Efforts Underway to Build Consensus on Internal Quota Policy

Quick Summary

• Dalit left (Madigas) and Dalit right (Holeyas) groups held protests in Bengaluru, demanding different outcomes regarding the H.N. Nagamohan das Commission’s recommendations on internal reservations for Scheduled Castes.
• the special Cabinet meeting to address the issue, initially scheduled for Saturday, was postponed to Tuesday due to a lack of consensus among Ministers and officials.
• the Das Commission recommended internal SC reservation as follows:

– Category A: 1% for microscopic communities.
– Category B: 6% for Dalit left.
– Category C: 5% for Dalit right.
– Category D: 4% for touchable communities like Bhovis,Lambanis,Korchas,Kormas.
– Category E: AD (Adi Dravida), AK (Adi Karnataka), AA (arundathiyars) with a quota of 1%.

• Proposed revisions include:

– Redistributing Category E’s percentage to strengthen Dalit right’s reservation share or regrouping certain castes within existing categories.- Increasing the reservation share of Dalit right from the current recommendation of 5%.

• Disparate views persist:

– Federation sources called the Das report scientific but where open to small revisions aimed at balance and fairness among SC groups.
– Others urged unity across all Scheduled Castes while revising specific details in categorization and allocation percentages.

• Concerns over reservation exceeding the Supreme Court’s limit were raised by Ahimsa, a group representing minorities and general category employees. Currently, total reservations stand at 56%, revised upward recently from 49%.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The ongoing deliberations around internal caste-based reservations underline both socio-political complexities within India’s Scheduled Caste communities and broader implications on affirmative action frameworks. While striving to address past inequities among SC subcategories through categorization backed by data may seem rationally justified-as reflected in Das Commission recommendations-it has exposed divisions even within disadvantaged groups.

Proposals calling for modifications or redistribution reveal concerns about equity versus practicality of implementation when balancing claims between larger segments like “Dalit Right” and smaller ones in microscopic categories. Additionally, breaching India’s constitutional guideline of keeping reservations under a 50% cap remains contentious-not only politically but also judicially-possibly inviting further challenges.

Resolving these disputes demands sensitive negotiation ensuring inclusivity while upholding constitutional integrity; resolving this issue will ultimately test governance capabilities alongside its societal implications in fostering harmony among diverse SC subgroups.

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