Mandal Commission: obc reservation
Mandal Commission
Mandal aayog
The incident of the implementation of the Mandal Commission report in 1990 divided the post-independence politics into two parts. One is politics before the implementation of the Mandal commission report and the other after that. It can also be called 'watershed moment' in Indian social history. This English idiom means- the moment from where a big change begins. After the results of the 1989 general elections, Vishwanath Pratap Singh became the PM of the Janata Dal coalition government. This was the second time that non-Congress parties came to power in India. VP Singh surprised everyone and implemented the Mandal Commission's recommendation of 27 percent reservation for Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in government jobs. It was like a genie coming out of the bottle. After all, what was it like in the Mandal Commission which could not be implemented till years after its formation and after its implementation there was such an earthquake whose tremors are still being felt.
First of all know the story of Mandal Commission
After suffering 21 months of Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, many backward class leaders won the elections on Janata Party ticket in the 1977 Lok Sabha elections. The government was formed by Morarji Desai. Then the Desai government dissolved the Congress governments and got elections to the assemblies. In this also the Janata Party won. Karpoori Thakur formed the government in Bihar. And the very next year, Karpoori made a law for 20 percent reservation for backward classes in government jobs in Bihar. After this, the demand for the provision of reservation for backward classes in central services also arose.
This matter also came during the time of Nehru. The Kaka Kalelkar Commission for Backward Classes was formed in 1953 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's government. But its recommendations were not implemented. One of the drawbacks of the Kalelkar Commission report was that it identified backwardness only among Hindus, leaving out other religions. In view of all these circumstances, on 20 December 1978, Morarji Desai's government issued a notification for the formation of a Backward Classes Commission under the chairmanship of BP Mandal, MP from Madhepura, Bihar. This was called the Mandal Commission.
In January 1979, the Mandal Commission started its work. Morarsanji Desai's government was toppled after a few months in July 1979. After this the Janata Party broke up. The newly formed Janata Party (Secular) took power, Chaudhary Charan Singh became the PM. But within a few months this government also went away. Then there were midterm elections. In this mid-term election, BP Mandal once again became the candidate of Janata Party (not of Charan Singh-Rajnarayan faction but Chandrashekhar and Jagjivan Ram). But this time he slipped to third place. He was defeated by Rajendra Prasad Yadav of Congress (Urs). The same Rajendra Prasad Yadav who defeated him in 1971 also.
VP Singh and the report of 'Social Justice'
Indira Gandhi returned to power in the 1980 elections. In December 1980, the Mandal Commission submitted its report to the then Home Minister Giani Zail Singh. In this report, more than three and a half thousand castes belonging to backward classes of all religions were identified. The commission recommended giving them 27 percent reservation in government jobs. Mandal's report kept gathering dust in the regimes of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. VP Singh's rule started from 2 December 1989. In 1990, VP Singh removed the Mandal Commission file by dusting it. Now the time had come for the rise of a new social justice messiah in the politics of India. With the announcement of the implementation of the Mandal Commission's recommendations on 7 August 1990, the fire of opposition to reservation erupted in the whole country.
What happened after the implementation of Mandal Commission report?
After the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, there was a protest not only from students across the country, but also within the government. Within the VP Singh government, leaders had already expressed different views regarding the implementation of the Mandal Commission report. When VP Singh stood in the cabinet meeting and talked about implementing the Mandal commission report as said in his manifesto. Then many ministers were silent after hearing this. Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan openly supported it. Ajay Singh, the Jat leader of Agra and the then Minister of State for Railways, made a different suggestion. He said that if some space is made here and there for the poor people of the general category (which included Jats) also, then there will be no ruckus, otherwise there may be opposition. Nobody listened to Ajay Singh and the decision was stamped.
Two days later, i.e. on 9 August 1990, differences arose between Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. The differences increased so much that Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal resigned. The government remained adamant. On 10 August 1990, nationwide protests started against the provision of reservation in government jobs under the recommendations of the commission. There was no effect on the government, on August 13, 1990, the government hastily issued a notification to implement the recommendation of the Mandal Commission.
When the protesters in Odisha came under police firing in protest against the VP government, the opposing voices of the then Chief Minister of Orissa Biju Patnaik came out first. Biju Patnaik was running the Janata Dal's government and opposed the decision of the Prime Minister of his own party and accused him of promoting caste violence. Apart from Biju Patnaik, VP Singh's close friends Yashwant Sinha and Harmohan Dhawan also publicly criticized his decision. Chandrashekhar, sitting with VP Singh, had said that the government's way of implementing it is wrong. VP government ministers Arun Nehru and Arif Mohammad Khan were also seen standing in the queue of disgruntled leaders.
fire of protest
The movement against reservation had intensified across the country. Meanwhile, a picture of the anti-reservation movement shook the whole country. Rajiv Goswami , a third year student of Delhi University's Deshbandhu College, set himself on fire. He was admitted to AIIMS in critical condition. BJP President Lal Krishna Advani, who gave conditional support to VP Singh's government from outside, reached AIIMS Hospital to meet Rajiv Goswami. During this, he had to face fierce opposition from the upper caste youth. Advani sensed the fragility of time and then intensified the politics of Kamandal in response to Mandal. According to the India Today report published at that time, Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee also pressured the VP government to withdraw support if it did not reconsider the decision.
However, BJP could not take any clear stand on this issue. The position of Left parties was also similar to that of BJP. The CPI supported the reservation, but it took a long time for the CPM to take a stand on this issue. The pressure on the government started increasing continuously. By November, the BJP announced its withdrawal from the National Front government led by VP Singh. VP Singh resigned from the post of PM on 7 November 1990.
What recommendations did the Mandal Commission make after seeing the condition of the backwards?
The Mandal Commission found that the OBCs may have been economically sound, but their participation in government jobs is low. A total of 3743 castes were identified under this category. It was also found that OBCs constitute 12.55 per cent in central government jobs. Their participation in jobs like Central Government and Class 1 (Administrative) ie IAS-IPS is only 4.83 percent. Now the next step was to find out what was their share in the total population.
After 1931, caste census was not done, so these figures were considered as estimates only. Not accurate, although it gives a rough idea of the share of different castes. Accordingly, the figures are: Upper caste - 16.1 percent, OBC - 43.7 percent, SC - 16.6 percent, Scheduled Tribe - 8.6 percent and non-Hindu minority - 17.6 percent. The most important thing to note is that the Mandal Commission is the only source on the basis of which it was decided that Hindu OBCs constitute 43.7 percent of the entire population.
Mandal Commission Chairman Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal suggested 27 percent reservation for OBCs in the report. Explaining the reason, he wrote,
It is necessary to win the battle to remove social backwardness in the minds of the backward castes. It is an honor to get a government job in India. Increasing participation in jobs of OBC class will make them believe that they are partners in the government. If a person from backward caste becomes collector or superintendent of police, then obviously no one other than his family will benefit, but the society from which he comes, those people will have a sense of pride, their head will be held high that in them Somebody is in the 'corridors of power'.
How many recommendations have been implemented so far?
The Mandal Commission has made recommendations in total 40 points in Chapter 13 of its report . Surprisingly, very few of these recommendations could be implemented. Broadly speaking, only two major recommendations could be implemented. The very first point of the report states that socially and educationally backwardness and poverty are due to caste-based barriers. These constraints are linked to our social structure. Structural changes will be needed to eliminate them. Change in the perception of the problems of OBCs will be no less important for the ruling class of the country.
A look at those points which were recommended by the Mandal Commission but they were implemented very little
# OBC students selected on the basis of merit in open competition should not be adjusted against the 27 percent reservation quota fixed for them.
# OBC reservation should also be implemented in promotion quota at all levels.
# The roster system for each category of post should be implemented in the same way as in the case of SC and ST candidates. Meaning it should not happen that the person who got the reservation on a particular post cannot reach.
# All private sector companies getting financial assistance from the government in any way should be compelled to implement reservation.
# Adequate statutory provisions should be made by the government to make these recommendations effective, including amendments to existing Acts, Laws, Procedures etc. In this way the reservation can be strictly implemented.
A separate provision of money should be made to facilitate the students of other backward classes to get education . So that serious and needy students can be encouraged by running a separate scheme and a proper environment can be created for them.
# The drop out rate of children from backward classes is very high. In view of this, a comprehensive and time bound program for adult education should be started in the densely populated places of OBCs. Such schools should be opened for the students of backward classes, which have living arrangements. This will give them an environment to study seriously. All facilities like lodging and food in these schools should be provided free of cost. This will attract children from poor and backward households towards them.
# Separate government hostels should be arranged for OBC students, which should have free food and accommodation facilities.
#OBC education is heavily inclined towards vocational training. Overall, reservation in services allows only a very small proportion of educated OBCs to go into jobs. The rest need business acumen, which they can take advantage of.
# 27 percent reservation should be made for OBC students in all scientific, technical and professional institutions run by the Central and State Governments.
# Special coaching facility should be provided to the students getting admission through reservation in technical and professional institutions.
# Training should be given to class people like utensils makers, oil makers, blacksmiths, carpenters in villages. They should be provided professional training with proper institutional financial and technical support. So that they can set up small industries on their own. Similar assistance should also be provided to those OBC candidates who have taken any special skill course.
# Only members of the influential section are able to take advantage of various financial and technical agencies made to promote small and medium industries (MSMEs). In view of this, it is very important that separate financial and technical agencies should be arranged for the backward classes.
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