Chronology of sub quota movement in the Scheduled Caste categories
Vidya Bhushan Rawat
The Supreme Court
Judgement on Sub Classification of Scheduled Caste Reservation has rightly been
criticized for transgressing in venturing into areas which actually were not
part of petition. Apart from it, the lectures of ‘morality’ and ‘ethics by
various judges particularly speaking about ‘creamy layer’ only look hollow the
way judges so vehemently defend their own system of selection process, named as
collegium system, in judiciary. Obviously, people ask when will we see a
judiciary where a common person too can dream of becoming a judge in the
Supreme Court of India. It is sad, the judges unnecessarily dragged Scheduled
Tribe into the issue who were not part of the petition and the issues belonging
to them are absolutely different. The main issue before the court was
subclassification or cagetorisation which emerged because of a long court battle
for the Madiga community in Andhra Telangana and Karnataka as well as the Balmikis
and Majhabis in Punjab as various court orders got challenged and the issue
before Supreme Court was of great importance for the future of reservation of
Scheduled Castes. In the year 2004, Supreme
Court had actually ruled out the sub classification suggesting the Scheduled
Castes are not heterogenous. Now, the Supreme Court has ruled that the
Scheduled Castes are heterogenous and states have power to make laws and create
subclassification after collecting all empirical data. Let us look at the issue
of demand for ‘quota with in quota’ in various states before we generalize the
entire issue as a fight between different communities. It is not that simple to
put blame on one individual community as this issue is neither sudden nor new.
Fight for Subclassification
The fight for
subcategorization was part of struggle in many states particularly
Andhra-Telangana, Karnataka as well as in Punjab. Silently, the smaller
communities were venting their feelings in other states too but they were not
organized. The most powerful and organized struggle for subcategorization
happened in Andhra Telangana by Manda Krishna Madiga, leader of Madiga
Reservation Porata Samiti who led this battle for nearly 40 years. In fact,
Prime minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally during hi election campaign for
2024 elections in Hyderabad by promising to bring subcategorization for Madiga
community. The huge rally saw Manda Krishna Madiga sharing the podium with
Narendra Modi[i].
Whatever be the outcome, Manda Krishna Madiga has been working singlehandedly on
the issue with the massive support of his community. In an interview he said, ‘The decades-long agitation of Madiga people has come to a
conclusion as we got what we desired. The movement, which started in 1994, has
come to a conclusion after 30 long years. The judgment has brought us much
happiness. Our sacrifices have not been in vain. A hundred generations of
Madigas and other downtrodden castes will benefit from this judgment.’[ii]
The battle of
the Madiga community had been big and well organized. I myself saw the huge
gatherings in the early 2004 in Hyderabad but it began much before that. The
community struggle started early 1980s but it was N Chandra Babu Naidu who
started the process of categorization in Andhra Pradesh, in the year 1997 after
a massive rally from
‘Naidu’s birthplace Naravaripalle in Chittoor district to Hyderabad, Naidu,
then the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, agreed to divide the SCs into
the A, B, C, and D categories. This is when E V Chinnaiah, Venkat Rao, and Mala
Mahanadu founder P Vigneshwara Rao challenged the Naidu government’s order in
the Andhra Pradesh High Court. A single-judge Bench of the court struck down
the order but the Naidu government passed an Ordinance and then an Act in the
Assembly and the High Court upheld the legislation. In 2001, the three
activists approached the Supreme Court against the law, with Chinnaiah as the
lead petitioner. A five-judge Constitution Bench ruled in November 2004 that
micro-classification of SCs was unconstitutional.’ [iii]
The battle for classification did not stop because of
various pending cases from other states as well as mobilization of the
different communities both in OBCs as well as SCs. The issue of ST did not have
these issues though in certain part people blame particular communities benefitting
from the reservation but that has not turn into a crisis as it happened in
Scheduled Caste Communities and OBCs. These contradictions or differences among
the communities are actually used by different political parties for their own
benefits and that is why a broader Dalit, OBC unity is always the game of the
numerically powerful communities who need these marginalized sections just as
tailenders. Actually, after the Mandalisation process in India beginning since
1990, various caste identities started seeking their space in power and
administrative structure. Political parties too utilized this opportunity to
mobilise various castes for their own political purposes. The anti-caste
movement got aside and we saw a new assertion of different communities.
Initially, it looked good that diverse communities are getting mobilised but
later ambitious political leaders used this mobilization for bargaining with
different political alliances. Today, these mobilizations are used by the
powerful communities everywhere and hence the broader unity of the communities
has got impacted. In every state there have been groups seeking separate quota
for their communities. Frankly speaking, in the absence of a dialogue among
them, the communities are made to fight against each other and blame their
immediate ‘neighbor’ for the sorry state of their plight. Interestingly, none
blame the state and authorities for loss of job, privatization of public
sector, non-recruitment in vacancies in Central and state governments, paper
leaks, Work on Contract etc. More and more caste-based organisations are being
used and pushing things in the legal frame so that individuals filing cases in
the courts become heroes of the community. Similarly, social media is full with
distorted stories with Chamars blaming Balmikis and vice versa. Can’t there be
a internal dialogue but leaders don’t care for it as they fear to lose their
‘constituency’.
It is important to understand that in the South there is
a broader unity among political parties on the issue. As mentioned above,
Chandra Babu Naidu, as chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh categorized
SC quota in 1997 on demand of Madiga community movement. The Malas opposed it.
There is a
3% sub quota for Arundhatiyars (manual scavenging community) in Tamil Nadu, out
of 18% quota fixed for schedule castes. Similar proportionality is maintained
in quota for backward classes too resulting in total reservation of 69%. In
Tamil Nadu most of the political parties including ruling DMK and its allies
VCK have welcomed the Supreme Court Order, though later position of VCK seems
to have changed. The opposition AIDMK, MDMK, PMK too have welcomed the decision
of categorization. The 69% quota in Tamil Nadu is 30%
for backward classes which include 3.5% for Muslim Backward Communities. Then
there is 20% quota for most backward classes which include 13% for Most
Backward Communities and 7% for denotified communities. Scheduled Castes get
18% reservation which include 3% sub quota for Arundhatiyars i.e. Manual
scavenging community. Scheduled Tribes have 1% quota in the state list. The demand for a separate quota for
Arundhatiyar community in Tamil Nadu actually started in 1984 by a group formed
by the Community youths and ultimately it took 25 years for it to finally got
in the statute book in Tamil Nadu as a separate quota. ‘In 2009, the State government, headed by the then DMK
chief M Karunanidhi, introduced a special quota for the community, combining
seven castes out of the 74 listed in the SC category. The sub-quota was
introduced based on a report submitted by the Justice Janarthanam Commission,
which stated that Arunthathiyars were highly under-represented in government
departments and educational institutions’[iv].
Interestingly, all the
major political parties in Tamil Nadu are hailing the sub quota for
Arundhatiyars and claiming to have taken the initiative. Former Chief Minister
E P Palaniswami said, “It was the
govt led by me that set up a committee led by Adi-Dravidar and tribal welfare
secretary in 2020 to protect interests of Arunthathiyars. Based on the
recommendations of the committee, the senior advocates appointed by the state
govt placed their arguments well before the Supreme Court,” the former CM said.
On the basis of arguments, a five-member bench led by Justice Arun Mishra of
the Supreme Court gave a favorable verdict on the internal quota to Arunthathiyars
in 2020, Palaniswami said. The bench eventually referred the case to a
seven-member constitution bench, which endorsed the constitutional validity of
the state legislation.[v]”
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu welcomed the Supreme Court ruling and
termed it as the victory of Dravidian Model. ‘Hailing
the apex court verdict, he said it was heartening that the bench upheld the
internal reservation granted to the Arunthathiyar community, as laid down in an
Act passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Today's Supreme Court judgment is
another recognition of our #DravidianModel journey to establish #SocialJustice
for the social liberation of the oppressed people," Stalin said in a post
on X. A formal committee was established
and, based on the data collected through it, late chief minister and DMK stalwart
M Karunanidhi had set apart three per cent internal reservation for the
Arunthathiyar community, he said. "I introduced a bill in the state
assembly and it was passed," the CM, who is also the president of the DMK,
said in the post.[vi]’
There are however differences in the political leadership
of the Scheduled Castes. VCK chief Thirumavalam, who had earlier supported the
Supreme Court judgement, has backtracked now. His colleague Ravi Kumar has
criticized it and felt that even in that sub quota, the dominant group alone
benefit. Ravi Kumar actually termed categorization worse than creamy layer. VCK
is an alliance partner with DMK and Congress.
Andhra Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu as well as
opposition leader Jagan Reddy have welcomed it. Karnataka Chief Minister
Siddharammaiya too have welcomed the decision while Reventh Reddy, the chief
minister of Telangana has promised that his state would be the first one to
implement it. It is a well-known fact
that battle for separate quota in the scheduled castes list actually was fought
in the most powerful way by Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti led by Krishna
Madiga and therefore it was natural for the political parties there to welcome
the Supreme Court verdict.
Sadly, in the north India, the
dominant debate against subclassification is led by Buddhist in Maharashtra and
Chamars and Jatavs in north India particularly Uttar Pradesh who are blaming
the Valmikis/Balmikis or manual scavenging community for supporting the Supreme
Court Judgement and sabotaging the unity of different Dalit groups. Actually, the intellectuals, political
activists, politicians led by dominant Jatav-Chamar castes have blamed the
Valmikis for playing into the hands of RSS and other political leaders. Unfortunately,
in this entire debate people are ignoring some hard facts that there has been a
constant struggle by various communities for their share not only in political
sphere but also in administration and power structure. By persistently ignoring
the issue and living in denial mode as if the only problem emerges from the
Brahmanical elite (no doubt, they will always be more than eager to intervene
and divide).
As mentioned earlier, the main battle
for subcategorization was fought by Madiga community of Telangana and Andhra
Pradesh and its leader Manda Krishna Madiga which is not a small minority but
has a substantial presence in Telangana, Andhra and Karnataka. Now, one can ask
as who are Madigas ? Yes, they are mostly leather workers or Chamars but more
interestingly, about 7 castes with in Madiga subclassification belong to manual
scavenging community. So, socially and culturally, Andhra Telangana provide a
beautiful picture of Valmiki-chamar under one caste category called Madigas and
it is they who fought the biggest battle for sub categorization. All netas,
experts and revolutionaries of north India should understand this battle was
being fought for nearly forty years. Madigas are not a minority among Dalits in
Telangana but nearly 50% of the total Dalit population. So blaming Balmikis for
starting the subcategorization debate is wrong. Among the Ambedkarites, it was veteran
Bhagwan Das, who had a deep understanding of different castes and communities
in various states. Long back, in a conversation with me he explained about
Madigas, ‘It is not a community itself. It is divided into 12-14 castes. But
in South the division is not that bad. In Andhra Madigas who are basically
Chamars but 7 castes among them work as scavengers hence the division is not
that strict and harsh as in North India’.[vii]
Maharashtra question
It is important to first look at the rising demands of the
different communities in Maharashtra. The dominant community among the
scheduled castes is Mahars which embraced Buddhism with Baba Saheb Ambedkar and
like to be termed as Buddhist community but a majority of other Dalit
communities in Maharashtra remained in the Hindu fold including Charmkars,
Matangs, Mangs etc and seeking separate quota with in scheduled castes. While
Maharashtra has been in the news for Maratha to be put in the OBC list but within
the scheduled castes, voices for separate reservation has been growing for
years.
“We
want A, B, C and D sub-categories in the SC category... Buddhist Dalits were
employed by the British in roles like police patils and kotwals, giving them an
early exposure to the government and administration. Thus, they were in a
position to corner quota benefits earlier than the other 58 Hindu Dalit
castes,” charged former minister Laxmanrao Dhobale, who has launched a protest
under the banner of the ‘Akhil Bharatiya Matang Samaj.’
Dhobale
sought sub-quotas for SCs on lines of those for vimukta jatis and nomadic
tribes (VJNT). “To ensure equitable justice for all, based on their population,
Buddhist Dalits can be included in the A category, the Matang community, which
has the second-highest numbers, in B, Charmakars, Holars and Dhors in C, and
other communities barring these can be categorised as SC-D,” he demanded.
Former Shiv Sena MLA Baburao Mane of the Rashtriya Charmakar Sangh said they
would launch a protest after Diwali demanding a bifurcation in the SC quota.
“All castes in the SC category must be divided in sub-quotas... otherwise, a
select few corner benefits,” he added, stating that such demands had been made
in other states too.’ [viii]
It
is important to understand that quota in Maharashtra too is subclassified
particularly among the OBCs. “The 30 per cent reservation for the other
backward classes (OBCs), for example, is split into 19 per cent for the OBC
category proper and 11 per cent for the Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes. The
last, in turn, is split into 3 per cent for VJs or denotified tribes and 2.5
per cent for the nomadic tribes category B, 3.5 per cent for the category C
(Dhangar community) and 2 per cent for category D (the Vanjari community).”[ix] The quota for scheduled castes in
Maharashtra is 13% for a total of about 59 castes and for scheduled tribes, it
is 7% for about 47 communities.
The
categorisation practically started from Punjab
There
are a lot of claims related to present petition and the involvement of Balmikis
in the cases in Supreme Court. The fact is there always are different petitions
of individuals, organisations and governments and they are clubbed together but
the main petition remains with Government of Punjab as litigant. So let us
understand as what happened in Punjab. Punjab has the highest number of
Scheduled Caste Population in India. “It is about 32% as per 2011 census. The
main communities among Scheduled castes are Mazhabis, Valmikis, Ravidasis,
Ramdasis, Adidharmi along with 30 other castes. Mazhabis are 31.5% and Valmikis
11% belong to sanitation and cleaning work, Ravidasis, Ramdasia are 26.2%, Ad-dharmis
are 15%.”[x] It is
categorical that Mazhabis-Valmikis are the biggest among the scheduled castes
in Punjab constituting about 42.5%. The
quota for the scheduled caste is 25% which should be increased as per its
population but the government divided this to 12.5% each for two categories. The
Mazhabis-Valmikis alone are 12% of Punjab population and
yet underrepresented in the services saw numerous movements for a separate
quota with in it hence the then Chief Minister Giani Zail Singh issued an order
fixing up 12.5% quota for Mazhabis and rest for the other communities. On July 25th, 2006, this order got struck down by Punjab and
Haryana High Court in the aftermath of the Supreme Court Order in 2004 on E V
Chinnaiah verses State of Andhra Pradesh in which a five-judge bench declared
subclassification as invalid and unconstitutional. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh realized the
gravity of the situation and got the Punjab Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Reservation
in Services Act 2006 passed in the Punjab Assembly and got it notified on
5th October 2006. "However, Section 4(5) of the Act, which provided fifty percent
reservations to Valmikis and Mazhabi Sikhs, was struck down by a Division Bench
of Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 29th, 2010.’[xi] In fact, Amarinder Singh said in an interview
The Punjab government had challenged this in the Supreme Court finally on a
five judge bench led by Justice Arun Mishra in August 20th, 2020
disagreed with Chinnaiah judgement and categorically mentioned that states can
provide reservation to most marginalized communities separately. ‘Taking up the plea of the Punjab
government, a five-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra (since retired),
on August 27, 2020, differed with the Chinnaiah judgement and referred it for
adjudication by a larger bench of seven judges or more for an authoritative
pronouncement. We endorse the opinion of a bench of three judges that EV
Chinnaiah is required to be revisited by a larger bench; more so, in view of
further development and the amendment of the Constitution, which have taken
place’.[xii]
The judgement emphatically says, ‘There are unequals within SC/STs and
socially and educationally backward classes. Reports indicate that SCs/STs do
not constitute a homogenous group. The aspiration of equal treatment of the
lowest strata, to whom the fruits of the reservation have not effectively
reached, remains a dream. At the same time, various castes by and large remain
where they were, and they remain unequals. Are they destined to carry their
backwardness till eternity?’[xiii]
Is it merely a judicial overreaction or failure of Dalit Bahujan
political leadership to carry all along with them
Frankly speaking, Supreme Court verdict is related to these specific
cases of Andhra Pradesh and Punjab about categorization. All this has not
happened because the court wanted to intervene deliberately. These issues
emerge because there are movements for that. It might be aggravated by the
rival parties and politicians but then it should have been countered with
maturity and a sense of fraternity. It is also unfortunate that it took so long
for the court to deliver the verdict and then create another form of confusion.
We are at such a critical phase of time when individuals use these moments as
individual success whether for or against certain verdict. However, the real
issue is whether this entire verdict delivered by Justice Chandrachud along
with six other judges happened all of a sudden. From the history that I
provided the Punjab case started since 1975 which means it is 49 years and
Andhra-Telangana case started in 1997 which means it was over 27 years. Was
there no need for a conversation with leadership of the warring communities on
the issue? Secondly, the entire issue is being converted as if this is only the
issue of Uttar Pradesh where we have not heard much from the leadership of
these marginalized among the scheduled castes. The reason for it is that their
numbers are far below but in state like Bihar, the leaders such as Jitan Ram
Manjhi has spoken openly against the position taken by Chirag Paswan. Jitan Ram
Manjhi, a former chief minister, now a Central Minister who belong to one of
the most marginalized Mushahar community in Bihar welcomed the verdict, "We welcome and support the Supreme Court verdict. It is
good," the Union MSME minister told
reporters here, after attending the HAM (S) executive committee meeting. He further said, "If you analyse the
Scheduled Caste literacy percentage, four castes in it have 30 to 40 per cent
literacy rate, while 22 castes have a literacy rate ranging from 3 per cent to
15 per cent. Even B R Ambedkar had emphasised a review of the reservations
every 10 years, but no such exercise has taken place so far."[xiv]
Manjhi was critical of his own ministerial colleagues and
others criticizing Supreme Court judgement. He said, “How many IAS, IPS, chief
engineers, Class I officers are from these backward Dalit castes? Only four
dominant Dalit castes have benefited from the reservation policy and they are
opposing the latest court’s judgement”, he said.[xv]
Manjhi’s statement might
look rhetorical but it reflects a dark reality of hard positions among the
communities in the Scheduled Castes list. In the absence of an effort to bring
all together and that is only possible with promise of participation things
will only worsen. We need to understand the issue of identities and
representation in the post Mandal era in the 1990s. There is no doubt that the
biggest fight for implementation of Mandal Commission report actually emerged
from Ambedkarites who stood up solidly with the backward communities but slowly
the caste identities started emerging in with different ‘jaati Sammellans’ in
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other parts of the country. Baba Saheb’s annihiliation
of castes actually disappeared and it was ‘felt’ that caste identity is biggest
asset politically. Manywar Kanshiram Saheb actually brought different castes
together, gave space to those communities in the party, at lower level, who had
never got that opportunity. He was a man of many ideas, real social scientist
but slowly even the other parties started this different jaati sammellans. It
looked as if all are coming together. Even BAMSCEF put photographs of so many
different ‘icons’ of Dalit Bahujans purely to suggest ‘diversity of
communities’ in the movement.
The historic wrongs with
OBCs and rise of caste identities in the Post Mandal Era
One important factor is
that Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe reservation issue has never been
questioned and is a settled issue as far as overall quota is concerned. The
major fault lies with the issue of OBCs in the constitution despite the fact
that there was provision for it in the Madras State as the entire movement and
formation of Justice Party that began in the 1920s started on the premise of
representation of the backward classes in the power structure. In 1953
government formed a commission under Kaka Kalelkar who submitted his report in
March 1955 but it could never see the light of the day. Over the years, the
issue got delayed in the cumbersome world of formation of Commissions and the
submission of their reports. The first non-Congress government led by Morarji
Desai formed the Mandal Commission who submitted his report to the then
President Giani Zail Singh on December 31st, 1980. It took nearly 10 years and again a non-Congress
government led by Vishwanath Pratap Singh to accept its recommendations and
decision to implement it.
On August 7th,
1990 when prime minister V P Singh made the historic announcement in the
Parliament for acceptance of Mandal Commission Report. But Mandal report has
sent heart burn in India’s caste Hindus who never forgave VP for the ‘sin’ he
committed. It is because of this, various ways and means were ‘developed’ to
curtail the reservation, denigrate them, use them under the pretext of
Economically Weaker Sections and so on. Mandal report might have been for the
backward communities but it ignited SC-ST-OBCs and they started coming
together. The biggest impact of the
coming together of diverse groups politically was the big defeat of BJP in the
elections held in the aftermath of Babari demolition. Samajwadi Party and
Bahujan Samaj Party had joined hand and defeated BJP in Uttar Pradesh in 1993 .
This gave a huge boost to non Brahmanical forces all over the country
particularly SC-ST-OBCs who started organizing themselves not only politically
but also culturally. The leaders felt that there can’t be different forces
vying for same space in UP and Bihar hence SP-BSP fought against Janta Dal due
to the same ‘constituency’ of people. BJP had realized that it would hardly be
possible to counter Mandal merely with Jai Shree Ram alone and hence they
promoted leaders like Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar and Uma Bharati, all hailing
from backward communities. That apart, the Sangh Parivar started working among
diverse sections of SC-ST-OBCs. Particular focus was made on non-Yadav non
Chamar-non-Jatav communities as ambitions and personal rivalry broke the SP BSP
alliance in Uttar Pradesh. It broke the movement and then we found different
kind of political ‘experiments’ in Uttar Pradesh. Some time it was Dalit
Brahmin alliance (basically Chamar-Brahmin alliance) named as Sarvjan or
Mulayam Singh Yadav’s so called OBC Brahmin (Yadav Brahmin alliance along with
Rajputs as Amar Singh was arranging everything. The Brahmin dominated
‘intellectual’ and media had convinced every one including the leadership these
parties that there are 11-12% brahmins in Uttar Pradesh and they are essential
for any combination to gain power in the state. This farcical data was enough
for both BSP and SP to flirt with them. Ofcourse, the Brahmins have a
disproportionate presence in media, bureaucracy, judiciary and civil society of
Uttar Pradesh and their influence is much more powerful than the strength of
their community. The biggest tragedy in this entire exercise was the attitude
of the leaders of Samajwadi Party and BSP. Frankly both Yadavas and Chamars and
Jatavs could not come together for the simple reason that one has to play the
second fiddle. Samajwadi Party under Akhilesh during his tenure as Chief
Minister targeted Scheduled Caste reservation and changed the names of the districts
which Ms Mayawati had done during her tenure as Chief Minister. Akhilesh and
Mulayam were deliberately provocative when they targeted Ambedkar Park and
built Lohia Park in Lucknow. Samajwadi Party leader in Lok Sabha protested the
bill for reservation in Promotion for the scheduled castes and snatched it from
the hand of Sonia Gandhi in Lok Sabha. Akhilesh Yadav too encouraged karmcharis
in Uttar Pradesh to stand up against reservation in promotion. Political
compulsion for survival brought both the parties together in 2019 elections but
they got defeated together. The very next day, Ms Mayawati broke the alliance
with Akhilesh Yadav and again an attempted coming together got derailed. Now,
Congress and Samajwadi Party are together and both used the issue of
Constitution and Baba Saheb Ambedkar during the elections and got phenomenal
response. This election has also given another leader to Ambedkarite movement
in the form of Chandra Shekhar Azad who has so far been impressive in
Parliament. So, Uttar Pradesh’s politics for getting the ‘Dalit’ vote is the
root of the entire exercise. The fact is that both Congress and Samajwadi Party
got a huge chunk of Jatav-Chamar votes too and they are the ones who are
speaking up loudly against the Subclassification for long. Their position
against this is very old particularly in Uttar Pradesh. Parties know it well
who votes where. Samajwadi Party gets a huge chunk of Pasi votes which are
influential right from Gorakhpur till Barabanki, Sitapur etc. BJP’s outreach targets
the Balmikis and Dhobis but numerically the Chamars themselves constitute more
than 54% of the total scheduled caste population in Uttar Pradesh. While SP and
BSP were happy to have solid backing of their main ‘constituencies’ i.e. Yadavs
and Chamars unrealistically giving Brahmins much bigger pie than they deserved.
With BJP’s open Manuwadi agenda, Brahmins-Bania-Rajputs realized that it was
the best suited party serving their interest. Not be left aside, Jats, Gujjars,
Lodhs too became the favorite of BJP. The most marginalized among Dalits and
OBCs were completely left in Uttar Pradesh. Many of them did not have a single
MLA or even the village Sarpanch. The silent network of the Sangh Parivar
worked over time among these communities. Narratives were built and each
community was given a ‘mythological’ hero. BJP can’t ignore Dr Baba Saheb
Ambedkar yet it created numerous other icons from all these different
communities. It helped. Most of these communities too felt strongly for the Ram
Mandir Movement rather than questioning the Brahmanical caste system that kept
them away as well as turning them against Muslims by creating fictitious
narrative of their fight against Muslims or Islam. Under revolutionary
Kanshiram, BSP attracted a large number of such communities on the margins who
could never even imagine to send a leader in state assembly. Unfortunately,
today with more interest of the party in the Brahmins, the other Dalit
communities started drifting from it. The rival parties started building up the
narrative in the villages that Chamars have eaten of their ‘Haq’ i.e. rights.
So, for all the problems of Doms, Mushahars, Valmikis, Kols the narrative was
that Chamars have acquired everything. The problem was that it was not merely a
political master game in Uttar Pradesh. It was used by all communities Yadav,
Kushwahas, Kurmis, Rajputs, Brahmins, Bhumihar, Jats, Gujjars etc whoever was
powerful in their domain. The result was that in many reserved constituencies,
these powerful castes defeated well organised Chamar candidates in Panchayats
if the seat got reserved and got dummy candidates from other communities win
the elections. The political success of one community whether Chamars, Yadavs,
Jats forced the rival communities such as Pasis, Valmikis, Mushahrs, Rajbhars
Nishads, Kurmis and Gujjars to look for other options. Unfortunately, parties
working in the name of Bahujans or Dalits were unable to take these communities
together and the result is that a majority of them went to other political
parties. The result is the rise of Om Prakash Rajbhar, Jitan Ram Manjhi and mavericks’
who have become bigger than their movements. Most of them have no hatred
towards the caste Hindus but purely target either Chamars or Yadavs suggesting
these communities have gained due to reservation.
BSP could have played a
bigger role since it was the party of Ambedkarite movement. It should have
worked more among the MBCs and Ati Dalits to assure them that party would do
everything to ensure their interest and they would not be isolated but sadly the
representation of such community leaders in power structure of the party is
nowhere. Rather than blaming Valmikis for trying to destroy them Dalit
movement, the party should have understood that the biggest impact of the
privatization process in the sanitation work is the Valmiki community. Their
youths are not getting jobs even in the municipalities. Initially, they were
blamed for not looking beyond ‘jhadu’ or ‘sanitation’ work but now they find it
unwelcomed when the youths are looking beyond their ‘traditional occupation’.
Is it not our duty to welcome these communities and provide them representation
even if that was symbolic in nature but these parties are not even ready for
that, The result is a huge trust deficit among various communities among the Scheduled
Castes.
Often in the Bahujan
parlance activists speak of proportional representation but that does not
exists in the parties. Most of the parties, to look, more secular, have Brahmin
spokespersons. I don’t need to speak about powerful Brahmin leaders in BSP, SP,
RJD, LJP etc. You can watch them on TV but one can not provide a single
Balmiki, Dom, Mushahar politician at senior level in these parties.
Dravidian Model provide
hope
It is interesting that
RJD was the first one to have come out openly against the Supreme Court
Judgement. Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav actually supported the
Supreme Court decision but after many days Akhilesh Yadav tweeted speaking
about ‘constitution’ and ‘discrimination’. The tweet itself played a ‘tightrope
walk’ meaning nothing. Congress is still weighing its option though it is a well-known
fact that the Punjab categorization happened during its government as well as
Telangana and Karnataka have openly come out in support of Supreme Court
Judgement. BJP is expert in playing multiple game and will take its own time
but one must laud the DMK in Tamilnadu for being most vocal and absolutely
unrepenting on the issue. We need to appreciate it. No party come near to the
firefighting work that Dravidian parties particularly DMK did on the issue of
reservation in India. You may disagree with them on many issues but you cant
really question them on their commitment on reservation issue. All parties joined
hand and compelled prime minister Narsimharao to put 69% reservation in the Schedule
IX. The Tamil Nadu
SC-ST-BC bill was passed in the assembly in 1993 which took the quota to 69%.
This quota was developed almost on proportionate basis: Backward Classes 26.5 per cent, Most Backward
Classes/Denotified Communities 20 per cent, BC Muslims 3.5 per cent, Scheduled
Castes 18 per cent and Scheduled Tribes (1 percent). The political
leadership knew well that it would be difficult to protect itself from various
litigations in the court as Supreme Court had put the 49% limit to reservation
and it was impossible to satisfy different communities given the nature of
their backwardness hence all political parties joined hand, passed resolution
in the Assembly, came together on this issue with unanimity and forced the
Union government to put Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation bill in the Schedule IX
making it beyond the reach of litigation and judicial review processes. Can we think of such a unanimity in Uttar
Pradesh where since 1989 till 2017, we had only two parties belonging to
Bahujan Samaj. Unfortunately, the track record of both SP-BSP is not that
shining when the issue of reservation came. They are speaking today purely with
their political interest and unable to look beyond their own community
interests rather than taking all the Dalit Bahujan communities along with them.
Ignoring the voices of
dissent
While Supreme Court
Judgement on the issue has definitely transgressed many things particularly
unnecessarily picking up the issue of Creamy layer which was not really needed.
Courts were never there for social justice but to divert attention. Government
and political parties use the court to subvert or divert an issue but the Dalit
leadership which is feeling betrayed must ponder over whether they ever tried
to outreach the communities feeling left out in the Dalit discourse. It is sad
that most of the voices against this judgement is coming either from the
Brahmanical revolutionaries or those champions of Dalit Rights who rarely have
time to share the pains of the most marginalized Dalit communities. The fact
is, the gap and chasm between different Dalit and OBC communities has grown up
because of the nature of opportunistic leadership. The unity of Dalis and OBCs
will not happen with anti-Brahmanical rhetoric. It will need a comprehensive
positive programme where each community feel equal partner and none can
bulldoze other just on the basis of their numbers. Accept communities as equal
partners and not make them feel unwanted or incapable which is purely a
brahmanical practice. Whatever be the issues in Tamilnadu, may be people can
make studies on the reservation policy of that state which has been
proportional and provide space to all.
It need to be understood
that Dalit communities as diverse culturally as well as linguistically as any
other community in India. Baba Saheb was categorical on this and that is why he
always used the term Scheduled Castes which indicated diversity of communities
in the group. Baba Saheb also called it graded inequality which means he knew
that there is also a graded discrimination with in the scheduled castes too.
Many people suggest that the other Dalit communities do not have ‘capable’
candidates and it would be easier for government to point ‘Not Found Suitable’
candidate and then fil it with Brahmin Bania candidate. It is important
therefor to ensure that a scheduled caste seat will only be replaced by a
scheduled caste candidate and 17% reservation provided for scheduled Castes
cannot be diluted. The same formula can be put in the roaster. I mean, issues
will come up and we will have to prepare for new challenges. It can not happen
that we harp on what happened 75 years back because we will have to face these
new challenges and provide a solution. To ignore, hide or run away from any
issue is not a solution but create more problems.
Therefore, popular debate on this issue must have the
courage to involve those communities among the scheduled castes who are
complaining. Rather than blaming them for all the wrongs, it is important to listen
to them. Important to speak to Balmiki family, a Dom, a Mushahar, a Pasi, a Majahabi,
Arundhatiyar, Mangs, Matangs, Madigas and ask for their opinion too on the
matter.
Unfortunately, internal dialogue is
missing and the result is those demanding things are simply going to other
parties or Supreme Court. Ofcourse, everyone knows well, that the courts and
government is more than happy to 'intervene'. But the entire issue also suggest
time for serious introspection.
Creamy lawyer theory bogus unless EWS
is applicable for the SC-ST-OBCs and General is not exclusive for caste Hindus
Supreme Court unnecessarily poked into
creamy layer issue among the SCs. It is important for the Court to rectify its
old judgements particularly on the issue of EWS and define it categorically. A
majority of SC-ST-OBCs can easily cover under EWS but Court has made exclusive
for Brahmin Banias by excluding SC-ST-OBCs. Various Courts rulings including
apex court as well as clever circumvention of court order by the Brahmanical
bureaucracy has converted unreserved seat into so called savarna quota termed as
general seats. Let the Supreme Court make it clear that so-called general or
unreserved seats are for every one including SC-ST-OBCs and perhaps then their
talk about creamy layer can be justified. Without undoing the historical wrongs
all talk about creamy layer is bogus and farce. Remember General does not mean
Savarna but unreserved. SC-ST-OBC have every right to get selected in the
General category which is being denied these days.
Frankly speaking, India is asking for
proportional representation at all level. Hindu, Dalit, Bahujan, Muslims are
bigger identities while people are rallying around their particular jaati
identity. Even talk of so-called upper caste is bogus and farce. We need to
speak about which jaati has what representation. Banias, Brahmins, Rajputs,
Kayasthas, all must be enumerated separately and reflected in the official
records. Similarly, we need to know the data related to Doms, Balmikis,
Mushaars, Matang, Mang, Arundhatiyars and other communities on the margins.
Finally, all the marginalized must
understand too that they will only prosper and progress if there is an internal
dialogue among them. Baba Saheb took every one along with them. Manywar
Kansiram did it and the result was unprecedented unity among different sections
of Scheduled castes as well as backward communities. Remember, unity cannot be
built by blaming those who are seeking their representation and participation. Do
your homework. Start speaking and bring a political solution. Denying existence
of a demand is simply dishonesty which will only damage the movement so
laboriously built by Baba Saeb Ambedkar and carried forward by Manywar Kansiram
ji. A political solution to this issue is possible if political leaders of all
Dalit communities join hand and assure the most marginalized among them a fair
share in not only jobs etc. but also in their respective political parties only
then things will move otherwise the 'revolutionary' 'intellectuals' will
intervene and damage the movement. Nearly 19 years back, I witnessed the huge
Madiga protest movement in Hyderabad demanding separate quota for them. They
were blamed but continued with their demand. I wrote a piece that time, ' Dalit
Movement at the Cross Roads'. I think, today, it is time for the movement to
build up fraternity among them, have courage to accept that there is a crisis
and resentment among different communities on the margin, negotiate and win
over them, seek their representation at all level. Baba Saheb’s movement was
accepted by all and the Jatavs of Agra stood with him and spread the movement
in the North. Punjab had a huge Ambedkarite presence. Baba Saheb’s volumes were
first edited by legendry Bhagwan Das ji who was one of his most dynamic
followers. Similarly, don’t ignore Deena Bhana ji contribution to build Bahujan
movement with Manywar Kanshiram Saheb. Therefore, it is time to sit and
introspect. Don’t give the crooked brahmanical elite to divide Dalit
communities but in the absence of an honest attempt to bring them together the
Hindutva-liberal elite will happily intervene and exploit the contradictions
for their political gains.
[i] https://www.thehindu.com/elections/telangana-assembly/pms-announcement-on-madiga-categorisation-in-telangana-too-late-for-assembly-but-could-yield-result-in-2024/article67532103.ece
[ii] Dalit leader who fought for SC sub-classification:
‘Verdict will benefit a hundred generations of Madigas, other downtrodden
castes’ by Nikhila Henry, Indian Express, August 3, 2024
[iii]
https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/e-v-chinnaiah-lead-petitioner-supreme-court-sc-sub-classification-case-9489550/
[iv] https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2020/Aug/28/3-per-cent-sub-quota-for-arunthathiyars-to-continue-2189296.html
[v] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/aiadmk-claims-credit-for-supreme-court-verdict-on-arunthathiyar-quota/articleshow/112255080.cms
[vi] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/parties-term-supreme-court-verdict-on-allowing-states-to-sub-classify-scs-as-historic-101722535708540.html
[vii] In Conversation with Bhagwan Das,
by Vidya Bhushan Rawat, countercurrents.org, October 2, 2007 https://www.countercurrents.org/rawat021007.htm
[viii]
Dhaval Kulkarni, DNA India,
November 8, 2018
[ix] https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/up-front/story/20230313-the-a-b-c-d-of-the-dalit-quota-in-maharashtra-2342190-2023-03-03
[x] Understanding the Dalit demography of Punjab, caste by
caste, February 18, 2022, India Today
Punjab : Amarinder Singh demands reservation for
Valmikis-Mazhabi Sikhs in government jobs, Times of India, November 16, 2021
[xii]
Court to Reassess SC-ST Category Verdict, Deccan Chronicle
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/legalnews/apex-court-to-reassess-scst-category-verdict-881330
[xiii]
Supreme
court allows sub-classification of SC/STs for quota, Deccan Herald, August 27,
2020
https://www.deccanherald.com/india/sts-for-quota-878722.html
