Quota controversy centres around introducing reservations in institutions of higher education and learning, says Ram Jethmalani.
Ram Jethmalani
The current controversy over quotas essentially centres around introducing reservations in institutions of higher education and learning. But before initiating such steps I feel the Government must make the public mind receptive to such proposals.
It must be pointed out that the Constitution of India and Supreme Court rulings are committed to reservations. Though it is true that reservations are a departure from the principle of equality, yet it is a recognised and valid exception to the rule based upon compensation for historical injustice. Hindu law has always recognised the biased obligation of the son to pay his father’s debts. So today’s generation is now paying the price of our ancestors’ sins.
Ultimately, when people talk of merit, if you really analyse, even so-called merit is based upon a genetic accident. What do you require from public servants? Not too much intelligence, but a little integrity and commitment to a service-oriented approach. So who says that SC and ST are inferior in this respect? At the other end, intelligence without character produces only smarter crooks! Yes, the resentment of those deprived of seats or jobs is quite understandable. In my opinion, the solution is not more reservations, but starting more institutions. Instead of spending huge amounts on building armies or developing nuclear bombs, the government should channelise the funds and open more institutions so that there are sufficient seats to go around, reservations or no reservations.
There are of course loopholes in the quota system. While the affluent sections among the backward castes continue to enjoy the benefits for generations, the economically weaker sections among the higher castes continue to remain deprived. Yet, we have many great examples of people who have flourished without reservations/quotas.
The father of the Indian Constitution, BR Ambedkar was not a product of reservation, then why should his descendants get reservations? The late Jagjivan Ram had more wealth than I do, but that had nothing to do with reservations. Take Mayawati’s case, she has declared assets of Rs12 crore, why should her family get reservations? The ultimate target of any government is to rid the country of poverty. It is not a question of reservations. For achieving that, what is required is proper economic management by avoiding useless expenditure, adopting result-oriented policies, and reducing corruption. Once mass-scale poverty is removed, reservations and quotas will be forgotten.
To conclude, I would like to emphasise that if the economic cake is made larger, the fight over this small cake will automatically disappear.
As told to Quaid Najmi. Ram Jethmalani is a former law minister
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