Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Put an end to Reservations' that was published in Newsband

Put an end to Reservations

The Bombay High Court verdict upheld reservation for Marathas in public employment and education. In the past the law had included Marathas as the sole group under the ‘Socially and Educationally Backward Class’ and extended 16% reservation outside the existing quotas for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and other tribes and backward classes. This would take the reservation up to 68%, thus going beyond the limit of 50% imposed by the Supreme Court.

The court has upheld the government’s decision to accept the Maharashtra Backward Classes Commission’s report on the backwardness of the Maratha community, faulted it for exceeding the panel’s recommendation for 12-13% reservation and pulled back the figure to the recommended level.

The High Court’s reasoning may not convince many. A politically influential and dominant community, Marathas have been classified as the only member of the newly created ‘SEBC’. This verdict by HC is likely to be examined by the Supreme Court closely.

 Prakash Ambedkar, great-grandson of B R Ambedkar, says: “Almost 3,000 Maratha families in the state control 72 per cent of its land. And 171 families are politically dominant. A majority of the educational institutions held by Maratha leaders are for students of higher income families; poor people are left out,” he says. “If Marathas are lacking in education and employment, it also shows a leadership failure.” Two of the recent hits in Marathi film industry underline the politics of Maratha power and the true cause for the demand for reservation in Maharashtra quite well "SAIRAT" made by a dalit director AND "MULSHI PATTERN" made by a Maratha director. The films show ground reality to anyone not from the state in the voices of their communities.

The most powerful clans the state has known, Thackeray and Pawar belong to this community. Almost 50 to 55 per cent of educational institutions — undergraduate and postgraduate, medical and engineering — across the state are controlled by leaders who represent the Maratha community. Of 200-odd sugar factories, the base of the state economy, 168 are controlled by Marathas. Of district cooperative banks, 70 per cent are controlled by Marathas as directors, chairman or panel members.

It is incomprehensible how a community (Maratha) who were the rulers of Maharashtra for many centuries and at the peak of their power were the rulers of India (including Delhi) for many decades until the arrival of the British, who had a power sharing pact with the Brahmins in Maharashtra (Brahmins being given the pant status-adviser/ministers in their dominion) during their rule , who control the political landscape of Maharashtra (state assembly- including the chief ministers and most ministers during any part of history), base of the village economy (sugarcane cooperatives, cooperative banks ), controlling power of educational institutions (both private and government), and land in Maharashtra, now find the need for reservation.

Many scholars have gone against whole caste based Reservation in India. it's necessary to rethink about whole Reservation, because it was allowed only for 10 years, this should also be re-examined. Show your demographic power of court pillars by standing against whole Reservation. Even after 70 years after Independence, we have not put in place adequate numbers of high quality government schools all over the country. If we had, it would have obviated the need for caste-based reservation and leveled the playing field in a fair manner. Instead we are playing political games with increasing vehemence. The future looks bleak. The country desperately needs statesmen who can pull us out of the quagmire into which we are descending deeper every day.

Caste based reservations are the most nasty ugly way of discriminating people based on castes. The Indian constitution says that all 'Equal' under it and the same constitution divides the people of the country based on 'Castes/Minorities' etc. Nowhere in the world this ugly way of discrimination based on Castes exist. The only reason why India is still a developing country and not a developed country is because of this 'Caste based reservations'.

Where is rationality? Everyone is asking for reservation and political leaders for political gains are trying to accommodate them under reservation. Even high court and Supreme Court seem to have no problem with it. What have others done who are not given reservation????