In Madras and Mysore there is a welcome move to end the official patronage now being extended to casteism. Fourteen years after independence, it is a little too much to be told that a person can get a government job or an educational concession just because he or she belongs to a particular caste or sub caste. There are however such powerful vested interests seeking the perpetuation of these considerations that nothing tangible has been forthcoming from the various state governments to end this pernicious practice.
The Finance Minister of Madras said in the State Assembly the other day that his Government was now considering specific proposals to remove caste from public life. These proposals are (a) to grant educational concessions on the basis of economic and not religious or caste considerations as at present, (b)to stop asking Backward Class candidates from giving particulars pertaining to religion and caste in Employment Exchange papers and (c) to abolish references to caste, sect, religion etc. in all official records.
On the last two questions, the Government can take a ‘unilateral’ decision because information on caste and religion in these cases are required for the Government’s own use — and it is up to it to decide whether it wants such information or not. On the first question, there should be no doubt at all about what should be done because educational concessions are meant to help the economically handicapped person, not the person who belongs to a particular sect or sub-caste.
The subject came up recently in the Mysore High Court when it laid down the principle that “the only manner in which the reservations in favour of the scheduled tribes and other backward classes could be worked out without being attacked as unconstitutional is to treat the reservation made in respect of each one of those classes as one in the nature of a guaranteed minimum of seats in open competition.”
This, we believe, puts the issue in the right perspective. It is unhealthy to hold the view that extra privileges, which have nothing to do with merit, will be permanently required to help socially backward communities to their feet. Indeed, this has even brought into vogue the understandable fraud of people wanting to be known as belonging to a backward community in order to be eligible for the favours earmarked for that community. The lead the South is giving in the matter is worthy of emulation by other states until a national policy is evolved.
January 21, 1961
