.jpg?width=1200)
By no stretch of the imagination could the Bharat Bandh on August 21, called by the Reservation Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, be considered a success. Nonetheless, it brought life to a standstill in some states like Jharkhand and Bihar, and tribal belts. Some areas in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan were also affected. Nor is it proper to call the bandh a flop. What is clear is that the subject has the potential to create a divisive and intractable issue for the whole nation. The agitation was sparked by a six-member Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, which ruled that the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes needed to be done at the state level.
This verdict contradicted the rulings of some High Courts that sub-classification of SCs and STs was not possible, as they constituted homogeneous groups. While ordering the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, accepted by the VP Singh government in the early nineties, the Supreme Court insisted that the creamy layer among the OBCs should be identified and made ineligible for reservation. Those with certain income and properties were, therefore, identified as the creamy layer. Reservation for SCs began in some states even before India became independent. There are SCs and STs whose economic conditions have improved over the decades, and they can indeed be considered on par with those belonging to upper-class communities. For instance, an IAS officer’s children cannot justifiably claim reservation because they have become part of the elite. Since they are educationally and socially above the average SC/ST categories, they can corner the benefits of reservation.
There are sub-classes among the SCs and STs who have not been able to benefit from reservation. Ideally, one generation should have access to reservation, and after availing of it, the subsequent generation should be exempted from it. Of course, they can compete with the general category, as in Tamil Nadu, where many SC students compete with the general category and get recruited. The court wants the sub-classification to be based on comprehensive economic and other surveys, aware of the danger of political parties sub-classifying them to suit their vested interests. Some BJP spokesmen have claimed that their government has no plan to implement the court’s directive. Needless to say, if the issue is not handled properly, it can spiral out of control.
