND) providing for reservation to the obcs in higher educational institutions like IIM, IIT, AIIMS etc. Mr.Ashoka Kumar Thakur,an Advocate of the Supreme Court of India and one Mr.Shiv Khera,an educationist-cum-business man filed a PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION in the Supreme Court, challenged the Resrvation. The Vacation Bench stayed the implementation of the reservaton and raised serious question on the data of the obc population besides questioned, inter alia, the criteria for backwardness. It also went further compared the situation in the U.S.A. It also observed that"nowhere in the world do castes que up to be branded as backward. Nowhere in the world is there a competition to become backward".While caste census not taken by the centre after 1931, is not a fault of the 52% population, to suffer at the hands of the affluent and upper caste prejudices for the last 56 years. Are they not Indians?. Don't they pay tax to the Government?.The reasoning that"the state is empowered to enact affirmative action to help backward classes but it shold not be unduly adverse to those who are left out of such action".The arguements that"New section of "OBC', not sanctioned by the Constitution has been added "with a political view" are all motivated and particularly the Advocate,who appeared in the Mandal Case for the Petitioner,again fired the salvo against the millions of obcs. Celebration by some misguided youths, distribution of sweets by the students of the A.I.I.M.S other higher educational institutions on hearing the orders of the Supreme court, shown on the mainchannels of the Media is against social justice.
The first Back Ward Class Commission chaired by Kala kalekar gave its Report to the Nehru Government, but added a Note that He is not in favour of providing any kind of reservation to OBCS.The first blow was meted out to the backward class by the then Home Minister Mr.Sardar Vallabhai Patel and the Prime minister,when they were not interested in tabling the COMMISSION'S REPORT in the PARLIAMENT.In 1961, on a personal level Nehru opposed to the reservation to obcs principally.
While Janata came to power after the defeat of the CONGRESS at the Centre,the Government headed by Mr.Moraji Desai appointed the Mandal Commission.It gave its Report,one of the finest reports in Independant India.Mrs.Gandhi,on receipt of the Report, kept it in the cold storage in 1980.Only, when V.P.Singh assumed office as the Prime Minister, he ventured to implement the recommendations of the Mandal commission.This bold step saw the topple of his Ministry by coalition forces within.His audacity and forthright stand still reverbates in the minds of the millions of the obcs in India.
In 1992,Indra sawhney challengsd the reservation orders of the Government of India in the Supreme Court.The court upheld the reservation to the obcs on the basis of social and educational backwardness, as constitutional and ceiled the overall reservation to 50%. It was a full bench decision and it also struck down Mr.Narasima Rao government's order reserving 10% to Forward castes,on economic criteria,as unconstitutional and settled the matter of the anti-reservatin lobby,once forever.
Now, the present Government after much discussion in both the Houses of Parliament, enacted the Act(93rd CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMEND) providing for reservation to the obcs in higher educational institutions like IIM, IIT, AIIMS etc. Mr.Ashoka Kumar Thakur,an Advocate of the Supreme Court of India and one Mr.Shiv Khera,an educationist-cum-business man filed a PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION in the Supreme Court, challenged the Resrvation. The Vacation Bench stayed the implementation of the reservaton and raised serious question on the data of the obc population besides questioned, inter alia, the criteria for backwardness. It also went further compared the situation in the U.S.A. It also observed that"nowhere in the world do castes que up to be branded as backward. Nowhere in the world is there a competition to become backward".While caste census not taken by the centre after 1931, is not a fault of the 52% population, to suffer at the hands of the affluent and upper caste prejudices for the last 56 years. Are they not Indians?. Don't they pay tax to the Government?.The reasoning that"the state is empowered to enact affirmative action to help backward classes but it shold not be unduly adverse to those who are left out of such action".The arguements that"New section of "OBC', not sanctioned by the Constitution has been added "with a political view" are all motivated and particularly the Advocate,who appeared in the Mandal Case for the Petitioner,again fired the salvo against the millions of obcs. Celebration by some misguided youths, distribution of sweets by the students of the A.I.I.M.S other higher educational institutions on hearing the orders of the Supreme court, shown on the mainchannels of the Media is against social justice.
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