A band-aid quota
August 11, 2012:The Indian Express
In April, the Supreme Court struck down reservation-based promotions for SCs, STs and OBCs in government jobs in Uttar Pradesh, instituted by the Mayawati government in 2007. Now, after a furore in Parliament led by the BSP and the SP, the government has announced a constitutional amendment for that purpose. It has caved in to a political gambit of the BSP and SP, which compete to be seen as protectors of the interests of backward groups. The government has called an all-party meeting the day before the bill is moved in Parliament, but this is insufficient to fully deliberate a complex issue, especially since it may have national implications.
When the court struck down reservation in promotions as unconstitutional, it had restricted itself to a point of law. But there are questions of efficiency and propriety involved here as well. Reservations were instituted to accelerate the process by which marginalised groups in Indian society could be helped on to a level-playing field. Delivering universal education and healthcare could have delivered empowerment in a generation while reservation is showing results in a matter of years. However, the same logic cannot be extended to promotions. The policy of reservation only committed to secure equal access to historically less privileged communities. It was supposed to get candidates in the door, not to lead them to the express elevator.
Reservations for promotions are arguably a reaction to the visible reality that far too many Dalit professionals have to languish on the lower floors. This may be due to prejudice or professional factors. These can be addressed by quasi-legal action — of the sort that harassment in the workplace attracts — and sensitive human resource policy. To gloss over the real problem and apply yet another band-aid quota is a cop-out, one that is calculated to bring political dividends, though. Reservation is implicitly assumed to be a temporary intervention, pending the achievement of equality. The more it is extended or deepened, the harder it will be to roll it back when it outlives its usefulness.
