Mandal Commission

The Mandal Commission was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward."[1] It was headed by Indian parliamentarian B.P. Mandal to consider the question of seat reservations and quotas for people to redress caste discrimination, and used eleven social, economic, and educational indicators to determine backwardness. In 1980, the commission's report affirmed the affirmative action practice under Indian law whereby members of lower castes (known as Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST)) were given exclusive access to a certain portion of government Jobs and slots in public universities, and recommended changes to these quotas, increasing them by 27% to 50%. Mobilization on caste lines had followed the political empowerment of ordinary citizens by the constitution of free India that allowed common people to politically assert themselves through the right to vote.

Setting up of Mandal Commission

The plan to set up another commission was taken by the Morarji Desai government in 1978 as per the mandate of the under article 340 for the purpose of Articles like 15 and 16. The decision was made official by the president on 1 January 1979. The commission is popularly known as the Mandal Commission with its chairman being B.P. Mandal.

Criteria to identify OBC

The Mandal Commission adopted various methods and techniques to collect the necessary data and evidence. In order to identify who qualified as an "other backward class," the commission adopted eleven criteria which could be grouped under three major headings: social, educational and economic. 11 criteria were developed to identify OBCs.[2]

Social

  1. Castes/classes considered as socially backward by others,
  2. Castes/classes which mainly depend on manual labour for their livelihood,
  3. Castes/classes where at least 25 per cent females and 10 per cent males above the state average get married at an age below 17 years in rural areas and at least 10 per cent females and 5 per cent males do so in urban areas.
  4. Castes/classes where participation of females in work is at least 2 per cent above the state average,

[3]

Educational

  1. Castes/classes where the number of children in the age group of 5–15 years who never attended school is at least 25 per cent above the state average.
  2. Castes/classes when the rate of student drop-out in the age group of 5–15 years is at least 25 per cent above the state average,
  3. Castes/classes amongst whom the proportion of matriculates is at least 25 per cent below the state average,

[3]

Economic

  1. Castes/classes where the average value of family assets is at least 25 per cent below the state average,
  2. Castes/classes where the number of families living in kuccha houses is at least 25 per cent above the state average,
  3. Castes/classes where the source of drinking water is beyond half a kilometre for more than 50 per cent of the households,
  4. Castes/classes where the number of households having taken consumption loans is at least 25 per cent above the state average.

[3]

Weighting indicators

As the above three groups are not of equal importance for the purpose, separate weightage was given to indicators in each group. All the Social indicators were given a weightage of 3 points each, educational indicators were given a weightage of 2 points each and economic indicators were given a weightage of 1 point each. Economic, in addition to Social and Educational Indicators, were considered important as they directly flowed from social and educational backwardness. This also helped to highlight the fact that socially and educationally backward classes are economically backward also.

Thus, the Mandal Commission judged classes on a scale from 0 to 22. These 11 indicators were applied to all the castes covered by the survey for a particular state. As a result of this application, all castes which had a score of 50% (i.e. 11 points) were listed as socially and educationally backward and the rest were treated as 'advanced'.

Observations and findings

The commission estimated that 54% of the total population (excluding SCs and STs), belonging to 3,743 different castes and communities, were ‘backward’.[1][4][5] The number of backward castes in Central list of OBCs has now increased to 5,013 (without the figures for most of the Union Territories) in 2006 as per National Commission for Backward Classes.[6][7][8] Figures of caste-wise population are not available beyond. So the commission used 1931 census data to calculate the number of OBCs. The population of Hindu OBCs was derived by subtracting from the total population of Hindus, the population of SC and ST and that of forward Hindu castes and communities, and it worked out to be 52 per cent.[9] Assuming that roughly the proportion of OBCs amongst non-Hindus was of the same order as amongst the Hindus, the population of non-Hindu OBCs was considered as 52 per cent.[1]

Recommendations

The report of the commission was submitted in December 1980. The following are the recommendations as stated in the report:[12]

It may appear the upliftment of Other Backward Classes is part of the larger national problem of the removal of mass poverty. This is only partially correct. The deprivation of OBCs is a very special case of the larger national issue: here the basic question is that of social and educational backwardness and poverty is only a direct consequence of these two crippling caste-based handicaps. As these handicaps are embedded in our social structure, their removal will require far – reaching structural changes. No less important will be changes in the perception of the problems of OBCs by the ruling classes of the country.

Implementation

All the recommendations of the report are not yet implemented.

The recommendation of reservations for OBC's in government services was implemented in 1993. As on 27 June 2008 there is still a backlog of 28, 670 OBC vacancies in government jobs.[13]

The recommendation of reservations in Higher educational institutes was implemented in 2008.

Criticisms

**NFHS Survey estimated only Hindu OBC population. Total OBC population derived by assuming Muslim OBC population in same proportion as Hindu OBC population

The National Sample Survey puts the figure at 32%.[14] There is substantial debate over the exact number of OBC's in India, with census data compromised by partisan politics. It is generally estimated to be sizeable, but lower than the figures quoted by either the Mandal Commission or and National Sample Survey.[15]

There is also a debate about the estimation logic used by the Mandal Commission for calculating OBC population. Yogendra Yadav, psephologist turned politician, agrees that there is no empirical basis to the Mandal figure. According to Yadav, "It is a mythical construct based on reducing the number of SC/ST, Muslims and others and then arriving at a number."[16] Yadav argues that government jobs were availed by those who by their own means had got higher education, and that reservation for OBC's was only one of the many recommendations of the Mandal Commission, which largely remain unimplemented after 25 years.[17]

The National Sample Survey's 1999–2000 round estimated around 36 percent of the country's population as belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBC). The proportion falls to 32 per cent on excluding Muslim OBCs. A survey conducted in 1998 by National Family Health Statistics (NFHS) puts the proportion of non-Muslim OBCs as 29.8 per cent[18]

L R Naik, the only Dalit member in the Mandal Commission refused to sign the Mandal recommendations.[19] Naik argued that intermediate backward classes are relatively powerful, while depressed backward classes, or most backward classes (MBCs) remain economically marginalised.

Protest

A decade after the commission gave its report, V.P. Singh, the Prime Minister at the time, tried to implement its recommendations in 1989.[20] The criticism was sharp and colleges across the country held massive protests against it. Soon after, Rajiv Goswami, student of Delhi University, committed self-immolation in protest of the government's actions. His act further sparked a series of self-immolations by other college students and led to a formidable movement against job reservations for Backward Castes in India. First student to die due to self-immolation was Surinder Singh Chauhan on 24 Sep 1990.[21]

Arguments against reservations

The opponents of the issue argue:

Critics of the Mandal Commission argue that it is unfair to accord people special privileges on the basis of caste, even in order to redress traditional caste discrimination. They argue that those that deserve the seat through merit will be at a disadvantage. They reflect on the repercussions of unqualified candidates assuming critical positions in society (doctors, engineers, etc.). As the debate on OBC reservations spreads, a few interesting facts which raise pertinent question are already apparent. To begin with, is there any clear idea what proportion of our population is OBC? According to the Mandal Commission (1980) it is 52 percent. According to 2001 Indian Census, out of India's population of 1,028,737,436 the Scheduled Castes comprise 166,635,700 and Scheduled Tribes 84,326,240, that is 16.2% and 8.2% respectively. There is no data on OBCs in the census.[29] However, according to National Sample Survey's 1999–2000 round around 36 per cent of the country's population is defined as belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBC). The proportion falls to 32 per cent on excluding Muslim OBCs. A survey conducted in 1998 by National Family Health Statistics (NFHS) puts the proportion of non-Muslim OBCs as 29.8 per cent.[30] The NSSO data also shows that already 23.5 per cent of college seats are occupied by OBCs. That's just 8.6 per cent short of their share of population according to the same survey. Other arguments include that entrenching the separate legal status of OBCs and SC/STs will perpetuate caste differentiation and encourage competition among communities at the expense of national unity. They believe that only a small new elite of educated Dalits, Adivasis, and OBCs benefit from reservations, and that such measures don't do enough to lift the mass of people out of poverty. in of the

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Bhattacharya, Amit. "Who are the OBCs?". Archived from the original on 27 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-04-19. Times of India, 8 April 2006.
  2. "Redesigning reservations: Why removing caste-based quotas is not the answer".
  3. 1 2 3 "Mandal Commission" (PDF). simplydecoded.com.
  4. "BC, DC or EC? What lies ahead of the census- Haphazard lists and multiple definitions could pose hurdles in establishing identity during the caste count".
  5. "OBCs: Who are they?-Reservation policy for OBCs: Who would benefit and what are the costs involved". Retrieved 2006-07-17.
  6. "Time to curb number of backward castes".
  7. "The Muslim OBCs And Affirmative Action-SACHAR COMMITTEE REPORT".
  8. "SECC 2011: Why we are headed for Mandal 2 and more quotas before 2019".
  9. Ramaiah, A (6 June 1992). "Identifying Other Backward Classes" (PDF). Economic and Political Weekly. pp. 1203–1207. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2005. Retrieved 2006-05-27.
  10. Mandal Commission report, Vol I, pp 23
  11. Mandal Commission report, Vol I, pp 31
  12. Mandal Commission Report, Vol I, Chapter XIII, Recommendations, pp 57–60
  13. Daily Times of India
  14. Negi, S.S. (10 June 2006). "Reply to SC daunting task for government". The Tribune. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  15. Anand, Arun (24 May 2007). "What is India's population of other backward classes?". Yahoo! News India. Archived from the original on 27 June 2007.
  16. http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/36-population-is-obc-not-52-106050801060_1.html
  17. http://www.catchnews.com/india-news/let-s-have-an-index-to-measure-how-disadvantaged-an-individual-is-yogendra-yadav-1439668620.html
  18. 36% population is OBC, not 52%. South Asian Free Media Association (8 May 2006). Retrieved on 2006-05-27.
  19. "Mandal's True Inheritors". The Times of India. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  20. "Mandal vs Mandir".
  21. "Mandal Memories". The Hindu. 29 September 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  22. Quota for Tamil Nadu religious minorities
  23. 1 2 Srinivas, M.N. (August 1997). "The pangs of change". Frontline (The Hindu) 14 (16). Retrieved 2006-05-24.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rao, S.L. (5 June 2006). "Too Many Bosses – The UPA has a cabinet with many insubordinate ministers". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2006-06-05.
  25. Dobhal, Shailesh (2 June 2006). "In consumption, OBCs are no longer backwards". The Economic Times, Times Internet Limited. Retrieved 2006-06-02.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "Divisive quota: Education alone can empower". The Tribune. 28 April 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-24.
  27. "Literacy Rate: India". Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 2006-06-02.
  28. Ramchandran, S (25 April 2006). "India Inc., liberalisation, and social responsibility". The Hindu. Retrieved 2006-06-02.
  29. "Population". Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 26 May 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-27.
  30. "36% population is OBC, not 52%". South Asian Free Media Association. 8 May 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-27.

References

External links

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