The interests of social justice, fair-play and equity demand that special provision is made for the access of citizens from historically deprived castes and communities into top-rung institutions of professional education. When as a consequence of graduating from excellent institutions members of socially and educationally backward castes enter and excel in government service, the professions or industry, they serve as an example and inspiration to other socially disadvantaged communities to avail education opportunities, move out of traditional low-end occupations and participate fully in the national development effort as equal and respected members of society. This is the rationale of positive discrimination or affirmative action — societal apology for past wrongs and institutionalised injustice. While drafting the Constitution of India, members of the Constituent Assembly acknowledged the need for affirmative action and reserved concessional quotas in institutions of higher education and government employment for historically disadvantaged Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes commensurate with their population (22.5 percent). However SCs and STs apart, there were numerous other backward castes and communities which had historically been denied upward mobility by the rigid Hindu varna system. Constituted in the 1970s, the B.P. Mandal Commission enumerated other backward castes (OBCs) and recommended similar reservation for them commensurate to their population. Following implementation of the recommendations of the commission by the Janata Dal government led by prime minister V.P. Singh in 1990, the government order reserving 27 percent of Central government jobs for OBCs was challenged in the Supreme Court. In Indira Sawhney’s Case (1992), the apex court ruled that government could make reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs in government and higher education institutions. But the interests of organisation and institutional efficiency demanded that aggregate reservation for backward castes and classes be restricted to 50 percent. The institutional efficiency caveat is presumably applicable with greater force to education institutions because for over a decade additional reservation for OBCs in Central government sponsored universities and institutes was not mandated. But on April 5, Union HRD minister Arjun Singh made a bombshell announcement that the Union government has approved a proposal to reserve an additional 27 percent of capacity in IITs, IIMs and Central universities for OBC students. This announcement has sparked a huge furore across the country as if this proposal becomes law, already severe competition for admission into the nation’s too-few institutions of academic excellence will become more intense for ‘merit’ students. The ramifications of this additional reservation proposal which threatens to dilute academic standards in the country’s few surviving institutions of academic excellence, are examined in detail in this month’s cover feature. But learning isn’t all work and no play. Or shouldn’t be. With summer here assistant editor Summiya Yasmeen checks out the best summer camps countrywide which offer the pleasurable option of learning while playing. Dilip Thakore Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp
