Affirmative Action in India- Constitutional Provisions, Implementation Challenges, and Political Debates

Source: The post affirmative action in India- constitutional provisions, implementation challenges, and political debates has been created, based on the article “Reservation within Constitutional bounds” published in “The Hindu” on 10th May 2024.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2-Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Context: This article discusses the political conflict around reservations in India, where parties debate caste census and religious reservations. It explains constitutional affirmative action, reviews its implementation, and considers potential changes like removing the 50% cap and sub-categorizing benefits.

For detailed information on What is affirmative action? read this article here

How does the Constitution ensure affirmative action?

Fundamental Rights: The Constitution ensures social justice by guaranteeing equality in Articles 15 and 16, allowing affirmative action in educational admissions and public employment.

Provisions for Backward Classes: It enables special provisions for the advancement of OBCs, SCs, and STs. The 1992 Indra Sawhney case upheld a 27% reservation for OBCs while capping total reservations at 50%.

Creamy Layer Exclusion: The court mandates excluding wealthy OBC individuals, currently defined as those with incomes above ₹8 lakh.

EWS Reservation: The Janhit Abhiyan case in 2022 validated the 10% Economic Weaker Section (EWS) quota.

Muslim Reservation: Karnataka has a 4% sub-categorization for Muslims under the OBC quota, though it was briefly redistributed among Hindu OBCs. Courts later upheld this categorization.

How does affirmative action work in other countries?

United States: The U.S. uses affirmative action programs that give special consideration to racial minorities like African-Americans and Latin-Americans. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Fair Admissions vs. Harvard (2023) that race-based admissions violate the Constitution.

United Kingdom: The U.K. permits voluntary “positive action” programs allowing employers to support underrepresented groups.

France: There is no race-based affirmative action in France. Instead, educational measures promote opportunities for low-income students.

What is the current controversy about religious reservations?

BJP-Congress Conflict: The BJP and Congress conflict centers on the caste census and reservations. The BJP criticizes Congress’s push for a caste census and linking reservations to religion. Meanwhile, Congress questions the BJP’s policies on reservation, despite the BJP denying any changes to its stance.

Muslim and Christian Quotas: The government is exploring extending SC benefits to Dalit Muslims and Christians, given that their backwardness aligns with the constitutional definition of “socially and educationally backward classes.”

For details information on Dalit Christians — exclusion by society, church, state read this article here

What challenges exist in implementing affirmative action effectively?

Concentration of Benefits: The Rohini Commission found that 97% of reserved jobs and educational seats are taken by only 25% of OBC castes, leaving about 1,000 OBC communities unrepresented.

Lack of Sub-Categorization: Although 11 states implemented sub-categorization, it hasn’t been applied at the central level.

No Creamy Layer Exclusion: SCs and STs lack a mechanism like the OBC creamy layer to ensure equitable distribution.

Religious Discrimination: The Constitution includes all religions under “socially and educationally backward classes,” but the 1950 Scheduled Castes Order limits SC membership to Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism. There’s no such limitation for STs.

Question for practice:

Evaluate the effectiveness of affirmative action in India, considering its constitutional provisions, implementation challenges, and the ongoing political debate surrounding caste census and religious reservations.