Caste based reservation in India is often highlighted as a scheme for ensuring social justice.The whole idea of social justice is so ambiguous and vague that its meaning varies from one individual to another. A widely accepted theory of social justice is the one theorized by renowned American philosopher John Rawls. In his book 'A theory of justice', Rawls says "Justice is the first virtue
of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however
elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue;
likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be
reformed or abolished if they are unjust".The inevitability of social justice in our society is undisputed.However, it is hard to define what social justice actually means. In a broad sense, it refers to the equal treatment of all the citizens without any social distinction based on caste, colour, race, religion, sex and so on.
Although I do not intend to take his theory for granted, Rawls' theory is reasonable and it serves well as a reference. According to the theory, the two basic principles of justice is as follows :
Although I do not intend to take his theory for granted, Rawls' theory is reasonable and it serves well as a reference. According to the theory, the two basic principles of justice is as follows :
- Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.
- Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both (a) reasonably expected to be to everyone's advantage, and (b) attached to positions and offices open to all.
There is a famous quote from one of the popular Star Trek movies - 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few'. Although it sounds very virtuous, it is hard to digest for someone who belongs to the 'few' category. When it comes to social justice, Rawls clearly disagrees to this. He says- " Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. It does not allow that the sacrifices imposed on a few are outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed by many. Therefore in a just society the liberties of equal citizenship are taken as settled; the rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interests". So, the whole question of reservation being a social justice or not boils down to the basic question whether it is justice when we sacrifice the needs of a few for the greater good of the society.
Before getting deep into this question, let's see what our Constitution has to say. The preamble of the Constitution of India proudly proclaims - " We, the people of India , ..........................................secure to all it's citizen
JUSTICE social , economic and political ........................................
EQUALITY of status and opportunity .................... ".
Also, article 16(1) states -
'There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State'. At the same time, article 16(4) says -
'Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State'.
This contradictory nature of the Constitution basically comes from the classic conflict between justice and equality.The only choice left to us is to optimize between these two which is a Herculean task.
India, the second most populous country in the world, is a blend of a wide variety of cultures and traditions.The social scenario at one part of the country is entirely different from that of another. Hence, its nearly impossible to come up with rules that are appropriate and fair to all. Reservation is one of those schemes that has been coming back and biting us ever since it was implemented. In India, the castes were categorized into general, SC, ST and OBC based on their social backwardness. Reservations were brought in to uplift the social and economic statuses of the backward classes who had been suppressed for long by the brutal caste system existed in India. It was morally and ethically inevitable to do so. And the condition of most of these backward classes has been improved considerably over the last 6 decades. But, a lot of citizens who belong to the upper castes have been denied job and educational opportunities because of this. At the same time, even less skilled or talented individuals from the 'backward' class are enjoying the opportunities just because his/her ancestors were discriminated. This cannot be justified by any means because this is undoubtedly an injustice to the eligible citizens of the upper castes. Moreover,there are plenty of 'backward' castes which has improved so much that they don't deserve reservations any more. In 'A theory of justice', Rawls says- "Those who are at the same level of talent and ability, and have the same willingness to use them, should have the same prospects of success regardless of their initial place in the social system, that is, irrespective of the income class into which they are born. In all sectors of society there should be roughly equal prospects of culture and achievement for everyone similarly motivated and endowed.The expectations of those with the same abilities and aspirations should not be affected by their social class". While we were using this argument for the well being of the socially backward, we completely forgot the innocent, eligible and probably economically backward upper caste citizens. Reservation, which was intended to ensure social justice , went overboard and brought in too much 'justice' which is now riding in the path of social injustice and inequality.
That being said , we have to turn the coin around and look at it from the other side too. It is necessary to check whether reservation has lost its all relevance ( as claimed by the anti-reservation agitators). Do we still need reservation to ensure social justice? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Nowadays, its a popular belief that caste-ism does not exist in India any more. There are many developed and literate states in India (for instance,Kerala ) where caste system and discrimination is almost completely overthrown. In those states, almost all people belonging to the 'backward' classes are misusing the opportunities provided by reservation even though they do not need to be 'uplifted' anymore. Most of them are socially and economically above the middle class and does not suffer any kind of discrimination except the undeserved positive discrimination of reservation. Nevertheless, the scenario is completely different in many other parts of India. There are societies in India where the backward castes are subjected to extreme discrimination involving customs as primitive as untouchability and unapproachability! It is really hard for an educated Indian to believe that such customs still exists in our 'Incredible India' ! Here is an eye-opening documentary video on the existence of caste discrimination in various parts of India.
The heights of caste discrimination existing in India even in this 21st century is unbelievable! Those communities definitely need encouragement from the government for their well being. There is discrimination against them at work places, public places and -the most atrocious of all - even at schools ! This is a shameful truth that every proud Indian should always remember.While protesting against the government to stop caste based reservation, most of the middle class educated Indians have no idea about this bitter truth. And , hence I rest my case by contradicting myself that reservation is necessary in current Indian society to ensure social justice.
Well, apparently we are trapped between a rock and a hard place! And it is a known fact that there is no way out. The best choice we have is to stay in between in such a way that the agony is minimized. But, unfortunately there are many other constraints too. The politicians taking advantage of this situation are not making it easier for us to resolve the issue. Division and inequality in society has always been feeding the greedy and corrupt politicians. In order to make the best out of the situation, the constitutional provisions for reservation have to be studied extensively and revised to accommodate for the changes occurred in Indian society. Moreover, castes which have been improved for the past 60 years have to be removed from the category. Since the opportunities and resources are limited, it is important to make sure that the incentives from the government should reach the right deserving hands. A priority list should be made after detailed researches so that regions with different levels of discrimination are treated appropriately. Apart from reservation, awareness program-mes should be organised at grassroots to wipe out the nasty social practice of discrimination. Only the collective efforts from the people and government can bring equality in our society. We have to carry the burden of reservation until that happens.
Reservation based on caste , as a concept , is definitely a method to ensure social justice. But, its inefficient implementation in Indian society resulted in social injustice and inequality.What we lack is an effective and productive algorithm to lead ourselves to a society where equality goes hand in hand with justice. It's just a matter of time if we choose the right path. Coming back to our basic question , I do believe that it is fairly reasonable to sacrifice the needs of a few for the greater good of the society (maybe because I never had to sacrifice), provided we make sure that those sacrifices always result in the greater good of the deserving people. At the same time, I do believe that reservation is totally unjust to the upper caste citizens. But, it is a price, we - the whole society, has to pay for the improvement of our fellow beings. After all , as Oscar Wilde once told, life is never fair, perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not!
References
JUSTICE social , economic and political ........................................
EQUALITY of status and opportunity .................... ".
Also, article 16(1) states -
'There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State'. At the same time, article 16(4) says -
'Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State'.
This contradictory nature of the Constitution basically comes from the classic conflict between justice and equality.The only choice left to us is to optimize between these two which is a Herculean task.
India, the second most populous country in the world, is a blend of a wide variety of cultures and traditions.The social scenario at one part of the country is entirely different from that of another. Hence, its nearly impossible to come up with rules that are appropriate and fair to all. Reservation is one of those schemes that has been coming back and biting us ever since it was implemented. In India, the castes were categorized into general, SC, ST and OBC based on their social backwardness. Reservations were brought in to uplift the social and economic statuses of the backward classes who had been suppressed for long by the brutal caste system existed in India. It was morally and ethically inevitable to do so. And the condition of most of these backward classes has been improved considerably over the last 6 decades. But, a lot of citizens who belong to the upper castes have been denied job and educational opportunities because of this. At the same time, even less skilled or talented individuals from the 'backward' class are enjoying the opportunities just because his/her ancestors were discriminated. This cannot be justified by any means because this is undoubtedly an injustice to the eligible citizens of the upper castes. Moreover,there are plenty of 'backward' castes which has improved so much that they don't deserve reservations any more. In 'A theory of justice', Rawls says- "Those who are at the same level of talent and ability, and have the same willingness to use them, should have the same prospects of success regardless of their initial place in the social system, that is, irrespective of the income class into which they are born. In all sectors of society there should be roughly equal prospects of culture and achievement for everyone similarly motivated and endowed.The expectations of those with the same abilities and aspirations should not be affected by their social class". While we were using this argument for the well being of the socially backward, we completely forgot the innocent, eligible and probably economically backward upper caste citizens. Reservation, which was intended to ensure social justice , went overboard and brought in too much 'justice' which is now riding in the path of social injustice and inequality.
That being said , we have to turn the coin around and look at it from the other side too. It is necessary to check whether reservation has lost its all relevance ( as claimed by the anti-reservation agitators). Do we still need reservation to ensure social justice? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Nowadays, its a popular belief that caste-ism does not exist in India any more. There are many developed and literate states in India (for instance,Kerala ) where caste system and discrimination is almost completely overthrown. In those states, almost all people belonging to the 'backward' classes are misusing the opportunities provided by reservation even though they do not need to be 'uplifted' anymore. Most of them are socially and economically above the middle class and does not suffer any kind of discrimination except the undeserved positive discrimination of reservation. Nevertheless, the scenario is completely different in many other parts of India. There are societies in India where the backward castes are subjected to extreme discrimination involving customs as primitive as untouchability and unapproachability! It is really hard for an educated Indian to believe that such customs still exists in our 'Incredible India' ! Here is an eye-opening documentary video on the existence of caste discrimination in various parts of India.
The heights of caste discrimination existing in India even in this 21st century is unbelievable! Those communities definitely need encouragement from the government for their well being. There is discrimination against them at work places, public places and -the most atrocious of all - even at schools ! This is a shameful truth that every proud Indian should always remember.While protesting against the government to stop caste based reservation, most of the middle class educated Indians have no idea about this bitter truth. And , hence I rest my case by contradicting myself that reservation is necessary in current Indian society to ensure social justice.
Well, apparently we are trapped between a rock and a hard place! And it is a known fact that there is no way out. The best choice we have is to stay in between in such a way that the agony is minimized. But, unfortunately there are many other constraints too. The politicians taking advantage of this situation are not making it easier for us to resolve the issue. Division and inequality in society has always been feeding the greedy and corrupt politicians. In order to make the best out of the situation, the constitutional provisions for reservation have to be studied extensively and revised to accommodate for the changes occurred in Indian society. Moreover, castes which have been improved for the past 60 years have to be removed from the category. Since the opportunities and resources are limited, it is important to make sure that the incentives from the government should reach the right deserving hands. A priority list should be made after detailed researches so that regions with different levels of discrimination are treated appropriately. Apart from reservation, awareness program-mes should be organised at grassroots to wipe out the nasty social practice of discrimination. Only the collective efforts from the people and government can bring equality in our society. We have to carry the burden of reservation until that happens.
Reservation based on caste , as a concept , is definitely a method to ensure social justice. But, its inefficient implementation in Indian society resulted in social injustice and inequality.What we lack is an effective and productive algorithm to lead ourselves to a society where equality goes hand in hand with justice. It's just a matter of time if we choose the right path. Coming back to our basic question , I do believe that it is fairly reasonable to sacrifice the needs of a few for the greater good of the society (maybe because I never had to sacrifice), provided we make sure that those sacrifices always result in the greater good of the deserving people. At the same time, I do believe that reservation is totally unjust to the upper caste citizens. But, it is a price, we - the whole society, has to pay for the improvement of our fellow beings. After all , as Oscar Wilde once told, life is never fair, perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not!
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| This should be our vision - Equality and justice ! Picture courtesy : www.memecenter.com |
References
- Rawls, John (1971) : 'A theory of justice' , Harvard University Press.
- http://www.indiankanoon.org
- http://en.wikipedia.org
- https://www.youtube.com
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