Ahead of polls, quota is boon for SC/STs in Karnataka
With months to go for assembly elections in Karnataka, the BJP government has tabled a Bill to enhance reservation for SCs and STs in education and employment, giving in to their long-standing demand. The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointment or Posts in the services under the state) Bill, 2022, seeks to raise the quota for SCs to 17% from 15% and for STs to 7% from 3%.
The Bill, based on the recommendations of the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission, was brought in via ordinance in October and termed a “Diwali gift” by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who made his government’s intent clear. There is a legal wrinkle, though: While total reservation stood at 50%, with 32% for OBCs and 18% for SC/ST combined, the new matrix will take reservation to 56%. Opposition parties demand to know how the government will implement the quota, given the 102 SC castes and around 50 in the ST category. The government has appointed a Cabinet sub-committee to work out internal reservations among the communities and may have to take the Constitutional amendment route to implement it.
While implementation is bound to take long, there is no denying that the BJP has grabbed the first-mover advantage and set its sights firmly on the estimated 16 million SC/ST vote bank. It hopes to undercut the OBC-Dalit base of Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and Mallikarjun Kharge, who recently acquired national status as AICC president. The BJP also hopes the Bill will invigorate its ST Nayak leaders, B Sriramulu and the Jarkiholis. On the flip side, other castes, including Vokkaligas, Lingayats, Panchamasalis and Kurubas, are demanding their own slice of the quota pie.
The need to enhance reservation was felt because the Justice Nagamohan Das Committee found “evidence of social and educational backwardness that renders many of the (SC/ST) castes and communities marginalised”. This has been, and remains, the curse of society even 75 years after Independence. While our political classes advocate a casteless society, they play to the gallery and reinforce divisive lines to ensure that caste remains a crucial factor in elections. Instead, they should bring in a robust public education system which can blur differences and end the opportunistic caste culture in vogue today.