By setting aside the defence services from the purview of reservations, to put the argument straight, the SCs and STs of India are being deprived of 2,77,200 jobs of manpower and Rs.32,670.35 crores of their share in the public exchequer. Above all they are being disgracefully denied of their rightful duty of defending the country in times of peril. Their rightful entry into services on reservation is being dubbed as a compromise with India’s defence preparedness and its capabilities. It is also whispered, it may even communalise the Indian army.
A deeper analysis would suggest both these arguments as just bullshit. What does the social history of Dalits reveal? These are highly illiterate, insecure, innocent, foolish, segregated and slavish mobs whose life is nothing but day to day struggle for bread and butter, struggle against oppression and exploitation.
CRIMES AGAINST SCS AND STS DURING 1986
Nature of crime Against SC Against ST
Murder 564 160
Grievous hurt 1,408 311
Rape 727 285
Arson 1,002 232
Other offences 11,715 2,957
Total 15,416 . 3,945
Source: Report of the Commissioner for SCs and STs, 1987
Criminal records: What does this gruesome crime chart reveal? That struggle for dignity, equity, basic needs and survival has been their daily bread. And in the course of these perilously perennial struggles they have turned out to be the real warriors of self protection.
What does the history of Indian political parties speak? You take the criminal records, you observe the political riots. You scan the factional wars both inter party and intra party. Where from the political parties drew their henchmen? Who are the loyal bodyguards for the Hindu political leaders? Are they not mostly from Dalit communities? If such is the proven socio-criminal record of these sections, are they not fit for or courageous enough to fight for the “nation”? Let they be allowed to sacrifice for the nation instead for their feudal political lords.
Then what is the real problem? The real problem seems only to be if the Dalits start joining the army in a large scale on reservations and start fortifying the Indian defences, the political parties might in the long run may have to be wary of their own defence.
Caste – based regiments: Let us answer the communal question. To begin with, can anyone affirm that the present Indian defence organisation is non-communal? Can we forget that we are just continuing the British legacy of communal defence? Is it not a fact that the very basis of our defence organisation is still communal competetion of servitude?
Otherwise, why is there the Jat regiment, the Rajput regiment, the Sikh regiment, Maratha regiment, Gurkha regiment etc? Yet the SCs and STs are not demanding a Dalit regiment of their own? Is it not a fact that in the barracks provision is made for the erection of temples, churches and gurudwaras but not Masjids? Does the Dalits entry into military with reservation make it more communal than what it is today?
The nodal point here is how best the Indian defence services can be made use of in the socio, cultural and economic emancipation of Dalits. The defence services does have the mighty potential of setting right the individual from a state of anarchy to discipline which the Dalits in India are precisely in need of.
Secondly, it assures fixed monthly economic returns not only to the individual but also to his parents or other dependents? Instead of pouring lakhs of crores of rupees on poverty alleviation programmes on which the financial returns are always doubtful and debatable, it is fruitful for one person from every illeterate SC & ST family must be recruited in to the army.
Thirdly, while serving the army these people not only get exposed to different cultures of vast and porous India, but can be brought out of the age – old evil of social seggregation.
Finally, with all this and by utilising the best available educational services in the military and other central schools, there is bound to be a generational leap in the social, economic, educational and cultural outfit of SCs and STs.
Article 335 violated: All this is part of social elevation process for which Dr. Ambedkar devoted himself. And this was precisely the mission of Dr. Ambedkar in 1941 protesting against the disbandment of Mahar rengiment. He organised many meetings and advised Dalit youth to join the defence services.
The only way of arresting the age old servitude of Dalits and to instill self – respect into them is by military training – asserted Dr. Ambedkar. Dr. Ambedkar believed that social freedom should go hand in hand with political freedom. In his words,
“Political power cannot be a panacea for all the ills of the Depressed Classes. Their salvation lies in their social elevation. They must cleanse their evil habits. They must improve their bad ways of living. By a change in their mode of life they must be made fit for respect and friendship. They must be educated. There is a great necessity to disturb their pathetic contentment and to instil into them that divine discontent which is the spring of all elevation”.
This job of change in culture, approach and outlook and the infusion of self – confidence and self – motivation can be performed best by the defence services. Though Dr. Ambedkar was fully aware of the vast potentials of Indian defence organisation he was constrained and made to content with what it is in view of the than going debate on the dire need for a secular army in the wake of blood – littered partition. And it was justified on his part but it is now high time for us to address ourselves to this unfinished task and to make a search for the correct interpretation of the words “services and posts” under the union as read in Article 335 which might include even the defence services.
