When lack of data gets in the way of affirmative action  

News: Recently, in two separate judgements, the Supreme Court (SC) of India has struck down the reservations that were awarded by the Maharashtra government and Tamil Nadu government.

Both judgments identified the same problem – a lack of evidence-driven policymaking by the state govt for reservations.

What observations have been made by the Supreme Court in these two cases? 

Maharashtra Case: A separate 27% reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBC) in local body elections was struck down.

– It was not based on empirical data and research.

– In addition, it failed to meet the mandatory triple test laid down by the court. There was inadequate 

In Tamil Nadu Case: The internal reservations of 10.5% for the Vanniyar community was struck down. There was absence of quantifiable data or basis for providing a quota specifically for a single OBC community.  

What are the reservations related issues in India? 

(1) There are state level differences across the parameters 

– Eligible population: (a) About 55% of Maharashtra’s population is eligible for reservations. Out of total population, OBCs constitute about 33.8%, and (b) In Tamil Nadu, 97.2% of population is eligible and 76% of the population is classified as OBC.  

– Reserved seats: In Maharashtra, the total number of seats reserved for OBC/SC/ST candidates is capped at 50% (Indra Sawhney case). However, in Tamil Nadu, 69% of seats are reserved. In fact, half the seats in Tamil Nadu are reserved solely for OBC candidates. 

(2) There is a lack of reliable caste-level data. It makes space for an imbalance between caste groups in access to opportunities. It hampers improvements of the affirmative programme. 

(3) There is a prevalence of a huge imbalance in the distribution of the benefits. For example, as per the Rohini Commission report, over 1,000 OBC caste groups have not received any benefit whatsoever from India’s reservation programme 

Way Forward 

We must collect the right caste related data. It should include measurements of the impact of reservations at the caste and community level, and not merely at a group level (i.e., OBC/SC/ST). It will help in understanding socioeconomic and political backwardness and the benefits that have accrued from reservations to a particular community.  

Many state governments are running a digitization programme for caste certificates. This data can be linked with Aadhaar. It can help track reservation benefits across all castes. 

There is a need to estimate the population levels of each caste group. Also, review the proportion of students attending government schools and proportion of the government employees from each caste group etc. 

Source: The post is based on an article “Information inadequacies should not hamper reservation push” published in the Live Mint on 13th April 2022.