The Congress, reportedly, has historically been opposed to reservation policies and has acted against the principles of Dr BR Ambedkar. For example, in 1961, Pandit Nehru wrote a letter to every chief minister expressing his disapproval of “reservation” as a policy. In Karnataka, the Congress party extended OBC status to Muslims when Veerappa Moily was the chief minister in 1994, thereby eating into the reservation reserved for OBCs.
Remember, Babasaheb Ambedkar never advocated for reservation based on religion. In undivided Andhra Pradesh, the Congress granted religious reservation to Muslims from the SC, ST and OBC quota in 2005. The BJP is the only party which has always stood in solidarity with OBCs, SCs and STs because the BJP believes in justice for all and appeasement of none.
The Congress failed to implement the recommendations of the Usha Mehra Committee in 2008, to empower Dalits and Adivasis. The Sachar Committee, Havanur Commission, Venkataswamy and Miller Committees and of course, the Ranganath Mishra Commission did discuss the possibility of providing reservation to Muslims within the Dalit and OBC quotas. However, the idea of implementing reservations based solely on religion was rejected outright by the Supreme Court way back in 1992. The Congress is the most anti-constitution party because despite the Supreme Court saying religion-based reservations are not desirable or acceptable, the Congress has repeatedly over the decades that it ruled India, attempted to carve out a quota within quota for Muslims, while denying these benefits of reservation to OBCs, Dalits and Adivasis.
While the Congress and the DMK carved out a quota within quota for Muslims in 2007 in Tamil Nadu, large sections of Dalit Hindus in Tamil Nadu continue to lead lives of deprivation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always stood with the weakest, the poorest and the marginalised. The abrogation of Article 370 has significantly benefited the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, despite completing higher studies, the fourth-generation son or daughter of a sanitation worker, belonging to, say, the Valmiki community, were unable to secure a decent job due to the constraints of Article 370. Valmikis were disenfranchised. Thanks to PM Modi, post abrogation of Article 370, in 2019, Valmikis not only got the right to vote but they can aspire for any job based on their education, merit and skill. The son of a sanitation worker or of a janitor need not do what his father did, despite being a Valmiki and this has been made possible only due to Narendra Modi’s philosophy of inclusivity. Similarly, Paharis in Kashmir have now got ST status, just like Gujjars and Bakarwals.
In this article, we aim to analyse how under the Modi government, OBCs have been empowered like never before.
Hailing the passage of the historic OBC Bill in the Monsoon session of the Parliament in 2021, PM Modi said that it underscored his government’s commitment to ensuring dignity, opportunity and justice to the marginalised sections. “Passage of the Constitution (127th Amendment) Bill, 2021 in both Houses is a landmark moment for our nation. This Bill furthers social empowerment. It also reflects our government’s commitment to ensuring dignity, opportunity and justice to the marginalised sections,” the PM had said in a post.
The power of states and Union Territories to make their own OBC lists for the purpose of reservation in jobs and educational institutes was rightfully restored by the Modi government. Once the bill became an act, it helped and empowered 671 communities, that in effect, amounted to about one-fifth of the total OBCs in the country, as per reports. Basically, the 127th Amendment Bill sought to restore powers to states to notify backward classes, bypassing an earlier May 5, 2021 verdict of the Supreme Court which allowed only the Centre to notify socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs).
What was the Supreme Court’s May 5, 2021 verdict?
In a categorical verdict, while hearing the Maratha quota issue, the Supreme Court had on May 5, 2021, upheld the 102nd Constitutional Amendment, saying that the president, based on the recommendations of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), would determine which communities would be included on the state OBC list. The 102nd Amendment Act raised the issue of the single central list of SEBCs taking away the powers of the states to prepare their own list of OBCs. The Supreme Court, in its categorical ruling, also directed that following the amendment, states did not have the power to identify SEBCs separately from the Centre.
The Central government filed a review petition challenging the top court’s order, which was dismissed. Eventually, the Centre came up with the 127th Amendment Bill to undo the Supreme Court’s ruling.
What is the 102nd Constitutional Amendment?
The 102nd Constitution Amendment Act inserted three new articles, namely, 342A, 366 (26C) and 338B, in the Constitution. Of these, 338B dealt with the structure, duties and powers of the NCBC, and 342A dealt with the powers of the President of India to notify a particular caste as SEBCs and the power of Parliament to change the list. Article 366 (26C) defined SEBCs.
“In the task of identification of SEBCs, the President shall be guided by the Commission set up under Article 338B; its advice shall also be sought by the State in regard to policies that might be framed by it. If the commission prepares a report concerning matters of identification, such a report has to be shared with the State government, which is bound to deal with it, in accordance with provisions of Article 338B. However, the final determination culminates in the exercise undertaken by the President (i.e. the Central Government, under Article 342A (1), by reason of Article 367 read with Section 3 (8) (b) General Clauses Act),” the apex court judgement of May 5, 2021, upholding the 102nd Amendment, had said.
“The States’ power to make reservations, in favour of particular communities or castes, the quantum of reservations, the nature of benefits and the kind of reservations, and all other matters falling within the ambit of Articles 15 and 16 – except with respect to identification of SEBCs, remains undisturbed,” the judgement had further said.
What was the 127th Amendment Bill?
Well, following the amendment in Articles 366 (26C) and 338B (9), states were/are now able to directly notify OBC and SEBCs without having to refer to the NCBC and the OBC lists prepared by states will be taken out of the domain of the president and can be notified by the assemblies of concerned states. Nearly 671 OBC communities would have lost access to reservation in educational institutions and appointments if the state lists had been abolished, as per the 102nd Amendment.
The 127th Amendment, however, restores power to the states, superseding the 102nd Amendment, thereby displaying, among other things, Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to cooperative federalism. “The legislative intent at the time of passing of the Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018 was that it deals with the central list of the socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs). It recognises the fact that even prior to the declaration of the Central List of SEBCs in 1993, many States/Union territories are having their own State List/Union territory List of OBCs,” the statement in the 127th Amendment Bill noted.
The Congress party that was in government for the longest time at the Centre never cared for the OBCs. The absolutely shoddy treatment meted out to the Kaka Kalelkar Commission by then PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, was repeated with the BP Mandal Commission, by Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Adhering to Article 340 of the Constitution of India, the First Backward Classes Commission was set up by a presidential order on January 29, 1953, under the Chairmanship of Kaka Kalelkar. Nehru, however, unceremoniously threw the Kalelkar committee proposals in the bin.
The BJP-supported VP Singh government at the Centre implemented the Mandal Commission, which was opposed tooth and nail by Rajiv Gandhi, both inside and outside the Parliament. It is obvious and unfortunate to note that whenever the Congress came to power, the party’s biased and anti-OBC psyche prevented it from strengthening the OBC community.
From the political victimisation of Babasaheb Ambedkar, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Ram Manohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan, BP Mandal, Karpoori Thakur, K. Kamaraj, Devaraj Urs to VP Singh, Arjun Singh, Sitaram Kesri and Rajesh Pilot, the Congress has an unenviable track record. In fact, an anti-reservation Congress was always opposed to the idea of giving reservations to either SC/STs or OBCs in the all-India quota (AIQ) for medical seats. AIQ in medical seats was introduced in 1986 only on the instructions of the Supreme Court of India and not due to Rajiv Gandhi, as the Congress would love to believe.
The inclusion of 12 SCs, 8 STs and 27 OBC ministers in the Cabinet reshuffle by PM Modi in July 2021 speaks volumes about the Modi government’s commitment to OBCs. At 37 per cent, OBC representation in the Modi Cabinet today is the highest ever in post-independent India. There have been demands for creating categories within OBCs to ensure equitable distribution of the quota benefit to all. Some states such as Bihar have experimented with the sub-categorisation and carved the reservation for extremely backward classes within the OBC reservation.
In October 2017, the Centre constituted the Rohini Commission to examine the sub-categorisation and submit a report within 12 weeks. What has the draft Rohini Commission recommended? It said, around 2633 castes are covered under the OBC reservation. The states have the flexibility to add castes to the Central list, depending on local deprivation levels determined by local OBC commissions. In February 2021, the Commission proposed to divide the 27 per cent reservation for the castes on the Central list into four sub-categories. While some have welcomed the sub-categorisation, experts believe the idea of sub-categorisation would be a meaningless exercise and could potentially polarise society along caste lines. Experts believe that sharing the caste data could create more division in society and lead to renewed demands for reducing the quota for certain castes and increasing it for others. There is also a fear that a repeat of the 1911 caste census could happen when the so-called upper castes were declared a social minority.
The 1931 census, the last caste-based census, was conducted primarily to identify the ways through which a colonial power could strengthen its stranglehold. The data was used to create a separate vote-bank in the 1980s, by leaders who emerged from Jai Prakash Narayan’s anti-corruption movement and led to the creation of Janata Dal. Experts believe something similar is being attempted now through the sub-categorisation of the OBC quota. Some Opposition parties know that a new caste census can help them create a new vote-bank of socially and economically deprived sections among the OBCs.
At this stage, many experts believe that the social costs of a caste census far outweigh the benefits and it may not be a great idea. States already have enough information at their disposal in any case, which they can use to give targeted benefits of government schemes including reservations, to deprived groups. The need for a caste census, therefore, at this stage, stands mitigated, to that extent.
Do note that there was no reservation in the AIQ scheme until the Supreme Court intervened and introduced a reservation of 15 per cent for SCs and 7.5 per cent for STs in 2007. When the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act became effective in 2007, providing for uniform 27 per cent reservation to OBCs, the same was implemented in all the central educational institutions viz. Safdarjung Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University etc. However, this was not extended to the AIQ seats of state medical and dental colleges.
Now, however, that is possible. According to the Health Ministry, nearly 1500 OBC students in MBBS and 2500 OBC students in post-graduation and also around 550 EWS students in MBBS and around 1000 EWS students in post-graduation benefit from the Modi government’s historic decision, every single year. The reservation was announced under the All India Quota (AIQ) scheme. The AIQ scheme was introduced in 1986 under the directions of the Supreme Court to provide domicile-free merit-based opportunities to students from any state, who aspire to study in a good medical college located in another state. All India Quota consists of 15 per cent of the total available UG seats and 50 per cent of the total available PG seats in government medical colleges.
A moot point to be noted here is that for decades, political parties like the SP and BSP simply paid lip service to the cause of OBCs who form a dominant 43-45 per cent of the total population in Uttar Pradesh. OBC sub-groups, whether it is non-Yadavs, Kurmis, Koeris or others, were repeatedly let down by the likes of Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. However, the BJP’s acceptance among these “other non-Yadav OBCs” rose three-and-a-half times between 2012 and 2014 (from 17 per cent to 60 per cent). This number is crucial as “other non-Yadav OBCs” constitute over 25 per cent of UP’s total population. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, one-fourth of the BJP’s total votes came from this section alone. These numbers have only improved in subsequent elections.
Importantly, while the SP only focused on the Yadavs, the BJP focused on both Yadav and non-Yadav OBCs without discriminating between the two and it is this politics of inclusivity that helped the BJP become the dominant political force in UP, which till 2014, had always been driven by a Yadav-centric caste matrix.
During the last 10 years, due to Prime Minister Modi’s focus on science, education, medicine and innovation, MBBS seats in the country have increased manifold, with the number up by 56 per cent from 54348 seats in 2014 to 84649 seats in 2020. The number of PG seats increased by 80 per cent from 30191 seats in 2014 to 54275 seats in 2020. During the same period, 179 new medical colleges were established and now India boasts of well over 558 medical colleges, including over 289 government and over 269 private colleges.
It would be apt to conclude by saying that while successive Congress regimes only paid lip service to the cause of OBCs and the marginalised, it is the Modi government which finally brought to fruition various reforms to ensure that the benefits of inclusivity and development are made accessible to one and all, cutting through swathes of divisive rhetoric.
Speaking of OBC secretaries in the GoI, an utterly ignorant Rahul Gandhi needs to know that the cut-off limit for empanelment of GoI Secretaries was 1992, while most current secretaries are those inducted/hired prior to 1992. In fact, the demarcation, if any, of secretaries into OBCs, SCs, STs, and what have you, happened only in 1995-96 and that is precisely why there are so few OBCs in secretarial posts within the GoI currently.
From lending his support and putting his personal capital at stake in ensuring Droupadi Murmu becomes the first tribal woman to become India’s president to ensuring 37 per cent of his Cabinet members are OBCs, 11 SCs and 8 STs, PM Modi has done more for OBCs, Dalits and Adivasis than any of his predecessors. At 85 MPs, the BJP has more MPs in the Lok Sabha who are OBCs, than the total number of MPs that the Congress has in the Lower House. Remember, the Congress only has 52 MPs in the Lok Sabha. Again 27 per cent of BJP’s MLAs and 40 per cent of BJP’s MLCs are OBCs; the first OBC Prime Minister of India, the enigmatic Narendra Modi, is also from the BJP. Hence the BJP certainly does not need any lessons or lectures on empowerment of OBCs from the likes of Rahul Gandhi or from the irrelevant Leftist cabal that has been reduced to nothingness.
To cut to the chase, while Prime Minister Modi has always focused on inclusion and unity in diversity as his guiding mantras, the Opposition is running helter-skelter, peddling divisive narratives. The truth is, PM Modi has done more for OBCs, Dalits, Adivasis and other marginalised groups than any of his predecessors and no amount of falsehoods by jaded dynasts from the Opposition can ever change that.
No one should ever forget that after the abrogation of Article 370, the primary beneficiaries have been from the Dalit, Adivasi and SC/ST communities. The Congress has repeatedly pledged to reinstate Article 370, if elected, demonstrating their anti-constitutional stance.
An Act was passed for Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1920, with the same provisions as the BHU Act. Contrary to popular belief, Aligarh Muslim University is not exclusively meant for minorities. However, due to Pandit Nehru and successively Hinduphobic Congress regimes, the SC/ST/OBC communities have not been granted reservations to date, in either Jamia Millia Islamia or AMU. In 1981, Indira Gandhi attempted to alter the provisions of the SC/ST orders of 1950 and 1958, depriving SC/ST and OBC communities of their rights. However, the Allahabad High Court rejected these changes, leading to an appeal in the Supreme Court, which also rapped Indira on the knuckles. The Congress, by denying reservations to OBCs, Dalits and Adivasis for the longest time in places like AMU, has showcased it is anti-reservation, anti-Dalit, anti-Adivasi and anti-OBC. It is the Narendra Modi-led government which gave constitutional status to the National Commission of Backward Classes (NCBC) in 2018, after almost three decades of the Mandal Commission implementation.
It is again the Modi government which took the bold decision of a 27 per cent reservation for OBCs and 10 per cent for economically weaker sections (EWS) in various medical courses including MBBS, MD, MS, BDS, MDS and diplomas. This showcases PM Narendra Modi’s commitment to ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayaas’, in more ways than one.
Sanju Verma is an Economist, National Spokesperson of the BJP and the Bestselling Author of ‘The Modi Gambit’. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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