Minority in Obc Reservations

7/31/2019 Minority in Obc Reservations

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Developments since Independence, CommitteeReports

Devjani Bhuyan

30 May 2012


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Constitutional provisions

1. The Constitution of India does not restrict the scheduled

castes class to any select religions. The term ScheduledCastes has been defined in Article 366(24) read with Article

341(1) as: Scheduled Castes means such castes, races or

tribes or parts of or groups within such castes, races or tribes

as are deemed under Article 341 to be scheduled castes forthe purposes of this Constitution.

(a) The president may with respect to any state or union

territory, and where it is a state, after consultation with the

governor thereof, by public notification, specify the castes,races or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or

tribes which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be

deemed to be scheduled castes in relation to that state or

union territory, as the case may be.


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(b) Parliament may by law include in or exclude from thelist of Scheduled Castes specified in a notification issued

under clause (1) any caste, race or tribe or part of or groupwithin any caste, race or tribe, but save as aforesaid anotification issued under the said clause shall not bevaried by

any subsequent notification.

2. Under these provisions, a Constitution (ScheduledCastes) Order was issued in 1950. Para 3 in the order saidthat any non-Hindu could not be regarded as a scheduledcaste. Since this order was amended in 1956 to include

Sikhs,and in 1990 the Buddhists, among the scheduled castes,since the latter amendment, this para says that nobody whois not a Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist can be a scheduled caste.The text of the order is reproduced below


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The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article341 of the Constitution of India, the president, after consultation

with the governors and rajpramukhs of the states concerned,is pleased to make the following order, namely:

1. This order may be called the Constitution (ScheduledCastes) Order 1950.2. Subject to the provisions of this order, the castes,races or tribes or parts of, or groups within, castes or tribesspecified in (Parts to (XXII)) of the schedule to this ordershall, in relation to the states to which those parts respectively

related, be deemed to be scheduled castes so far asregards member thereof resident in the localities specifiedin relation to them in those parts of that schedule


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3. Notwithstanding anything contained inparagraph 2,

no person who professes a religion different fromthe Hindu,

the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be deemedto be a

member of a scheduled caste.

4. Any reference in this order to a state or to adistrict or

other territorial division thereof shall be construedas a reference to the state, district or otherterritorial division as

constituted on the 1st day of May 1976.


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Moves for change by legislationEfforts have been made in the past to get the Constitution

(Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 amended by legislation so

as to make it religion-neutral. A number of private membersbills have been moved in Parliament but to no avail. An officialbill called the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order

(Amendment) Bill was at last drafted in 1996. The opinionsexpressed by the state/UT governments on the bill, obtained

by the central government, were divided. The government alsotook note of the recommendations of the 1983 Gopal SinghPanel and the central Minorities Commission which were

stronglyin favour of deleting para 3 of the SC Order of 1950, and of

the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission whichwas against the same. In view of all this divergence of opinion,the bill was not introduced in Parliament.


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Recent court cases awaiting a decision1. In three different pending petitions before the Supreme Court of

India, the petitioners have challengedpara 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950

saying that a person not professing the Hindu, Sikh orBuddhist faith cannot be included in the lists of Scheduled Castes. They

have relied upon the following grounds:(a) Secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution ofIndia. The denial of equal privileges to persons of scheduled

caste origin converted to Christianity is in violation of boththe basic features enshrined in Article 25 and the preambleto the Constitution.(b) The Constitution has provided for equality of opportunity to all

those who are similarly situated. Persons ofscheduled caste origin converted to Christianity are identically situated

vis--vis their counterparts professing theHindu, Sikh and Buddhist religions.(c) Even after conversion, the caste label continues andit is difficult for a person in Indian society to get out of thevice of the caste system


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(d) Caste is more a social combination than a religiousgroup and even though the tenets of Christianity do notrecognise caste, it is in fact a reality.(e) The only available judgement on this issue, namelythe constitutionality of para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order

1950, is in Soosai vs Union of India 1985(Supp SCC 590). In the judgement, the Supreme Court hadaccepted that the caste continued even after conversion. Ithad however sought for more material to show that the handicaps of persons

of scheduled castes had remained the sameeven after conversion to Christianity. In the said case, the

court was not satisfied with the material placed before it.(f) The position of persons of scheduled caste origin converted to Christianity

remains the same as before. They continue to be forced into the mostdemeaning occupations.

Their position both in the church as well as amongst fellowChristians is no better than that suffered by their counterparts in other religious

denominations. They continue to beb o t h p o o r a n d s o c i a l l y a n d e d u c a t i o n a l l y b a c k w a r d.

Intermarriages between them and upper-caste Christians arerare. In the churches, they are segregated from the uppercaste Christians. Even

after death they are buried in different burial grounds


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(g) The atrocities committed on the Dalits are uniform irrespective of thereligions they belong to. Yet persons of scheduled caste origin convertedto Christianity are deprived of special protective provisions solely on thebasis of religion.

T h e p e t i t i o n e r s h a v e sought the relief that the Supr eme Cour t

should s t r i k e down para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes)Order 1 9 5 0 a s u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l , being violative of Articles14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution, and direct the government to extend theprotection available under the Scheduled Castes and the ScheduledTribes(Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and the Protection of

Civil Rights Act 1955 to all persons of scheduled caste origin irrespective oftheir religion.


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2. Seven writ petitions making the same demand are pending in different high courts, basedmainly on the following

pleas:(a) The presidential order of 1950 was issued by the president of India under Article 341 of the

Constitution. Thepower conferred on the president by public notification is a

delegated power which cannot run contrary to Article 13(2)of the Indian Constitution which states as follows: The stateshall not make any law which takes away or abridges therights conferred by this part and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent

of the contravention,be void. Under Article 13(3), unless the context otherwise requires, law includes any

ordinance, order, by-law, rule,

regulation, notification, custom or usage having in the territory of India the force of law. So thepresidential order of1950 is unconstitutional and it is a black letter written outside the Constitution, introduced

through the back door byan executive order. Under Article 341, the president has noauthority to proclaim the para 3 of the Scheduled CastesOrder contrary to the Articles 15(2), 16(2), 29(2), and it isalso against the basic structure of the Constitution as decided in Kesavananda Bharati vs State of

Kerala; and para 3of the presidential order can be quashed as per the judgement of the Supreme Court in

Maharajadhiraja Madhav RaoJiwaji Rao Scindia Bahadur vs Union of India (AIR 1971 SC530 (1) SCC 85). Para 3 of the presidential order is ananathema which disfigures the beauty of the written Constitution of India.


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There is a wide divergence in the views/opinions expressedon this subject before the commission. The following views,

for and against, have been expressed before us:A. Views in favour(i) Even though Christianity and Islam do not recognisethe caste system or untouchability, the ground reality inIndia is different. Persons of scheduled caste origin converted to

Christianity/Islam continue to be subjected to

disabilities, including untouchability associated with casteand occupation, as they continue to be part and parcel ofIndian society.(ii) It is not only society that discriminates against persons of scheduled caste

origin converted to Christianity/Islam (inasmuch as such converts are not treated by other

members of their own religion or by members of other religions as their equals);they are being discriminated againsteven by their own religious institutions like the church ormosque, the manifestation of discriminations being separate churches/mosques

or separate prayer halls or prayer timings in the same church/mosque forthem and earmarked

areas for burial of their dead.


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(iii) Denial of scheduled caste status to them despiteuntouchability-related practices being enforced againstthem or atrocities committed against them deprives themof the protection of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes

(Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.(iv) Despite no visible change in their social or economic status as aresult of conversion, the converts are

d e p r i v e d o f t h e b e n e f i t s o f r e s e r v a t i o n , s u p p o rt a n d

de v e lopment s cheme s formul a t ed for the i r count e rpa r t s

i n t h e H i n d u , S i k h a n d B u d d h i s t r e l i g i o n s . T h is

amount s to di s c r imina t ion by the s t a t e on the groundof r e l igion.(v) Exclusion of Christianity and Islam from the purview of the

Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950is discriminatory and unconstitutional, being violativeof the provisions of fundamental rights guaranteed und e r A r t i c l e s

1 4 , 1 5 , 1 6 a n d 2 5 o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n .Change of religion being a strictly personal matter, suchchange should not deprive persons of scheduled caste


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origin [of the] protection and benefits available to similarlyplaced persons in other religions.

(vii) Although Sikhism and Buddhism do not recognise

the caste system, like Christianity and Islam, both Sikhs andBuddhists have been given the status of scheduled castes byamending the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950.There is no reason as to why similar dispensation cannotbe extended to similarly placed persons who profess Christianity

or Islam. That this is not being done is discrimination on theground of religion that is prohibited bythe Constitution.(viii) Groups and classes of persons of scheduled casteorigin professing Christianity/Islam who are included in the

list of OBCs should be delisted therefrom and be given thestatus of scheduled castes.


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B. Counterviews

(i) The very basis of identification of a certain class of

people as scheduled caste is social, educational and economicbackwardness arising from the age-old practice of

untouchability that flowed from a rigid caste system in the

Hindu religion.

( i i ) P e r s o n s p r o f e s s i n g

Chr i s t i ani t y or I s l am we r e

n o t t r e a t e d a s d e p r e s s e d

c l a s s / s c h e d u l e d c a s t e s b y

the British in pre-independent India or by the Indian

government after independe n c e . T h e s t a t u s o f d e -

p r e s s e d c l a s s / s c h e d u l e dc a s t e s wa s an ins epa r abl e

concomi t ant of the Hindu

religion in British and independent India.


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(iii) Persons of scheduledc a s t e o r i g i n c o n v e r t e d t oChristianity/Islam who aresoc i a l l y and educ a t iona l l ybackward are included in thelist of OBCs and are benefiting from reservation in services/educational institutions in favour of OBCs and from otherschemes and institutional support systems formulated forOBCs.

(iv) Apart from the benefits available to the sociallyand educationally backward amongst Christians and Muslims as OBCs, theyare also benefiting from the constitutional, legal and institutionalprotection/arrangements

as members of minority communities.(v) Presently, reservation is available for SCs and STs@ 15 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively although,as per the 2001 Census, their share in the population ismuch more. Grant of SC status to converts to Christianity/Islam would

therefore adversely affect the benefitsavailable to scheduled castes in the matter of reservation in services/posts and

educational institutions andrelated matters.


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To find a solution to a number of complications that were arising regarding the definition anddesignation of the Other Backward Classes, the central government, under Article 340 ofthe constitution, appointed the First Backward Classes Commission on January 29,1953.Kaka Kalelkar was appointed as the chairman of it and the commission thus named afterhim.

The report was submitted on march 30, 1955.

The commission formulated the following criteria to identify the other backward classes:

Low social position in the traditional caste hierarchy of Hindu society.

Lack of general education advancement among the major section of a caste or community;

Inadequate representation in the field of trade, commerce and industry ;

Inadequate or no representation in government service.

It prepared a list of 2,399 backward castes/communities for the entire country; and 837 of thesewere classified as most backward.

RECOMMENDATIONS MADE:

Undertaking caste wise enumeration of population in the CENSUS of 1961;

Relating social backwardness of a class to its low position in the traditional caste hierarchyof Hindu society;

Treating all women as a class as backward;

Reservation of 70% seats in all technical and professional institutions for qualified studentsof the other backward classes;


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Minimum reservations in vacancies in all government services and local bodies for other

backward classes on the following scale:

CLASS I- 25%

CLASSII-33 1/3 %

CLASSIII & IV- 40%

However the commission had severe handicaps and were rejected by the government

CAUSES OF REJECTION:

The central government did not accept the recommendations of the commission on the ground

that it had not applied any objective tests for identifying backward classes.

The government opposed to the adoption of castes and preferred the application of economic

testsEven Kaka Kalelkar, in his forwarding note virtually rejected the report stating it

would have been better if we could determine the criteria of backwardness on principles

other than caste as the caste test is repugnant to democracy and inimical to the creation of

a casteless and classless society

It was also criticized by the then home minister G.B. Pant who stated that the caste system was

undeniably the greatest hindrance in the way of our progress towards an egalitarian

society, and the recognition of specified castes as backwardness may serve to maintain and

perpetuate the existing distinction on the basis of caste

Further the government felt that the commission had classified a very large section of the

population as backward and if special assistance to extended to all these people, the really needy

will be swapped by the multitude.

Therefore the commission stands rejected and the government has now left the decisions of

identifying and defining and enumerating the OBCs into the hands of the state government.


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As the central commission failed to define and identify the other backward classes it asked the

state governments to draw up its own lists of OBCs and were asked to follow an economic

and educational criteria to identify them rather than communal categories to emphasize the

expansion of welfare among the poor.However here also we find important regionalvariation in formulating the state lists.

The peninsular block comprising 4 Dravidians states ( Andhra Pradesh ,karnataka, kerala

and tamilnadu) &Maharashtra had a long history of backward class identification(since pre-

independence time)

except in Maharashtra a major segment of population38% to 55% were listed and some

scarce opportunities reserved for them. The Eastern middle band including states of Assam ,West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya pradesh

there is no significant use of OBC category.

Northern tier of states displays an intermediate pattern.

J&K and Bihar follows southern pattern and the selection is on communal basis making a

sizeable proportion of population.

Punjab & U.P use admixture of geographical criteria along with communal one.


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COMMITTIES SET UP AND RESERVATION GIVEN:

In Karnataka the empowerment of OBC was started by Maharaja of Mysore in 1921. it also appointed the maximum

no of committees/commissions e.g. Naga Gowda(1961), Havnur(1972), venkataswamy(1983) and O. Chinappa

Reddy(1990) . However only Reddy commission methodology stands out as it used social & educational criteria

and also identify the CREAMY LAYER. 68% of reservation was provided for the OBCs by the government

In Tamil Nadu the Sattanathan commission (1970) identified 105 OBC communities using caste criteria. The

Ambasankar Commission (1982) gave separate OBC lists in article 16(4) and 15(4) on the basis of socio-economic & educational conditions.At present it gives 69% of reservations to the OBCs far beyond the limit

of 50% set by the supreme court.

Andhra Pradesh Manohar Prashed Commission for identification of OBCs. the report was presented in 1970 ,and it

recommended30% reservations for the community on caste basis along with other indicators of income. In

1977 Agisam Veerapa commission recommended further welfare measures which were accepted.

Kerala state govt considered traditional occupation, economic backwardness & low social status of the converts as

the criteria. 3 commissions were set up:

Vishwanathan committee (1961) recommended 40% reservation in educational institution

Kumari Pillai introduced income cut off but reservation given was same as above

Third commission appointed in 1967 under M.P.Damodaran- gave 40% reservation to 8 categories of OBC

identified

Present scenario of reservation : Backward Classes 40 % (Ezhavas 14 %; Muslims 12%

Latin Catholics 4 %; Nadars 2 %; Christian converts from S.C.s 1 %; Dheevaras1 %; Other Backward Classes 3

%; Viswakarmas 3 %) and S.C.s and S.T.s 10 %.

Maharashtra the B D Deshmukh Committee submitted its report in 1964.

Recommended 34% reservations for all Backward Classes.in1979,the state government issued orders that 80% of all

vacancies under State Government, local bodies etc should be reserved for economically weaker sections of the

society, who were defined on the basis of average monthly income. Presently, the total quantum of reservations

in Maharashtra is above 50% with OBC getting 32% reservation.


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Bihar on the recommendation of the Bihar state commission of backward classes the government

revised the reservation formula known as the KAPOORI FORMULA in 1978. It not only

identified the other backward classes but also most backward classes and divided the

reservation in the following way:

MBCs- 12%; OBCs- 8%; WOMEN-3%; Economically weaker section of UPPER CASTES- 3%.

Gujrat A.R Commission submitted the Report in 1976. Recommendations made:

10% reservations in professional institutions,

10% reservation in class iii & iv services,

5% reservation in class I & II services. Presently Gujrat gives 27% reservation.

Jammu & kashmir The Gajendragadkar Commission report 1968 recommended-

Economic backwardness, occupation, habitation, literacy and caste as determining criteria.42% reservation currently implemented to 22 weak and underpriviledged classes. Reservation is on

communal & vocational basis.

West Bengal government set up a committee in 1980 , but the committee wasnot in favour of

reservation in govt. jobs and stated poverty and low living standards as determining factors.

Punjab- The government appointed a committee on backward classes in 1951 which recommended

2% reservations for the OBC population. Later the Brish Bhan committee recommended to raisethe reservations to 5% but was not accepted by the government. Punjab has only 5% reservations

for OBC.

Uttar Pradesh -a most backward classes committee was appointed under the chairmanship ofShri

Cheddi lal Sathi in 1975 which gave its recommendations in1977.the commission recommended

the classification of BCs into 3 categories, and separate reservation for each aggregating to

30%.The recommendations were only partially implemented. Presently it gives 50% reservation.


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Though the states were given full right to formulate their own list of OBCs the need for another

backward classes commission were voiced when the Janata Party came in 1977.

The president appointed the second backward classes commission on January 1,1979 i.e the mandal

commission headed by B.P. Mandal.

The commission submitted its report on December 31, 1980.

CRITERIA USED FOR DETERMINING BACKWARDNESS:

For determining the backwardness it considered three elements-

SOCIAL:

Castes/classes which are considered socially backward by others.

Castes/classes which mainly depend on manual labour for their livelihood.

Castes/classes where at least 25% females & 10% males above the state average get married at an

age below 17 in rural areas and at least 10% females & 5% males in urban areas.

Castes /classes where participation of female in work is at least 25% above the state average.

Caste-basedsocialbackwardness

(crucial element)

Educationalbackwardness(linked

element)

Economicbackwardness

(derivedelement)


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Castes/classes where the no. of children in age group 5-15 years who never attended schoolis at least 25% above the state average.

Caste/classes where the rates of student drop out in the age group 5-15 years is at least 25%

above the state average. Castes/classes amongst whom proportion of matriculates is at least 25% below the state

average.

ECONOMIC:

Castes/classes where the average value of family assets is at least 25% below the stateaverage.

Castes/classes where the no. of families living in kuccha houses is at least 25% above thestates average.

Castes/classes where the source of drinking water is beyond half a km for more than 56%of households .

Castes/classes where the no. of households having taken consumption loan in at least 25%above the state average.

A weightage of 22 points have been assigned to the above mentioned criteria's-3 points to eachsocial indicators, 2 point to each educational indicators and 1 point to each economicindicators.

Those castes scoring 11 points and more were stated as backward and others treated asadvanced.


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0

1020

30

40

50

60

70

80

India

WestBengal

Kerala

UttarPradesh

Bihar

Assam

Jharkhand

Karnataka

Uttaranchal

Delhi

Maharashtra

Andhra

Gujarat

Rajasthan

Madhya

Haryana

Tamil

Orissa

Himachal

Chhattisgarh

Punjab

OBC

STSC


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Mandal commission also identified the non Hindu OBCs and noted that caste cannot bemade the basis of socially and educationally backward classes among the non Hinducommunities.

CRITERI ADOPTED FOR DEFINING NON HINDU BACKWARD CLASSES ARE:

All untouchables converted to any non Hindu religion.

Such occupational communities which are known by the name of their traditionalhereditary occupation & where Hindu counterparts have been included in the lists of HinduOBCs. E.g.nai, teli, dhobi, gujars.

ENUMERATION :

Proportion of Hindu backward classes was derived by subtracting from the total population

of Hindus, the population of scheduled castes +scheduled tribes + the forward Hinducastes and communities.- this worked out to be 52%

For non-Hindu OBCs this approach could not be adopted so a rough assumption wasmade that the non Hindu OBCs are of the same order & was also considered 52% thereforethe actual proportion of their population works out to be 8.40%.

So, the actual population of Hindu and non Hindu backward classes adds up to (43.7+8.4)52% of the countrys population.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The commission recommended 27% reservation for the OBCs (though the population was

double the figure).

The states which had already introduced reservation exceeding 27% , would remainunaffected by this recommendation.


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To promote literacy, it suggested that an intensive and time-bound programmee for adult education

should be launched in selected pockets with high conc. of OBCs population; residential schools should

be set5 up in these areas and; vocational training was considered imperative.

Separate financial institution should be established that foster business and industrial enterprise among

Obcs.

All developmental programmes at the state level especially designed for other backward class shouldfinanced by the central government in the same manner and to the same extent so done in case of SC &

ST.

LOOPHOLES OF THE COMMISSION:

Mandal commission identified those castes as socially backward that are "considered socially backward

by others". but the term "other " was not defined. Thus, such an indicator is un objective and too

ambiguous because every caste is relatively backward.

Another criteria for social backwardness is where a substantial proportion of both male and female

members of a caste are married while below 17 years of age. This indicator corresponds reasonably well

with the common sense of urban, educated, middle class Indians. However, for 2,000 years, in both

principle and practice, it was a mark of upper caste and not lower caste status. Radhakrishnan

(1996)makes the point that that those who get married before they reach the age of 17 do not necessarily

regard themselves as socially backward on that account

Another indicator of social backwardness used by Mandal Commission relates to the participation of

women in work. A caste or community whose women are in outside employment to a significantly largerextent than the average is taken to be socially backward. However it can be argued that although work by

women outside the home may indicate low social status in some cases, it may indicate the opposite in

others. Much depends on the nature and context of work. Where women work as agricultural labourers

in low wages and under humiliating conditions, they and the families to which they belong are usually

assigned low social status. However, it may be different where they work as doctors, school teachers, or

even gram sevikas.


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the commission has given little weightage to the economic criteria in the identificationof Backward Classes. Economic indicators have been reduced to the position of a"derived indicator"

The other is by not attempting any elimination process. The commission did not try tofind out which of the castes have overcome their historical disability in the course of thelast four decades and therefore eliminate those castes from enjoying the undue advantage

of reservation.

Because of the highly generalized criteria adopted the OBC is a huge group whichincludes rich landowners on one end and near SC on the other end. These are treated asequals. in fact scholars question if there can ever be an unambiguous criteria foridentification of the OBCs .(AM Shah)"at the lower end are castes which are very nearlyuntouchable and very poor while at the top there are castes which are wealthy and

powerful and posses a highly Sanskritised lifestyle. The idea of reservations for OBCsassumes that all the three thousand or so OBCs in the country are on par in a competitivesituation. This defeats the very purpose of reservations


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The validity of the procedure for identification & indicators of backwardness used by the Mandalcommission was challenged in Indira Sawhney & others v/s the Union of India. In issuing itsoffice memorandum of 13 Aug, 1990 the govt. of Idia rejected the OBC list prepared by thecomission in TOTO. It included only those castes which were common for both the state and themandal list.

The Supreme Court of India in its landmark judgement, in Writ Petition (Civil) No.930 of 1990 Indira Sawhney and Others Vs Union of India and Others dated 16.11.1992 (Annexure-II)directed the Government of India, State Governments and Administrations of Union Territories toconstitute a permanent body in the nature of Commission or Tribunal for entertaining, examiningand making recommendations upon requests for inclusion and complaints of overinclusion andunder inclusion in the list of OBCs .

Therefore the govt of India enacted the NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR BACKWARDCLASSES (NCBC) ACT 1993.

NCBC after studying all the commissions of the state and the central govt. came up with criteriaof inclusion of castes in Obc list.

In order to exclude the socially advanced people from the OBC list the NCBC came up with theconcept ofcreamy layer.

Creamy Layer:The Committee defined the creamy layer as when a person has been able to

shed off the attributes of social and educational backwardness and has secured employment or hasengaged himself in some trade/profession of high status and at which stage he is normally nolonger in need of reservation. Therefore they stands excluded.

Income criteria is used to exclude socially advanced person which was increased from 1 lakh to2.5 lakhs annually.


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The Supreme Court in November, 1992 in its judgment in Indira Sahni & Others v/sUnion of India had directed the Central Government as well as the State

Governments to specify the basis for applying the relevant and requisite socio-economic criteria to exclude advanced persons/ sections, popularly known asCreamy Layer, from OBCs. Subsequently an expert Committee headed by JusticeRam Nandan Prasad was constituted by the Government. The recommendationsmade by the Committee for excluding the Creamy Layer amongst OBCs wasaccepted by the Government.

Accordingly, the Department of Personnel and Training on 8th September 1993issued an order stipulating that the rule of exclusion will apply to son (s) anddaughter (s) of persons holding Constitutional positions. These include thePresident, the Vice-President, Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts, Chairmenand Members of the Union and State Public Service Commissions, Chief ElectionCommissioner, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, parents either of whom isa Class I Officer, parents either or both of whom is or are in the rank of Colonel andabove in the Army and equivalent posts in the Navy and Air Force and the para-military forces. Families owning irrigated land, which is equal to or more than 85%of the ceiling limit in terms of irrigated land as per State land ceiling laws and thepersons having gross annual income of Rs.1.00 lakh or above or possessing wealthabove the exemption limits prescribed in the wealth Tax Act for a period of three

consecutive years (income for salaries or agricultural land shall not be clubbed) arealso excluded.


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National Commission for Religious and LinguisticMinorities, also called as Ranganath MisraCommission was constituted byGovernment ofIndia on 29 October 2004 to look into various issuesrelated to Linguistic and Religious minorities in India.

It was chaired by former Chief Justice of India JusticeRanganath Misra.[1] The commission submitted thereport to the Government on 21 May 2007.

Main Findings 15% of jobs in government services and seats in

educational institutions for minorities reserves 8.4% out of existing OBC quota of 27% for

minorities SC reservation to Dalit converts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Justice_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Commission_for_Religious_and_Linguistic_Minoritieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Justice_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Commission_for_Religious_and_Linguistic_Minoritieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Commission_for_Religious_and_Linguistic_Minoritieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Justice_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_India


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It s a very nice report .. infact ..

To understand this report first we should be aware of1> mandal Commisson Report ( Read DD Basu and Wizard Polity)2> TMA Pai Case and Islamia University case

So basically our Consti has not defined what "backward" means .. in Art

16(4) We say ..State may reserve any post to any backward class of citizen..

Now please note two thingsa> The word "backward"b> The word "Class"( not caste)

So in this background Mandal commison sat to identify what exactly theword "Backward" means ?The commison said " backward means socially and economically backward"and In Hindus we can see caste as a class but in other socities which has nocaste indicators likehold of land , education , trade etc can determine the backwardness


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Now what Ranganath Commison has said on this ---------------

1. no discrimination whatsoever between the majority communityand the minorities;

and, therefore, the criteria now applied for this purpose to themajority community whatever that criteria may be must be unreservedly applied also toall the minorities.

2.recommend that all those classes, sections and groups among theminorities shouldbe treated as backward whose counterparts in the majoritycommunity are regarded asbackward under the present scheme of things.

3.social and vocational groups among the minorities who but for

their religiousidentity would have been covered by the present net of ScheduledCastes should beunquestionably treated as socially backward, irrespective of whetherthe religion ofthose other communities recognises the caste system or not.


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4.The minorities whose counterparts in the majoritycommunity are at presentcovered by the net of Scheduled Tribes should also

be included in that net; and also,more specifically, members of the minoritycommunities living in any Tribal Areafrom pre-independence days should be so includedirrespective of their ethnic

characteristics.which originally restricted the Scheduled Caste netto the Hindus and lateropened it to Sikhs and Buddhists, thus still

excluding from its purview the Muslims,

Christians, Jains and Parsis, etc.


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Here judicary has given two counter statements .. regarding the admissons to Unaidedcollegs ..The Art 30 says " establish and administer educational institutions of their choice"

Please note the word used is "of their choice" ==> professional also ...!!

N also this article gives the right to property for minorites .

Plese read these case before ..

RM commison says

1.Article 30 of the Constitution has become quite uncertain, complicated and diluted due totheir varied and sometimes conflicting judicial interpretations, we recommend that acomprehensive law should be enacted without delay to detail all aspects of minorities,educational rights under that provision with a view to reinforcing its original dictates inletter and spirit.

2.National Minority Educational Institute Commission should be amended to make it wide-based in its composition, powers, functions and responsibilities and to enable it to work as

the watchdog for a meticulous enforcement of all aspects of minorities, educational rightsunder the Constitution.

3.in minority educational institutions has, in the interest of national integration, beenrestricted to about 50%, thus virtually earmarking the remaining 50% or so for the majoritycommunity we strongly recommend that, by the same analogy and for the same purpose,at least 15% seats in all non-minority educational institutions should be earmarked by lawfor the minorities as follows:-


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4.(a) The break up within the recommended 15% earmarked seats ininstitutions shall be 10% for the Muslims (commensurate with their

73% share of the former in the total minority population at thenational level) and the remaining 5 % for the other minorities.

(b) Minor adjustments inter se can be made in the 15% earmarkedseats. In the case of non-availability of Muslim candidates to fill10% earmarked seats, the remaining vacancies may be given to theother minorities if their members are available over and above their

share of 5%; but in no case shall any seat within the recommended15% go to the majority community.

(c) As is the case with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes atpresent those minority community candidates who can competewith others and secure admission on their own merit shall not be

included in these 15% earmarked seats.5.backward sections among all the minorities, we recommend thatthe concessions now available in terms of lower eligibility criteriafor admission and lower rate of fee, now available to the ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes, should be extended also to suchsections among the minorities.


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For Muslims

Select institutions in the country like the Aligarh Muslim University andthe Jamia Millia Islamia should be legally given a special responsibility topromote education at all levels to Muslim students by taking all possiblesteps for this purpose. At least one such institution should be selected forthis purpose in each of those states and Union Territories which has a

substantial Muslim population.

Lingusitic minorites

(a) The law relating to the Linguistic Minorities Commissioner should beamended so as to make this office responsible for ensuring fullimplementation of all the relevant Constitutional provisions for the

benefit of each such minority in all the States and Union Territories.(b) The three-language formula should be implemented everywhere inthe country making it compulsory for the authorities to includes in it themother-tongue of every child including, especially, Urdu and Punjabi and all necessary facilities, financial and logistic, should be provided bythe State for education in accordance with this dispensation.


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1.8.4% of the total OBC population, in the 27% OBC quota an 8.4%sub-quota should be earmarked for the minorities with an internalbreak-up of 6% for the Muslims (commensurate with their 73%share in the total minority population at the national level) and2.4% for the other minorities with minor adjustment inter se inaccordance with population of various minorities in various States

& UT2. which originally restricted the Scheduled Caste net to theHindus and later opened it to Sikhs and Buddhists, thus stillexcluding from its purview the Muslims, Christians, Jains andParsis, etc.

3. at as the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of conscienceand religious freedom as a Fundamental Right, once a person hasbeen included in a Scheduled Caste list a willful change of religionon his part should not effect adversely his or her Scheduled Castestatus.


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The Rajinder Sachar Committee, appointed in 2005 by the IndianPrime

MinisterManmohan Singh, was commissioned to prepare a report on thelatest social, economic and educational condition of the Muslimcommunity of India. The committee was headed by the former ChiefJustice of Delhi High CourtRajinder Sachar, including other sixmembers.[1][2][3][4][5] The committee prepared a report of 403 pages, andpresented in the lower house (Lok Sabha) of the Indian Parliament on 30November 2006 (20 months after obtaining the terms of reference from

the PMO).[6]

The committee had highlighted and presented its suggestions and

solutions to include and mainstreamIndian Muslims. The online report isavailable from the Indian Government website.[7] The report is first of itskind revealing the backwardness of Indian Muslims, according to SacharCommittee report some of the major concers are:

The status of Indian Muslims are below the conditions of Scheduled

Castes and Scheduled Tribes.[8] The overall percentage of Muslims in bureaucracy in India is just 2.5 %

whereas Muslims constitute above 14% of Indian population.[9] To ensure equity and equality of opportunities to Indian Muslims in

residential, work and educational sector, the Committee had proposedmultiple suggestions to be adopted, with a suitable mechanisms.

S f d ti
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Summary of recommendations The report put forward some recommendations to eliminate

the situation raised for Indian Muslim. Justice Sacharexplained that the upliftment minorities and implementation

of these recommendations would strengthen the secular fabricof Indian society as well as increase patriotism due to their allinclusive progress. The recommendation include:

Mechanisms to ensure equity and equality of opportunity andeliminate discrimination.

Creation of a National Data Bank (NDB) where all relevant

data for various Socio Religious Communities are maintained. Form an autonomous Assessment and Monitoring Authority

to evaluate the extent of development benefits An Equal Opportunity Commission should be constituted to

look into the grievances of the deprived groups.

Elimination of the anomalies with respect to reservedconstituencies under the delimitation scheme. The idea of providing certain incentives to a diversity index

should be explored to ensure equal opportunities in education,governance, private employment and housing.
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A process of evaluating the content of the school textbooks needsto be initiated and institutionalized.

The UGC should evolve a system where part of the allocation tocolleges and universities is linked to the diversity in the studentpopulation.

Providing hostel facilities at reasonable costs for students fromminorities must be taken up on a priority basis.

The Committee recommended promoting and enhancing access to

Muslims in Priority Sector Bank Advances. The real need is of policy initiatives that improve the participation

and share of the Minorities, particularly Muslims in the business ofregular commercial banks.

The community should be represented on interview panels andBoards. The underprivileged should be helped to utilize new

opportunities in its high growth phase through skill developmentand education. Provide financial and other support to initiatives built around

occupations where Muslims are concentrated and have growthpotential.[2][7]
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Responses to the committee findings

There are different responses to the sachar committeefindings from different part of India.[8][9]

Follow-up action taken

15-point minorities welfare programme The Prime Minister has also unfolded a comprehensive

15-point programme for the welfare and empowermentof minorities.The new plan wants to help the minorities

by Enhancing opportunities for education.Ensuringequitable share in economic activities andemployment,Improving the conditions of living ofminorities,Prevention and control of communaldisharmony and violence.
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Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) or Education for All Programme, a nationalflagship programme to provide quality elementary education to all children in the6 14 years age group through a time bound approach. Based on the data obtainedfrom Census as well as District Information System for Education (DISE), SRI-IMRB Survey etc., the Government has made a number of interventions in SSA to

help the minority (Muslim) children in education. One of the thrust areas is toensure availability of schools in all minority concentrated districts. During 2005-06,4624 primary and Upper primary schools, and about 31,702 Education GuaranteeScheme (EGS) Centres were sanctioned in minority concentrated districts. During2006-07, 6918 new primary and upper primary schools have been sanctioned inminority-dominated districts. 32,250 EGS centres with a total enrolment of 120.90lakh children have been sanctioned for 2006-07. Sanction has also been accordedfor enrolment of 11.25 lakh children in Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE)during 2006-07 in these districts.

Madrasas/Makhtabs have been covered under SSA. The Madarsas affiliated to theState Madarasa Boards and satisfying certain conditions are eligible for suchassistance as is available to other regular schools under SSA. So far 8309 madarsashave been assisted.


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Facilities for minority girls Free textbooks are provided to all minority girls from classes I-VIII. Urdu textbooks are

provided for Urdu medium schools and for Urdu as a subject. Based on the 1981 Census,93 districts (now 99) in 16 states have been identified for focused attention. The majorfocus is on the states of Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. Out of the 1180Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV), 210 schools have been sanctioned inminority blocks, 1430 minority girls have already been enrolled in KGBVs till 31.3.06.

[edit]Minority Concentration districts In addition to above measures, there is also a special focus on 93 districts, which was

found to be having more than 20% Minority population in the 1981 census, for SSAinvestments in 2005-06 and 2006-07. This included other religious communities likeChristians, Hindus or Sikhs living as minorities in different parts of India

Sachar Committees recommendations in the sphere of education include a special focuson free and compulsory education; institutionalizing the process of evaluating schooltextbooks so that they better reflect community-specific sensitivities; setting up qualitygovernment schools, especially for girls in areas of Minority concentration; and

providing priming education in Urdu or native language in areas where the language iswidely in use.
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Minority in Obc Reservations

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