DNA Edit: Maratha quota – Reservations in the time of job scarcity

The findings of the Maharashtra State Backward Commission made it amply clear that given the socio-economic and educational status of the Marathas, they deserve to be granted reservation in educational institutions and government jobs. The findings come as a huge blessing for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis whose government had come under heavy fire over the reservation issue. Since the Commission’s report considers the community eligible for backward class status, the ball is now in the court of the state government. 

The BJP-Shiv Sena government will now have to take the legislative route to accommodate the 16 per cent quota demand of the Marathas since the existing reservation to SC ST, OBC and Vimukta Jati and Nomadic tribes together constitute 49 per cent. The other alternative would be to expand the scope of existing OBCs from 27 per cent to accommodate Marathas. There is no denying the fact that the Marathas constituting 33 per cent of the state population have been a dominant political force for over six decades. No state government can ignore their demands and continue to rule Maharashtra. The least the government can do is to provide a special category status. 

Interestingly, the Supreme Court had set a cap of 50 per cent for reservations, so the state government has to contend with that while dealing with the Maratha issue. It might also face resistance from other backward class members if they think that their share in reservation will be affected because of the inclusion of the Marathas. The reservation issue had touched a raw nerve with reports of a series of suicides during the months-long agitation. At the core of the issue is lack of employment opportunities for these people, a majority of whom are small and marginal landholders. Such is the scarcity that CM Fadnavis had put on hold a mega recruitment initiative for 72,000 government jobs till the Maratha quota is implemented. 

The truth is government jobs are hard to come by since employment opportunities in the public sector have considerably shrunk. Recall what Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari had said in response to the Maratha quota stir when he harped on the need for job creation as the solution to the crisis. When the Uttar Pradesh government wanted to appoint some 35,700 employees on contract for cleaning jobs in municipalities, MBAs, BTechs and PhDs had applied. In the same state, the government received 2.3 million applications for the post of a peon, with many applicants being post graduate or PhD holders. 

The private sector will not bail out the government during this hour of crisis because it is still not amenable to the idea of quota. To be fair, one must also consider the mismatch between the kind of jobs on offer and the qualification and expertise of the candidates. With farming no longer a viable source of income, the pressure on jobs is likely to increase manifold. All political parties have been opportunistic about reservations despite knowing how precarious the job situation has been for a while.