Doubts over its legal viability arise in Maharashtra

The Narendra Modi government's decision to grant 10 per cent quota in jobs and education to Economically Backward Classes (EBCs) in the general category may seek to placate upper castes in Maharashtra.

However, these communities, which are traditionally against caste-based reservations and seek a system based on economic criteria, said they were doubtful whether the decision will stand the test of law.

Maharashtra has around 104 castes and sub-castes in the open category. This includes Brahmins, CKPs, trading castes like Jains, upper-caste Muslims like Ashrafs, and sub-castes among Lingayats. Though some of these social groups such as, Brahmins are numerically smaller, they have traditionally punched far above their weight when it comes to social influence.

The dominant Marathas, who were in the open category, have been accommodated in the 16 per cent socially and educationally backward (SEBC) quota by the state.

Anand Dave of the Akhil Bharatiya Brahmin Mahasangh welcomed the decision but added that if the Modi government was unable to fulfil legal requirements before the code of conduct for Lok Sabha polls comes into force, it would be an "election jumla."

Dave claimed that Brahmins accounted for around 8 per cent of Maharashtra's population and could influence results in 15 of 48 Lok Sabha and 48 state assembly constituencies, especially in urban pockets such as Mumbai, Pune and Thane.

Manohar Dhonde of the Akhil Bharatiya Veershaiva Yuvak Sanghatana (Shiva) said 38 of the 59 castes and sub-castes in the open category among Veershaiva Lingayats in Maharashtra would be covered. "Now, around 40 per cent of the community identifies itself as Lingayats, especially in Western Maharashtra and in districts of Marathwada such as Latur and Osmanabad. They are included in the general category with those like Veershaivas. We welcome the move if the decision stands in court," he added.

However, Hari Narke, former member, Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC), noted that the erstwhile PV Narasimha Rao government had on September 25, 1991, granted 10 per cent quota to EBCs in the open category. However, the decision was struck down by a Constitution bench in November 1992 in the Indra Sawhney case, which also imposed a 50 per cent cap on quotas. "If this quota is based on economic criteria, it will serve as reverse discrimination against the SC, ST, OBC and VJNT categories, as they too are economically weak. Thus, they are also entitled to this reservation," he claimed.

"The fate of this 10 per cent quota was decided in 1992. This is an election gimmick," said Narke, adding that increasing quotas beyond 50 per cent violated the Constitutional principle of equality.

"The Court has been firm on the 50 per cent cap from the 1963 MR Balaji case... to the 2017 decision where the Rajasthan government's decision to hike the quota beyond this ceiling to provide reservations to groups like Gujjars was restrained," he explained.

Shantaram Kunjir of the Maratha group, Sambhaji Brigade, claimed the quota was weak on legal grounds. He demanded that Marathas be included in the OBC category instead of being given a separate 16 per cent reservation as SEBCs.

In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena, which has a strong base among OBCs, opposes caste-based quotas and seeks them on economic grounds. However, critics point to a critical flaw in the argument — caste is a bigger marker of discrimination and economic conditions of individuals and occupational groups are dynamic.

PRECEDENTS IN THE MATTER

• Hari Narke, former member, Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC), noted that the erstwhile PV Narsimha Rao government had on September 25, 1991, granted 10 per cent quota to EBCs in the open category
• However, the decision was struck down by a Constitution bench in November 1992 in the Indra Sawhney case, which also imposed a 50 per cent cap on quotas