Reservation in India


Reservation is a system of affirmative action in India that was established during the British Raj. Based on provisions in the Indian constitution, it allows the union government and the states and union territories of India to allocate a specific percentage of reserved quotas or seats, in higher education admissions, employment, political bodies, etc., for "socially and economically backward citizens". Since its implementation, reservation has been a subject of massive debates and controversies over its impact, execution and effectiveness, significantly shaping the agendas of political parties and the actions of social groups.

History of reservation

Before independence

Quota systems favouring certain castes and other communities existed before independence in the British Raj. Demands for various forms of positive discrimination has been made, for example, in 1881 and 1891. Chatrapati Shahu, the Maharaja of the princely state of Kolhapur, introduced reservation in favor of non-Brahmin and backward classes, much of which came into effect in 1902. He provided free education to everyone and opened several hostels to make it easier for them to receive it. He also tried to ensure that people thus educated were suitably employed, and he appealed both for a class-free India and the abolition of untouchability. His 1902 measures created 50 percent reservation for educationally deprived communities. In 1918, at the behest of several non-Brahmin organizations criticizing Brahmin domination of administration, the Mysore Raja Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar created a committee to implement reservations for non-Brahmins in government jobs and education over the opposition of his Diwan M. Viswesvaraya, who resigned in protest. On 16 September 1921, the first Justice Party government passed the first Communal Government Order, thereby becoming the first elected body in the Indian legislative history to legislate reservations, which have since become standard across the country.
The Imperial parliament at Westminster introduced elements of reservation in the Government of India Act of 1909 and there were many other measures put in place prior to independence. The depressed classes were provided some seats in 1919 before seeing further increase in 1925.
In 1927, the Madras Presidency provided 44% reservation to Non-Brahmin Hindus, 16% to Brahmins, Muslims, Christians, and Anglo-Indians, and 8% to Scheduled Castes.
During the Round Table Conference of June 1932, the Prime Minister of Britain, Ramsay MacDonald, proposed the Communal Award, according to which separate representation was to be provided for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans. The disadvantaged classes, roughly corresponding to the STs and SCs, were assigned a number of seats to be filled by election from constituencies in which only they could vote, although they could also vote in other seats. The proposal was controversial: Mahatma Gandhi fasted in protest against it but many among the depressed classes, including B. R. Ambedkar, had to favor it. After negotiations, Gandhi reached an agreement with Ambedkar to have a single Hindu electorate, with backward classes having more seats reserved within it. Electorates for other religions, such as Islam and Sikhism, remained separate. This became known as the Poona Pact.
In 1942, the Scheduled Castes gained 8.5% reservation in central services and other facilities for the first time.

After independence

After the independence of India in 1947 there were some major initiatives in favor of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and after the 1980s in favour of OBCs and in 2019 for poor in the general category. The country's affirmative action program was launched in 1950 and is the oldest such programme in the world.
A common form of caste discrimination in India was the practice of untouchability. SCs were the primary targets of the practice, which was outlawed by the new Constitution of India.
In 1954, the Ministry of Education suggested that 20 percent of places should be reserved for the SCs and STs in educational institutions with a provision to relax minimum qualifying marks for admission by 5 percent wherever required. In 1982, it was specified that 15 percent and 7.5 percent of vacancies in public sector and government-aided educational institutes should be reserved for the SC and ST candidates, respectively.
A significant change began in 1979 when the Mandal Commission or the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward classes. The commission did not have exact population figures for the OBCs and so used data from the 1931 census, thus estimating the group's population at 52 per cent. In 1980, the commission's report recommended that a reserved quota for OBCs of 27 per cent should apply in respect of services and public sector bodies operated by the Union Government. It called for a similar change to admissions to institutes of higher education, except where states already had more generous requirements. It was not until the 1990s that the recommendations were implemented in Union Government jobs. In 2006, the Union government extended reservations for Other Backward Classes in institutes of higher education it substantially funded. In 2019 the government announces the 10% reservation in educational institutions and government jobs for economically weaker section of the general category.
The Constitution of India states in article 15: "Nothing in or in clause of article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially, and educationally backward classes of citizens of or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes." Article 46 of the Constitution states that "The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation."
The Supreme Court of India ruled in 1992 that reservations could not exceed 50 percent, anything above which it judged would violate equal access as guaranteed by the Constitution. It thus put a cap on reservations. However, the recent amendment of the constitution exceeds 50% and also there are state laws that exceed this 50 percent limit and these are under litigation in the Supreme Court. For example, in the State of Tamil Nadu, the caste-based reservation stands at 69 percent and applies to about 89 percent of the population.
On 7 November 2022, Supreme Court of India by a 3:2 verdict in Janhit Abhiyan vs Union Of India Writ Petition No. 55 OF 2019, upheld the validity of the 103rd constitutional amendment carried out to provide legal sanction carve out 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections from unreserved classes for admission in educational institutions and government jobs and held that the 50% cap on quota is not inviolable and affirmative action on economic basis may go a long way in eradicating caste-based reservation. This constitutional amendment pushed the total reservation to 59.50% in central institutions.
On 1 August 2024, the Supreme Court of India ruled 6:1 in favor of permitting states to create sub-quotas for Scheduled Castes and Tribes within their reservation schemes. Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud stated that Article 14 of the Constitution of India should be interpreted to mean "that the same law should apply to those who are similarly situated." Justice Bela Trivedi provided the lone dissent, saying that states did not have the power to "tinker" with the 1950 Presidential List and that the sub-quotas violated Article 14. Justice B.R. Gavai concurred with Chief Justice Chandrachud, but added that the 'creamy layer' concept that applied to OBCs should apply to SC/ST groups as well.

Reservation schemes

In employment

Government and public sector will hire job seekers based on reservation percentage from two different categories :
  1. Reservation category
  2. Open category.
While hiring, major priority is given to reservation category including 33% reservation for Women, priority in hiring is given by :
  • Other minorities Women
  • ST Women
  • SC Women
  • ST Men
  • SC Men
  • OBC Women
  • OBC Men
  • EWS Women
  • EWS Men
and then after Open category will be considered.
Government and public sector hiring based on merit in open category and one more anomaly here i.e., priority in hiring is the same as for the reserved category.
The landmark initiative of Special Recruitment for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe in Government jobs was started in Kerala in 1972 by Vella Eacharan. The 1993 Supreme Court ruling in the Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of India case said that reservations in job promotions are "unconstitutional" or not in accordance with the political constitution but allowed its continuation for five years.
In 1995, the 77th amendment to the Constitution was made to amend Article 16 before the five-year period expired to continue with reservations for SC/STs in promotions. It was further modified through the 85th amendment to give the benefit of consequential seniority to SC/ST candidates promoted by reservation.
The 81st amendment was made to the Constitution to permit the government to treat the backlog of reserved vacancies as a separate and distinct group, to which the ceiling of 50 per cent did not apply. The 82nd amendment inserted a provision in Article 335 to enable states to give concessions to SC/ST candidates in promotion.
The validity of all the above four amendments was challenged in the Supreme Court through various petitions clubbed together in M. Nagaraj & Others Vs. Union of India & Others, mainly on the ground that these altered the Basic Structure of the Constitution. In 2006, the Supreme Court upheld the amendments but stipulated that the concerned state will have to show, in each case, the existence of "compelling reasons" - which include "backwardness", "inadequacy of representation" and overall "administrative efficiency - before making provisions for reservation. The court further held that these provisions are merely enabling provisions. If a state government wishes to make provisions for reservation to SC/STs in the promotion, the state has to collect quantifiable data showing backwardness of the class and inadequacy of representation of that class.
In 2007, the Government of Uttar Pradesh introduced reservation in job promotions. However, citing the Supreme Court decision, the policy was ruled to be unconstitutional by the Allahabad High Court in 2011. The decision was challenged in the Supreme Court, which upheld it in 2012 by rejecting the government's argument because it failed to furnish sufficient valid data to justify the move to promote employees on a caste basis.