Are The O.B.C.s Ready To Die For It?

Twelve p.c. of Hindu upper castes are enjoying 88% of the benefits of India’s progress and 85% of the low castes are grudgingly given only 18% of the share, says Government of India’s Mandal Commission Report beautifully summing up the country’s fast-deteriorating socio-economic situation, The report of the second Backward Classes Commission, headed by B. P. Mandal, who died recently, was placed before Parliament on April 30, 1982 after 16 months of delaying tactics by the Government which had received the report on Dec. 31. 1980. Janata Party Govt. appointed the Commission but the report was submitted to the Congress Govt. of Prime Minister Indra Gandhi who had given ample indication that she was not in favour of the report. Already L.R. Naik, a member of the Mandal Commission, had admitted “that he sew no hope for the report being implemented The political will is lacking in the present setup” he said in an interview to “The Daily (May 5.1982). B.P.Mandal himself had in a talk with us predicted that his report also would meet the fate of the Kaka Kalelka Commission Report on Backward Classes (1953) unless the OBCs were ready for a bloody street battle. in this very column we had twice (-DV- Sep: 1981 & DV. No. 5 Dec. 16-31, 1981) expressed the same fear and subsequent events have proved that we are right. It is now a month since the Mandal report became public but we are sorry to note the total absence of any follow-up “action by the OBC leaders. Barring the Dravida Khazagham of Tamil Nadu, which alone has been making all the noise, nobody else is interested in this report. V. Anaimuthu of the Periyar Equal Rights Movement of Trichy. TN, was to a great extent responsible for placing the report in Parliament. But Charan Singh. Devaraj Urs. Karuna- nidhi, considered to be backward class leaders, have not made any statement so far. No political party has passed any resolution on the Mandal report. The Marxists, both CPI & CPM, have been from the every beginning opposed to reservations to OBCs or any reservations for that matter. On the other hand, we have any number of reactions criticising the Mandal Report. That means the high castes of India and their organs, the “national press”, are alert while the very beneficiaries are peacefully sleeping. Slaves are enjoying their slavery. We -have gone through the Mandal Report and found it good. Even experts on OBC problem have appreciated the report. How 52% of the OBCs could be satisfied with #mere 27% of the reservations? That is not the point here. Mandal Commission has made best of the bad bargain. Since the main recommendations of the Commission had come in the Press there is no need to mention it here. However, the following main points need repetition: (1) 27% of reservations in jobs in all Central and State Govts.. public & private sectors (both in recruitment promotion) & admission to educational institutions. (2) The criterion fixed for measuring backwardness is “caste” & not income. or poverty, 78% of the respondents have recommended caste criterion. (3) The total of OBCs are 3.743: (4) Reservations are recommended even in private sector and those factories & offices receiving govt. aid. (5) The OBCs constitute 52% of the Indian population (including Muslims and Christians) but the reservations to them is fixed at almost half of this et 27% in view of the Supreme Court ruling that reservations cannot exceed 50%. As SC & STs are given 22.5% of reservations, the OBCs must be content with a more 27, reservation. (6) OBC candidates appearing in merit quota (the unreserved 50% called “merit pool” should not be adjusted against 27% reserved quota. (7) The poor people of India belong to low castes and hence “caste” is “class” in Hindu India. The recommendations are fairly good & made with a practical viewpoint so that they are pot set aside by our conservative, high-caste- controlled court. But can the country be ruled by the court? If the court had fixed a limit of 50% it can be asked by the people, who are above the court, to revise its opinion. It is not the people who are made for the courts but vice versa. When the Commission restricted the reservations to 27% to a set of people who actually form 52% population, it is asking the people to live for the sake of courts. If as the Supreme Court says reservations exceeding 50% will violate the provisions of Articles 15 (4) & 16 (4) of the Constitution, then the Constitution can be amended. The Constitution is made by the people & for the people. We can understand the opposition from India’s court & the press which as per their caste and class composition have to be anti- poor, but what makes us very suspicious is the dub out “stand taken by the Prime Minister and her Govt. Not only Govt. went on dodging Parliament but gave ample indication of its hostility when it referred the report to the States for their opinion. The Mandal Commission was appointed by Govt. of India and not by the State Govts. Why should it consult the States? Does it not mean it is trying to delay and thus kill the report? Justice delayed is justice denied. We very well understand the Govt. predicament. Karpoori Thakur had to face violent opposition from the Govt. servants themselves against l.is job reservation scheme for OBCs in Bihar. Only about 5% of the Indian population is employed in public services. Since Govt. services command influence and respect it is but natural that the traditionally advanced higher castes. who are also the people to get early education. monopolised it. The SC.ST, OBCs and minorities being poor and hence illiterate naturally were left behind in this competition for scarce posts. Since India has not developed economically and the higher castes who own its wealth have not cared to help its development, the proportion of jobs in public services have also remained more or less static. India’s growth rate itself is nil. But the aspirations of the weaker sections, have started rising because of the little education they get & the awareness of the injustice they are suffering from at the hands of the ruling class. When the contradictions get sharpened, conflict is inevitable. The upper castes do not want to give up what they are enjoying for centuries. And they have appropriately manufactured the “merit theory” to retain their privileges. Those who have read Justice V. R. Krishna lyer’s final judgment on reservations will get ample hint of the high caste game of divide and rule. The Statesman (May 7.. 1982) editorial asking Indira Gandhi to throw the Mandal Report to waste paper basket just as her father did with the Koka Kalelkar report is an echo of lyer’s judgement. When there is so much of opposition to SC/ST reservations will the high castes extend it to OBCs? Never. This led to violent conflicts in Bihar, Gujarat and UP. Since “caste” is “class” in Hindu India, caste war is the inevitable outcome of such a situation. The Marxian concept of “class struggle” will take the shape of caste war. When that is the situation any move to implement the Mandal Report will let loose a bloody war. The upper castes who monopolise public services can simply paralyse the working of the Govt. & the RSS has threatened that even officers of the Defence Services may join in such a war. Ministers both Central and State may really like to implement the Mandal report but in the face of the fury of the over-pampered Govt. servants they will be helpless. There will be widespread violence & oven the life of Ministers and MPs may be threatened. Every Govt. office & factory will tum into a battlefield & we are predicting these on basis of what has already happened in Gujarat. Bihar, UP etc. RSS is making massive preparations for such a war. That is why we hive repeatedly said Mandal Report will by thrown to the wastepaper basket. The Govt. may do this but can the ruling class stop the rising aspirations of the OBCs? That is why conflict is inevitable and unavoidable. If it does not come tomorrow. it will come day after tomorrow. It is a question of time. Whether we like it or not, war will be there on the issue of reservations to OBCs and Untouchables. RSS has repeatedly said the issue has to be settled on the streets. The ruling class can only delay but cannot avoid the war. More the delay bloodier it will be. The Indian road to socialism will be bloodier than that. of USSR or China because in India we have not only the “classes” but the more deadly “castes”. The ruling class will do everything to rule. But here we are speaking for the persecuted minorities, the 3743 OBC castes listed by Mandal. The leadership of these castes will have to educate their people on the Mandal report, bring out small pamphlets on that, hold conferences, pass resolutions, take out processions & never trust politicians. Go on shouting. No vote until Mandal report is implemented. This is called the process of education. But what is more important is, as we have already said (DV No. 5), OBC leaders will have to take dalits into confidence and ask for their support in the struggle. We are happy to note that dalit leaders like B. P. Maurya and Ram Vilas Paswan have strongly supported the Mandal Report. If OBCS want to win their battle their best friends are the dalits. Together with other persecuted minorities they can shake the country. We have our own doubt if OBCS will ever heed this, knowing Hinduism too well. Unity between OBCs and SCS js a pipe-dream. So the only way out is to end this endless controversy by going in for population-wise reservations to all castes and communities. Such a mobilisation of the dalit support is a must before any struggle is launched Muslims and Christians having been included in the OBCs list, their support will automatically coms. The demand for population-wise reservation will get the support of higher caste shudras comprising the landed gentry. Therefore, it is for the OBC leaders now to decide what course they should take. We cannot expect political leaders of OBCs to help us in this. Politicians must be kept out. Not even the mother will breastfeed the child unless it cries. The course of Mandal Report will never be smooth. It will have to wade through rivers of blood. Will the OBCS be ready for this?