The Union Cabinet, which meets here on Thursday, will discuss a proposal to dovetail the promised caste census with the survey to identify those living below the poverty line (BPL), government sources told The Hindu. The entire exercise should be completed by the end of this year, these sources added.

Dovetailing the two exercises will ensure that the castes enumerated can be correlated with the socio-economic data, and facilitate a more focussed targeting of the government's welfare measures.

Two views

Last September, when the Cabinet approved the recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, to undertake a caste headcount, starting June 2011, after the completion of the National Population Register (NPR), there were two views on the methodology to be undertaken.

One view was correlating people's caste identities with their educational and economic status would help map the population better, thus ensuring a more accurate targeting of welfare schemes. The other was that making such connections might lead to a demand for larger quotas. Evidently, the first view has won the day.

The proposal, which will be placed before the Cabinet on Thursday comes from the Home Ministry — the nodal department for Census 2012 — and envisages that the caste census cum BPL survey will be conducted by the Registrar-General and Census Commissioner India, and the Union Ministries of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) and Rural Development (RD), sources added. While the HUPA Ministry will focus on the urban areas, the RD Ministry will survey the rural areas. Those surveyed will be asked to name their caste, but this caste data will not be cross-checked. People will be free to say "no caste" as well.

It may be recalled that in March this year, the Opposition parties had raised the issue of a caste-based Census in the Lok Sabha, prompting the government to promise that inclusion of social, education and economic status in the exercise will be considered.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2029717.ece

BPL head count for urban and rural poor

By KR Sudhaman May 19 2011 , New Delhi

Tags: BPL, News
The Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod to carry out head count of people living below poverty line (BPL) in rural and urban areas.

The BPL Census, which would also include headcount on the basis of castes and religion, would begin in June and concluded by December this year. The results of the BPL Census would be utilized in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni told reporters.

This is the first time that the mammoth head count is being carried out to identify the poor along with their caste and religion. While the last BPL census was carried out in 2002, this is the first effort to carry out caste census since 1931.

The exercise will be paper-less and carried out by state governments through low-cost hand-held devices to be manufactured by state-run Bharat Electronics Limited. The data on caste and religion would remain confidential, she said. Ministries of Rural Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and the registrar general of India would jointly conduct the census.

"This completely fulfils the assurance given by government in Parliament to have caste-based census along with the socio-economic profiling", Soni said

The Cabinet also approved an additional central assistance of Rs.200 crore for providing drinking water in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh during 2011-12. This would be in addition to the other measures approved by the Cabinet in November 2009 for implementing drought mitigation strategies in Bundelkhand.
http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/bpl-head-count-urban-and-rural-poor-831

PUCL Bulletin, August 1994

The Mandal Commission Report
By Dinkar Sakrikar

The report of the Mandal Commission has generated a furious controversy. A peculiar feature is that the controversy is not being fought between the right and the left; on both sides of the divide are ranged both right and the left.

Those who are vigorously demanding its implementation believe that it will lead to a reduction of social and educational backwardness and give a chance to live to the backwardness and give a chance to live to the backward classes who constitute 52f% of the population of India. Those who are opposing it, with equal vigour, believe that the implementation of the Mandal recommendations will intensify casteism. Some like the Maharashtra Maha Mandal also predict a civil war if the Mandal recommendations are implemented. S. Y. Kolhatkar, writing in Jeevan Marg, while endorsing the recommendations, warns against organizing any movement to demand its enforcement, on the ground that this would increase casteism. The only panacea according to him is the development of a Left Democratic Front to initiate people's struggles against price increases and unemployment !

Both these elements attack the Mandal Commission for adopting caste as the criteria for determining social and educational backwardness. This charge is ill-founded. In fact, the Commission, after a very thorough scientific investigation has with the help of experts from various disciplines worked out 11 indicators to determine social backwardness. These indicators are social, educational and economic, and as the major controversy resolves around the caste criteria allegedly adopted by the commission, it would be relevant to reproduce the actual criteria used by the Commission. The 11 indicators formulated by the commission are:

Social

  • Castes/classes considered as socially backward by others.
  • Castes/classes which mainly depend on manual labour for their livelihood.
  • Castes/classes where the percentage of married women below 17 is 25% above the state average in rural areas and 10% in urban areas; and that of married men is 10% and 5% above the state average in rural and urban areas respectively.
  • Castes/classes where participation of females in work is at least 25% above the state average.

Educational

  • Castes/classes where the number of children in the age group of 5 to 15 years who never attended school is at least 25% above the state average.
  • Castes/classes where the rate of student drop-out in the age group of 5-15 years is at least 25% above the state average.
  • Castes/classes amongst whom the proportion of matriculates is at least 25% below the state average

Economic

  • Castes/classes where the average value of family assets is at least 25% below the state average.
  • Castes/classes where the number of families living in kachcha houses is at least 25 % above the state average.
  • Castes/classes where the source of drinking water is beyond half a kilometer for more than 50% of the households.
  • Castes/classes where the number of the house-holds having taken a consumption loan is at least 25% above the state average.

    •  

Can these 11 indicators be regarded as constituting a purely casteist criteria? It would be mollified on the part of those who use that term to condemn the Mandal Commission.

Again, the controversy over the Commission's recommendations is very deliberately, I believe, being centred exclusively on the scheme of reservations in jobs and seats in educational institutions for the OBCs. The commission, following the Supreme Court injunction that overall reservation should not exceed 50%, has in fact proposed only 27% reservation - 27% for people who constitute 52% of the population. After the Mandal scheme is accepted would this be 49.5%, within the limits drawn by the Supreme Court. It is well worth noting that the OBC and SC/ST together constitute 74.5% of the population.

When 5% reservation of jobs and educational seats is given for people constituting nearly 75% of the population, is it condemned as casteist. But Those who constitute less than 25% grab 75% of power - and that is supposed to be in the national interest, etc. Brahminst who are 5% of the population enjoy 50% representation in the Union Cabinet, in Secretariat positions, in Governors' and Vice-Chancellors' and ambassadorial jobs, that does not raise even an eyebrow of the so-called casteless society wallahas! 'Caste' cannot be used to deny social justice to a vast majority of the people; neither can caste be allowed to be sued to maintain privileges and positions grabbed and retained by a microscopic minority for thousands of years. The double standards by which the not-so-concealed casteism of the high caste is considered acceptable and respectable, while, 'caste', which has condemned the lower castes, the backwards, the dalits, the adivasis to a life of poverty, exploitation, injustice and humiliation is not be reckoned with, is a thoroughly discreditable posture and can deceive nobody. The struggle against caste cannot be side-tracked to perpetuate the domination of the higher caste. The struggle against caste is the most intense from of class-struggle in the Indian situation.

But the main thing is that besides reservations, the Mandal Commission has recommended certain structural changes. The Commission has sharply focussed on the fact that a large majority of the OBCs live in villages, that they are poor farmers, or farm labourers or village artisans whose 'business' has been completely destroyed by the Batas and Garwares. These rural poor are today completely under the control of the rich farmers and traders who have reduced them to a state of slavery. Their conditions cannot be change takes place in the relations of production. The Commission wants a change in the private ownership of the means of production both in industry and agriculture. The Commission wants a change in the private ownership of the means of production both in industry and agriculture, it should not be delayed. Even if the existing laws in the statute books are enforced ruthlessly and impartially, it would give considerable relief to the poor. At least, the strange hold of rich farmers will be loosened, if not broken. The Commission recommends that the Ceiling Act and other land reform statutes should be vigorously enforced.

Currently, whatever land is acquired by the enforcement of the Ceiling Act is distributed amongst SC/ST only. The commission feels that some of this land should also be given to the OBC. It is very heartening to note that the dalits who are likely to lose something under this measure are coming forward to support the Mandal Commission. It is a measure of the maturity of dalit movement that they are willingly and voluntarily accepting some sacrifice to promote the cause of the other oppressed section, the OBC. The dalit and the OBC solidarity, let it be understood, unites 75% of the people, suppressed, exploited and condemned to a life of degradation and humiliation. The Mandal Commission has opened the visa of such powerful consolidation of the exploited people.

The struggle for land which in effect would also become the struggle for the liberation of the poor from the dominant rich in rural areas, is also linked up with the struggle for survival of rural artisans. They have no land, or very little of it, and their traditional occupations have been ruined by the invasion of big companies. The Commission has recommended that separate financial institutions should be set up to help them organize their occupation on a cooperative basis. These cooperatives must be controlled only by the rural artisans. Furthermore, these rural artisans must be given training in the use of modern instruments, modern methods and style. A comprehensive charter of demands for the entire rural OBCs, those in farming and rural artisans, based on these recommendations of the Mandal Commission, could galvanize the rural masses into a concerted action.

There is yet another dimension to the prospects opened by the Commission. The Commission has broken fresh grounds and has carried out its investigations into the conditions of the backward sections among Muslims and Christians, thus transgressing religious divisions. So far, only Hindu dalits or OBC commanded attention, but the oppressed and the backward among non-Hindus were not given consideration. The Commission has shown, with substantive evidence, how backwardness-social and educational-prevails even among religious communities which avowedly do not believe in caste. They believe in the equality of man. Yet there exist divisions of 'high' and 'low'. These 'low-castes' among Muslims and Christians are derived from their Hindu origins, but perpetuated after conversions, though a long time ago, and are parallel to similar Hindu castes.

The Mandal Commission recommendations for Hindu OBCs are applicable to non-Hindu OBCs also, thus the struggle for the recommendations of the Mandal Commission can unite all the exploited and oppressed masses irrespective of religious divisions. Their struggle against high caste domination and exploitation can become the struggle against capitalist-landlord exploitation and therefore a struggle for equality and social justice.


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http://www.pucl.org/from-archives/Dalit-tribal/mandal-2.htm


Other Backward Class

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Central Government of India classifies some of its citizens based on their social and economic condition as Scheduled Caste (SC),Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Class (OBC). The OBC list presented by the commission is dynamic (castes and communities can be added or removed) and will change from time to time depending on Social, Educational and Economic factors. For example, the OBCs are entitled to 27% reservations in public sector employment and higher education. In the constitution, OBCs are described as "socially and educationally backward classes", and government is enjoined to ensure their social and educational development.

Until 1985, the affairs of Backward Classes were looked after by the Backward Classes Cell (BCC) in the Ministry of Home Affairs. With the creation of a separate Ministry of Welfare in 1985 (renamed as Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 25 May 1998) the matters relating to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Minorities were transferred to the new Ministry.

The Backward Classes Division in the Ministry looks after the policy, planning and implementation of programmes relating to social and economic empowerment of OBCs. It also looks after matters relating to two institutions set up for the welfare of OBCs: National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) and the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).

Contents

[edit]Overview

Rural landholding pattern of various social groups calculated by National Sample Survey 99-00 indicate that OBC and forward Castes are comparable in wealthiness.)

Backward class people is a collective term, used by theGovernment of India, for castes which are economically and socially disadvantaged and face, or may have faced discriminationon account of birth. They typically include the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). However recently released Provisional report of National Survey 04-05 states that Buying capacity of Backward Castes in rural and urban areas are comparable to forward Castes. It also revises Backward Castes figure as 41%. It also states that Landownership of Backward Castes are comparable to Forward Castes. It reiterates its earlier finding (in 99-00 survey) that forward Castes are poorly employed (more unemployment).[1] Also Karnataka Minister in state Assembly has announced that per capita income of the Brahmins is lesser than all communities.[2]According to "The Times of India" on 31 August 2010, even after 17 years, at most 7% of seats have been filled by OBCs, regardless of their 27% reservation.[3] This difference between proportion of different communities in Higher educational institutions is mainly because of difference in primary school enrollment. Political parties in India have attempted to use these communities asvotebanks.[citation needed]

[edit]Obligation of the government

Under Article 340 of the Indian Constitution, it is obligatory for the government to promote the welfare of the Other Backward Classes (OBC). Article 340(1) states, " The president may by order appoint a commission, consisting of such persons as he thinks, fit to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India and the difficulties under which they labour and to make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by the union or any state to remove such difficulties and as to improve 'their condition and as to the grants that should be made, and the order appointing such commission shall define the procedure to be followed by the commission."

Article 340(2) states, "A commission so appointed shall investigate the matters referred to them and present to the president a report setting out the facts as found by them and making such recommendations as they think proper."

[edit]Demographics

[edit]First Backward Classes commission

Main article: Kalelkar Commission

The First Backward Classes Commission was set up by a presidential order on January 29, 1953 under the chairmanship of Kaka Kalelkar. The commission submitted its report on March 30, 1955. It had prepared a list of 2,399 backward castes or communities for the entire country and of which 837 had been classified as the "most backward". Some of the most notable recommendations of the commission were:

  1. Undertaking caste-wise enumeration of population in the census of 1961;
  2. Relating social backwardness of a class to its low position in the traditional caste hierarchy of Indian society;
  3. Treating all women as a class as "backward";
  4. Reservation of 70 per cent seats in all technical and professional institutions for qualified students of backward classes.
  5. Reservation of vacancies in all government services and local bodies for other backward classes.

The commission in its final report recommended "caste as the criteria" to determine backwardness. But this report was not accepted by the government as it feared that the backward classes excluded from the caste and communities selected by the commission may not be considered and the really needy would be swamped by the multitude and would hardly receive special attention.

[edit]Mandal commission

Main article: Mandal Commission
**NFHS Survey estimated only Hindu OBC population. Total OBC population derived by assuming Muslim OBC population in same proportion as Hindu OBC population)

The decision to set up a second backward classes commission was made official by the president on January 1, 1979. The commission popularly known as the Mandal Commission, its chairman being B. P. Mandal, submitted a report in December 1980 that stated that thepopulation of OBCs, which includes both Hindus and non-Hindus, was around 52 per cent of the totalpopulation according to the Mandal Commission.

However, this finding was criticized as based on "fictitious data". The National Sample Survey puts the figure at 32%.[4] There is substantial debate over the exact number of OBCs in India, with census data compromised by partisan politics. It is generally estimated to be sizable, but lower than the figures quoted by either the Mandal Commission or and National Sample Survey.[5]

27 percent of reservation was recommended owing to the legal constraint that the total quantum of reservation should not exceed 50 percent. States which have already introduced reservation for OBC exceeding 27 per cent will not be affected by this recommendation. With this general recommendation the commission proposed the following overall scheme of reservation for OBC:

  1. Candidates belonging to OBC recruited on the basis of merit in an open competition should not be adjusted against their reservation quota of 27 per cent.
  2. The above reservation should also be made applicable to promotion quota at all levels.
  3. Reserved quota remaining unfilled should be carried forward for a period of three years and de-reserved thereafter.
  4. Relaxation in the upper age limit for direct recruitment should be extended to the candidates of OBC in the same manner as done in the case of SCs and STs.
  5. A roster system for each category of posts should be adopted by the concerned authorities in the same manner as presently done in respect of SC and ST candidates.

These recommendations in total are applicable to all recruitment to public sector undertakings, both under the central and state governments as well as to nationalised banks. All private sector undertakings which have received financial assistance from the government in one form or other should also be obliged to recruit personnel on the aforesaid basis. All universities and affiliated colleges should also be covered by the above scheme of reservation. Although education is considered an important factor to bring a desired social change, "educational reform" was not within the terms of reference of this commission. To promote literacy the following measures were suggested:

  1. An intensive time-bound programme for adult education should be launched in selected pockets with high concentration of OBC population.
  2. Residential schools should be set up in these areas for backward class students to provide a climate specially conducive to serious studies. All facilities in these schools including board and lodging should be provided free of cost to attract students from poor andbackward class homes.
  3. Separate hostels for OBC students with above facilities will have to be provided.
  4. Vocational training was considered imperative.
  5. It was recommended that seats should be reserved for OBC students in all scientific, technical and professional institutions run by the central as well as state governments. The quantum of reservation should be the same as in the government services, i.e. 27 per cent.[citation needed]

[edit]Legal Dispute

[edit]Supreme Court interim stay

On 29 March 2007, the Supreme Court of India, as an interim measure, stayed the law providing for 27 percent reservation for Other Backward Classes in educational institutions like IITs and IIMs. This was done in response to a public interest litigation — Ashoka Kumar Thakur vs. Union of India. The Court held that the 1931 census could not be a determinative factor for identifying the OBCs for the purpose of providing reservation. The court also observed, "Reservation cannot be permanent and appear to perpetuate backwardness".[6]

[edit]Supreme Court verdict

On 10 April 2008 the Supreme Court of India upheld the government's initiative of 27% OBC quotas in government-funded institutions. The Court has categorically reiterated its prior stand that those considered part of the "Creamy layer" should be excluded from the scope of the reservation policy as well as from private institutions. The verdict produced mixed reactions from supporting and opposing quarters. Several criteria to identify the portion of the population comprising the "creamy layer" have been recommended, including the following:[7]

Those with family income above Rs 250,000 a year (now Rs 450,000 a year)[when?] should be in creamy layer, and excluded from the reservation quota. Also, children of doctors, engineers, chartered accountants, actors, consultants, media professionals, writers, bureaucrats, defence officers of colonel and equivalent rank or higher, high court and Supreme Court judges, all central and state government Class A and B officials should be excluded. The Court has requested Parliament to exclude MPs' and MLAs' children as well.

[edit]Supreme Court conclusions from Ashoka Kumar Thakur vs. Union of India

  1. The Constitution (Ninety-Third Amendment) Act, 2005 does not violate the "basic structure" of the Constitution so far as it relates to the state maintained institutions and aided educational institutions. Question whether the Constitution (Ninety-Third Amendment) Act, 2005 would be constitutionally valid or not so far as "private unaided" educational institutions are concerned, is left open to be decided in an appropriate case.
  2. The "Creamy layer" principle is one of the parameters to identify backward classes. Therefore, principally, the "Creamy layer" principle cannot be applied to STs and SCs, as SCs and STs are separate classes by themselves.
  3. Preferably there should be a review after ten years to take note of the change of circumstances.
  4. A graduation (not technical graduation) or professional course deemed to be educationally forward.
  5. Principle of exclusion of Creamy layer applicable to OBC's.
  6. The Central Government shall examine as to the desirability of fixing a cut off marks in respect of the candidates belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs)to balance reservation with other societal interests and to maintain standards of excellence. This would ensure quality and merit would not suffer. If any seats remain vacant after adopting such norms they shall be filled up by candidates from general categories.
  7. So far as determination of backward classes is concerned, a Notification should be issued by the Union of India. This can be done only after exclusion of the creamy layer for which necessary data must be obtained by the Central Government from the State Governments and Union Territories. Such Notification is open to challenge on the ground of wrongful exclusion or inclusion. Norms must be fixed keeping in view the peculiar features in different States and Union Territories. There has to be proper identification of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). For identifying backward classes, the Commission set up pursuant to the directions of this Court in Indra Sawhney 1 has to work more effectively and not merely decide applications for inclusion or exclusion of castes.
  8. The Parliament should fix a deadline by which time free and compulsory education will have reached every child. This must be done within six months, as the right to free and compulsory education is perhaps the most important of all the fundamental rights (Art.21 A). For without education, it becomes extremely difficult to exercise other fundamental rights.
  9. If material is shown to the Central Government that the Institution deserves to be included in the Schedule (institutes which are excluded from reservations) of The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 (No. 5 of 2007), the Central Government must take an appropriate decision on the basis of materials placed and on examining the concerned issues as to whether Institution deserves to be included in the Schedule of the said act as provided in Sec 4 of the said act.
  10. Held that the determination of SEBCs is done not solely based on caste and hence, the identification of SEBCs does not violate Article 15(1) of the Constitution.

[edit]See also

[edit]Notes

  1. ^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1833012,0008.htm
  2. ^ "Are Brahmins the Dalits of today?". Us.rediff.com. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
  3. ^ Kumar, D Suresh (25 September 2010). [17 yrs after Mandal, 7% OBCs in govt jobs|http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/17-yrs-after-Mandal-7-OBCs-in-govt-jobs/articleshow/6465115.cms]. Times News Network. [Archived by WebCite®|http://www.webcitation.org/5tnYAVRTu] on 27 October 2010. Accessed 27 October 2010.
  4. ^ [1]. Accessed October 2010.
  5. ^ [2][dead link]
  6. ^ "Supreme Court stays OBC quota in IITs, IIMs". rediff.com (Rediff.com India Limited). March 29, 2007 Bold text. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  7. ^ "New Cutoff for OBCs". The Telegraph. April 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-11.

[edit]References

[edit]External links




Key

Mandal Commission

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (December 2006)

The Mandal Commission was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward."[1] It was headed by Indian parliamentarian Bindheshwari Prasad Mandal to consider the question of seat reservations and quotas for people to redress caste discrimination, and used eleven social, economic, and educational indicators to determine backwardness. In 1980, the commission's report affirmed the affirmative action practice under Indian law whereby members of lower castes (known as Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Scheduled Castes and Tribes) were given exclusive access to a certain portion of government jobs and slots in public universities, and recommended changes to these quotas, increasing them by 27% to 49.5%.