Reservation in India

The Reservation in India is a policy of the Indian government to provide Affirmative action so that a percentage of Government posts, public sector posts and private educational institutions posts are reserved for nominated caste members.

In Pre-Independence India

Reservations in favour of Backward Classes (BCs) were introduced long before Independence in a large area. Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj, Maharaja of Kolhapur in Maharashtra introduced reservation in favour of nonBrahmin and backward classes as early as 1902. He provided free education to everyone and opened several hostels in Kolhapur to make it easier for everyone to receive the education.

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He also made sure everyone got suitable employment no matter what social class they belonged. The notification of 1902 created 50% reservation in services for backward classes/communities in the State of Kolhapur. This is the first official instance (Government Order) providing for reservation for depressed classes in India.

The continuous efforts of some of the social reformers of the country viz.

Rettamalai Srinivasa Paraiyar, Ayothidas Pandithar, Jyotiba Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Chhatrapati Sahu ji Maharaj and others, continually strived to eradicate "casteism".

Reformers Contribution on Reservation

1882 - Hunter Commission appointed. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule made a demand of free and compulsory education for all along with proportionate reservation/representation in government jobs. 1891 - The demand for reservation of government jobs with an agitation (in the princely State of Travancore) against the recruitment of non-natives into public service overlooking qualified native people. 1901 - Reservations were introduced in Maharashtra (in the Princely State of Kolhapur) by Shahu Maharaj.

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1908 - Reservations were introduced in favour of a number of castes and communities that had little share in the administration by the British 1909 - Provisions were made in the Indian Councils Act 1909 1919 - Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms introduced. 1919 - Provisions were made in the Government of India Act 1919. 1921 - Madras Presidency introduces Communal G O in which reservation of 44 per cent for non-Brahmins, 16 per cent for Brahmins, 16 per cent for Muslims, 16 per cent for Anglo-Indians/ Christians and eight per cent for Scheduled Castes.

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1935 - Indian national congress passes resolution called Poona Pact to allocate separate electoral constituencies for depressed classes. 1935 - Provisions in Government of India Act 1935. 1942 - B.R. Ambedkar established the All India Depressed Classes federation to support the advancement of the scheduled castes. He also demanded reservations for the Scheduled castes in government services and education.

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1946 - 1946 Cabinet Mission to India proposes proportionate representation with several other recommendations. 1947 - India obtained Independence. Dr. Ambedkar was appointed chairman of the drafting committee for Indian Constitution. The Indian constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth. While providing equality of opportunity for all citizens, the constitution contains special clauses "for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes".

Post-Independence India

19471950 - Debates of the Constituent Assembly.

26/01/1950-The Constitution of India came in force.

1953 - Kalelkar Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward class. The report was accepted as far as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were concerned. The recommendations for OBC's were rejected. 1956 - Schedules amended as per Kaka Kalelkar report. 1976 - Schedules amended.

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1979 - Mandal Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward. 1980 - the commission submitted a report, and recommended changes to the existing quotas, increasing them from 22% to 49.5%. As of 2006 number of castes in Backward class list went up to 2297 which is the increase of 60% from community list prepared by Mandal commission. 1990 - Mandal commission recommendations were implemented in Government Jobs by Vishwanath Pratap Singh. Student Organizations' launched nationwide agitations. Rajiv Goswami Delhi university student attempted self-immolation. Many students followed suit.

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1991 - Narasimha Rao Government introduced 10% separate reservation for Poor Among Forward Castes. 1992 - Supreme court upheld reservations to Other backward classes in Indira Sawhney Case. Also see Reservations and Judiciary section 1995 - Parliament by 77th Constitutional amendment inserted Art 16(4) (A) permitting reservation in promotions to the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. Later it was further amended to include consequential seniority by 85th amendment. 12 August 2005 - The Supreme Court delivered a unanimous judgement by 7 judges on 12 August 2005 in the case of P.A. Inamdar & Ors. vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors. declaring that the State can't impose its reservation policy on minority and non-minority unaided private colleges, including professional colleges.

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2005 - 93rd Constitutional amendment brought for ensuring reservations to other backward classes and Scheduled castes and Tribes in Private Educational institutions. This effectively reversed the 2005 August Supreme Court judgement. 2006 - The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in M. Nagraj & Ors Vs. Union of India & Ors upheld the constitutional validity of Art 16(4) (A), 16(4) (B) and proviso to Art 335. 2006 - Reservations introduced for Other backward classes in Central Government Educational Institutions. Total Reservation went up to 49.5%. Also See Recent Development.

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2007 - Supreme Court give stayed on OBC reservation in Central Government Educational Institutions. 2008 - The Supreme Court of India on 10 April 2008, upheld the Government's move for initiating 27% OBC quotas in Government funded institutions. The Court has categorically reiterated its prior stand that "Creamy Layer" should be excluded from the ambit of reservation policy. 2010 - The Supreme Court held that if the state wants to frame rules with regard to reservation in promotions and consequential seniority it has to satisfy itself with quantifiable data that is there is backwardness, inadequacy of representation in public employment and overall administrative inefficiency and unless such an exercise was undertaken by the state government the rules in promotions and consequential seniority cannot be introduced.

Criteria's of reservation
Caste Based Gender Based Religion Based Minorities Based State Of Domiciles Undergraduate Colleges Other Criteria
Physically Handicapped Sports Personalities, Etc.

Reservation of Minorities

The Indian Constitution provides that all minorities whether based on religion or language shall have the right to establish and administer educational institution of their choice.

The minorities reservation is formed on the judgement made by the Supreme Court ruling in the case St. Stephens College Vs University of Delhi

Indias Reservation Policy in Higher Education Institutions

The term Reservation has been doing the rounds within the Indian media circuit of late owing to the government decision to implement 27% quota for the OBCs in the educational institutions of higher learning. The government of that day introduced the concept of reservations so that there would be equal progress of all sections of the society.

Impact of reservation on higher education

In India, reservation is allotted to the ST, SC and other backward class candidates. This act by the government has been overly debated up on by many, supporting and opposing reservation for backward class in institutions for higher education. The reservation for backward classes is expected to have positive impact on the higher education in India.

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The decision of the government to execute policy of reservation in Central institutions is because of the inequality in terms of lack of access to quality education for students from these back ward categories. The proposed government policy also promises to improve the quality of education at all level as to have a common platform for all students from different community. But this is still not treated as a practical solution to address this inequality problem.

Benefits of Reservation on Higher Education

One of the prominent factors for bringing up reservation in higher studies is apparently the lack of socially neutral process. In states like UP, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, where the reservations for backward class in the educational institution has a strong history shows positive results and the students are equally competitive just like the students from general category in most of the competitive, entrance and final exams.

Women Reservation
The Women's Reservation Bill has been a political raw nerve for nearly a decade now. It has always triggered heated debates in Parliament and outside. The proposed legislation to reserve 33.3 percent seats in Parliament and state legislatures for women was drafted first by the H D Deve Gowda-led United Front government.

Impact on Women Reservation Bill

The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, is a pending bill in India which proposes to provide thirty three per cent of all seats in the Lower house of Parliament of India the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies shall be reserved for women. Women get 33 percent reservation in gram panchayat and municipal elections. There is a long-term plan to extend this reservation to parliament and legislative assemblies. In addition, women in India get reservation or preferential treatments in education and jobs.

Quota System
The Constitution says that the State shall not discriminate any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them. The State can make special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Accordingly, a pro-rata reservation of 22.5% has been made for them in educational institutions which come under the administrative control of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and other Central Ministries.

The following table reflects the typical caste-based reservation profile

SC and SC Converts to Buddhism

13.0%

STs

7.0%

Vimukta Jati

3.0%

Nomadic Tribes (NTI)

2.5%

Nomadic Tribes (NT2)

3.5%

Nomadic Tribes (NT3)

2.0%

OBC

19.0%

Total

50.0%

Caste Based Reservation

Seats are reserved for Schedules Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Castes (based chiefly on caste at birth) in varying ratio by the central government and state government. In central government funded higher education institutions, 22.5% of available seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students (15% for SCs, 7.5% for STs). This reservation percentage has been raised to 49.5%, by including an additional 27% reservation for OBCs. The exact percentages differ from state to state.

Reservation Based on Employment

Despite serious attempts at liberalization beginning in 1991, the public sector continues to dominate the Indian economy and serve as the main source of employment.

Government employment in India is widely considered prestigious and a guarantor of security and advancement.

Estimated Percent Employment in the Public and Quasi-Public Sectors

Year 1991-92

% of employment in public sector 62.62

1992-93 1993-94
1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99

63.16 62.99
62.74 61.69 61.42 60.97 61.02

Source: Statistical Abstract, India, 2000, 263.

Public sector jobs are divided into four levels

Profile of Central Government Employment

Class I II III IV Total % of workforce 2.2 3.3 66.8 22.7 99.5

Representation of each class

Class I : the highest-paid level, includes members of the elite Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), the Indian Police Service (IPS) and connected Central Government services. In the next income bracket

Class II : employees comprise officers of the state civil service cadre. Competitive exams and interviews are usually used to fill these top two tiers, which require highly skilled and well-qualified candidates.

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, Class III and Class IV : include low-skill, lowqualification posts such as primary school teachers, revenue inspectors, constables, peons, clerks, drivers, and sweepers. These are typically low-income jobs and are not subject to strict selection processes. Additionally, selecting officials exercise a high degree of discretion in filling posts.

Percentage of SC Employees in Central Government Services

Class I

1959 1.18

1965 1.64

1974 3.2

1984 6.29

1995 10.12

II
III IV

2.38
6.95 17.24

2.82
8.88 17.75

4.6
10.3 18.6

10.36
13.98 20.2

12.67
16.15 21.26