Socially and Educationally Backward
Classes (SEBCs or OBCs or BCs) and the Budget 2014-15
by P.
S. Krishnan, IAS (Retd.)”
In the first instalment of this analysis which was titled “A.
Scheduled Castes and Budget”, I had examined the question of extent of fulfilment
of expectations in respect of SCs in the Union Budget 2014-15. In this paper, I am examining it from the
point of view of STs in the Part titled “B. Scheduled Tribes and Budget
2014-15” and in the Part titled “C.
Socially and Educationally Backward Classes and Budget 2014-15” from the point
of view of the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (BCs). The “Introduction
and Background” given in the Paper on SCs is common to SCs, STs and BCs. For
the sake of continuity and clarity, it is reproduced below.
INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND
I. SC, ST and BC – Blindspot of Media
and Commentators
The Budget 2014-15 has attracted particular attention because of the
expectations raised by Shri Narendra Modi’s election campaign speeches. All
aspects of the Budget have been discussed in the print and electronic media
except one. That one is the Budget in relation to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and
Scheduled Tribes (STs), and also Socially and Educationally Backward Classes
(SEdBCs), also known as Other Backward Classes (OBCs) or Backward Classes
(BCs). These three social classes constitute about two-thirds to three-fourths
of the population of India
II. Shri
Narendra Modi’s Election Campaign Commitments to SCs, STs and BCs and
Consequent Duty of Budget in Relation to Them
During his election campaign Shri Modi made momentous commitments
to the SCs, STs and BCs. He has
especially stated at Kochi on 09-02-2014 during
the Centenary of the historic Kayal
Samaram that he takes it as his destiny to fulfill their rights which have
not been fulfilled in the many decades of our Independence
It is fair therefore that the Budget and also
other measures of the Government should meet the needs, entitlements and rights
of these three deprived social classes. From the BJP’s own point of view, to
stabilize its new non-traditional incremental votes from these three classes,
it is necessary to meet their legitimate expectations.
III. Equality – A Fundamental Human and Constitutional Goal –
Meaning of Equality in Indian Context
Therefore, the question, unaddressed by the
powerful media voices is whether and how far the legitimate expectations of
these three classes have been fulfilled by Budget 2014-15. In this, we must start with the goal. Shri Narendra Modi had rightly underlined
that the only Dharma Granth of every
Indian is the Constitution of India. The Constitution in its Preamble itself
lays down Equality – i.e., Equality of Status and Equality of Opportunity – as
one of its foundational principles.
We must be clear about the meaning of
Equality. In the peculiar Indian
context, Equality necessarily means Equality of each of the three deprived / disadvantaged
social classes, namely, the SCs, STs and BCs with the Socially Advanced Castes
(SACs), i.e. the Non-SC, Non-ST, Non-BC castes (NSCTBCS), in all parameters –
i.e., economic, occupational, educational, residential,
health-and-nutrition related. Then only can the SCs and STs, and also the
BCs, especially the More, Most and Extremely Backward castes of BCs
will, in reality, be able to secure Equality of Status and Equality of
Opportunity.
Following up the Preamble, the Constitution mandates specific lines
of action through various Articles for the economic and educational advancement
of SCs and STs and their protection from all forms of injustice, exploitation and
violence and for the advancement of BCs. The Governments and Parties which have
ruled India
...................................................................
SOCIALLY
AND EDUCAITONALLY BACKWARD CLASSES (SEdBCs) AND THE BUDGET 2014-15
C-I. Introduction – Delay in
Recognition of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes and Absence of
Integrated and Comprehensive Developmental Planning For BCs
In this Part, I am examining the Budget 2014-15 from the point of
view of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEdBCs), who are also known as Other Backward Classes (OBCs) or Backward Classes (BCs) (hereafter referred to as BCs)
While BCs were recognized as a distinct social
class, who deserved reservation in employment and education and other
supporting measures for advancement in the peninsular States, especially the
South Indian States, well before Independence and though the Constitution of
India recognized their existence by Articles 340, 338 (10), which is the same
as the earlier 338 (3), 15(4), 15(5) and 16(4), the Central Government and
North Indian and East Indian States turned a blind eye towards this social
reality.
BCs were recognized and to start with provided
Reservation of 27% in the services of the Central Government only as late as
1990. This decision was taken on the
basis of my Note when I was Secretary, Ministry of Welfare (the predecessor of
the present Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Tribal
Affairs and the Ministry of Minority Affairs).
This order was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1992. It took another 14
years for Reservation for the BCs in education, especially higher education, to
be introduced. At that stage again, it was my privilege to make a crucial
contribution in helping to effectively defend the Central Educational
Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act, 2006. The Act was
upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008.
This delay has been compounded by failure to
comprehensively plan for the advancement of the BCs so as to enable the BCs as
a whole, each category of BCs (Backward castes, More Backward castes, Most
Backward castes and Extremely Backward castes) and each BC caste to reach the
level of Equality with the Socially Advanced Castes (SACs) or the non-SC,
no-ST, non-BC (NSCTBC) castes in each and every parameter of life, development
and welfare. The half-heartedness shown
in this has also been reflected in programmes for the advancement of BCs.
C-II. Schemes for BCs under Demand No. 90 of Ministry and Department of
SJ&E – No New Trail Blazed with Two or Three Exemptions
The schemes introduced for the BCs under Demand
No. 90 of the Ministry and Department of Social Justice & Empowerment
(SJ&E) are only a pale and truncated imitation of what was being provided
for SCs and STs, but with much smaller outlays.
There has been no attempt to formulate schemes keeping in view the
specific features of the BCs and the different categories of BCs (such as
Nomadic, Semi-Nomadic and Vimukta Jati and non-SC scavenging castes; artisan
and artisanal castes; service-providing castes; share-cropping and similar
peasant castes and land-owning peasant castes – in other words the extremely
backward castes, the Most Backward Castes; More Backward Castes and Backward
Castes, of which the first three require maximum attention), though the Report
of the Working Group on the Empowerment of Backward Classes in the X Plan 2001 of
which I was Chairman provided a clear road-map. This road-map was also
reiterated by the Report (2002) of the National (Justice Venkatachaliah)
Commission for Review of the Working of the Constitution set up in 2000 and by
the National Commission for Backward Classes in its Annual Report (February 2000). I have also written to Shri Narendra Modi ji
in July 2013 and subsequently, i.e., since before he was designated as the PM
candidate about the legislative measures and programmatic/schematic measures
required for the BCs, including BCs of minorities.
The situation in this regard in the Budget
2014-15 is no different from the previous Budgets and there is no attempt to
blaze a new trail. This does not meet
the legitimate expectations roused among the BCs by the pronouncements and
commitments made in respect of them, along with the SCs and STs, by Shri Narendra Modi ji during the election campaign 2013-14 and
commitments in the BJP Election Manifesto that the BJP will focus on tangible
development and empowerment of OBCs and that a high priority for SC, ST and
OBCs and other weaker sections would be to create an ecosystem for education
and entrepreneurship.
The following are the schemes for the Backward
Classes under the MSJ&E’s Demand No. 90:-
|
Relevant Extracts from Demand No. 90 of
MSJ&E of Budget 2014-15
|
||||
|
|
(In
Crores of Rupees)
|
|||
|
|
2012-13
Actuals
|
2013-14
BE
|
2013-14
RE
|
2014-15
BE
|
|
Pre-Matric
Scholarship
|
46.85
|
135.00
|
110.70
|
150.00
|
|
Post-Matric
Scholarship
|
666.72
|
810.00
|
740.00
|
785.00
|
|
Boys
and Girls Hostel
|
14.76
|
40.00
|
21.18
|
45.00
|
|
Rajiv
Gandhi National Fellowship for OBC and Economically Backward Classes
|
|
5.00
|
00.00
|
9.90
|
|
Other
Programmes
|
0.46
|
17.00
|
3.43
|
25.78
|
|
Total
|
728.79
|
1007.00
|
875.40
|
1015.68
|
Among the total of
five schemes / programmes for BCs in Demand No. 90 of MSJ&E, while there
has been a total increase of outlay of Rs. 33.68 crores for the four programmes
together, i.e., for the programmes other than Post-Matric scholarship scheme,
there has been a decrease of Rs. 25.00 crores in the outlay for the Post-Matric
scholarship scheme compared to the BE 2013-14.
The net increase in BE 2014-15 for all the five schemes / programmes for
BCs is only Rs. 08.65 crores – an increase of a mere 0.86%.
In the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship scheme, a
non-constitutional category designated as “Economically Backward Classes” has
been added with the “OBC”. The Constitution recognizes only three social
classes as needing Social Justice measures for their comprehensive advancement
towards Equality with the SACs, namely, SCs, STs and Socially and Educationally
Backward Classes, because these are the three social classes, each of which has
been collectively deprived and disadvantaged by the working of the traditional
social system or the Indian Caste System, i.e., Caste System-with-“Untouchability”
over the centuries of history, continuing through the decades after
Independence. Shri Narendra Modi ji in
his speech on 9 February, 2014 at Kochi to mark the Centenary of the first
Conference of the SCs, assembled in their boats, in the lake adjoining the
capital of the Princely State of Cochin, because they were prohibited from setting
foot on the land of the State capital, highlighted the continuing deprivation
of these three classes during the post-Independence decades. There is no
objection and in fact it is justified and necessary to provide scholarships and
fellowships for the genuinely poor among the NSCTBC castes, but without
referring to them as “Economically Backward Classes”, which is not a social
class recognized by the Constitution. Provision of such support for the
genuinely poor students among the NSCTBC castes should be made with adequate
safeguard against spurious poverty certificates and without eating into the
funds that should be available to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes.
In the present instance, the outlay for the NSCTBC poor students should be shown
separately while retaining the meager outlay in the Budget for the BCs.
C-III. Comprehensive Developmental Programme for BCs
But apart from
this, a much larger programme is required for the BCs, tailored to the
requirements of different categories and occupational groups of BCs, following
the road-map referred to above. There are rudiments of the approach required in
the provision of outlays for Handicraft Industries, Village and Small
Industries, Handloom Industries, Traditional Industries, Fisheries in the
Budget 2014-15. Most of the artisans and
producers in these industries and occupations belong to the BCs. But the
inadequacy of these schemes and their outlays is shown up by the sorry plight
of the artisans and artisanal workers in them.
The
schemes provided in the present Budget for these schemes are the same as in the
past with the same or reduced or slightly increased outlays, except for two new
items. The scheme “National Development Handloom Programme” (given as “National
Handloom Development Programme” in the Note under Table of Demand No. 95 of the
Ministry of Textiles) seems to be no more than a renaming of the two earlier
schemes, viz. “Comprehensive Handloom Development Scheme” and “Revival Reforms
and Restructuring Package for Handlooms” which have been merged in the National
Handloom Development Programme. From the outlay it does not appear that there
is anything more than what the two earlier merged schemes provided for. But the
new nomenclature implies an integrated and comprehensive approach which should
be undertaken. It is also seen from the
Note under the Table of Demand No. 95 of the Ministry of Textile that the
outlay of Rs. 354 crores provided for the “National Handloom Development
Programme” also includes Rs. 50 crores for “Handloom Museum and Trade
Facilitation Centre at Varanasi”. This is also mentioned in the FM’s speech. This is one of the two new schemes relevant to
the BCs in this Budget. This new scheme will reduce the outlay that was
available in the past for the two merged schemes which needs to be made good.
C-IV. Two or Three Rays of Hope
The
Varanasi-based handloom scheme is one of the two or three rays of hope. The weavers of Varanasi are BCs of the Muslim
society. In fact, the weaver community
of Muslims, known earlier as “Julaha” and now as “Julaha-Ansari” and “Momin-Ansari”
are the largest single community of Muslims in North India. While this scheme is welcome, its amplitude
will have to be widened. Outside North
India also, the weavers are a major community of the BCs. In the Peninsula,
they are almost entirely BCs of Hindus.
In North India, they are mostly BCs of Muslims. In the Western part of
North India, including Gujarat, they are mainly Scheduled Castes and in the
North East, they are Scheduled Tribes.
In the totality, the BCs form the largest proportion of this
occupational category, which is in the doldrums. In recent times, on account of lack of care
and concern for them, which should have been given to them while embarking on
globalisation and global competition, about half of the traditional weavers
have left weaving and most of them have become wage-labourers.
The
other new scheme is “Blue Revolution – Inland Fisheries”. This too holds promise provided it is accompanied
by an integrated Plan, some elements of which were described by Shri Narendra
Modi ji in one of his election speeches in Andhra Pradesh.
The Finance Minster
stated in his Budget speech that, “a programme for the up gradation of skills
and training in ancestral arts for development for the minorities called “Up
gradation of Traditional Skills in Arts, Resources and Goods”. The traditional artisans of Muslims belong to
the BCs. This proposed initiative is welcome but its amplitude should be
comprehensive and cover not only upgradation of skills but also access to and
control over raw materials, access to and control over their markets, access to
Venture Fund support and working capital flow and a process of hand-holding
until they become fully modernized, viable and sustainable. But, I could not see any financial provision
in the Budget for this programme. This lacuna must be made good and funds
provided so that the implementation of the good intention in the FM’s speech is
quickly commenced and undertaken. This
approach is required for all BC artisan and artisanal castes and
service-providing castes as mentioned above. I can, on request, provide the
Government/Governmental agencies necessary guidance in respect of comprehensive
planning and programmes for each of the Backward castes, especially the
Extremely, Most and More Backward castes of BCs including BCs of Minorities.
I may also mention
that this approach is also necessary for the smaller number of artisans among
SCs, particularly leather-related artisans.
A comprehensive
Plan has to be worked out for each of these occupational categories of BCs
keeping in view their present plight and what is required to make them viable
and sustainable and adequate outlays have to be provided for this purpose along
with qualitatively and quantitatively adequate organisational structures and
systems and associating the people concerned with the entire process of planning
and implementation.
C-V. Developmental Approach for the Younger
Generation of BCs – Modern Education for Occupational Mobility and Economic
Progress
The next generation
of BCs should not be channelized only into their traditional occupations. That will perpetuate the design of the Caste
system. The younger generation should
have all occupational options before them from which they will have freedom of
choice. For them, with special focus on the Extremely, Most and More Backward
casts of BCs, there should be educational measures which were also mentioned
for SCs and STs, such as the following:-
(1)
Anganwadis in isolated
habitations of BCs like habitations of fisher-folk
(2)
High-quality residential
schools up to Class XII.
(3)
Coaching schemes to enable them
to compete for IITs, IIMs, Medical and other professional institutions
(4)
Removal of self-defeating restrictions
like family income-ceiling for eligibility for scholarships and economic
assistance and, as recommended by the Expert Committee on Backward Classes in
1993, elimination of the condition of exclusion of Socially Advanced
Persons/Sections (SAP/S) [commonly referred to as “Creamy Layer” (CL)] in the
case of Extremely and Most Backward castes of BCs
(5)
In the case of castes of BCs
other than those mentioned in (4) above, raising of the family income-ceiling
to a reasonable level and transferring jobs in the services of the State and
seats in educational institutions for which not enough number of
non-SAP/S/non-CL BC candidates are available, to BCs of the SAP/S / CL
category, instead of transferring them to general category as recommended by
various bodies including the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation
in Admissions) Act 2006.
Other measures are detailed in the documents mentioned in first para
under C II above.
It is my sincere
hope and earnest wish that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gives the
benefit of his tremendous energy and tenacity to comprehensive developmental
planning, in line with his pronouncements and commitments in his election
campaign 2013-1, for the BCs especially the Extremely, Most and More Backward
castes of the BCs, including BCs of Minorities, BC women and children, as I
have also suggested for SCs and STs, for each class in accordance with its
features and needs to enable each of them to rise to the level of Equality with
the SACs or NSCTBC castes. Fulfillment of their legitimate aspirations in this
manner and through legislative measures, all of which I have listed in my
letters to him in July 2013 and subsequently, are essential for these three
historically deprived and disadvantaged social classes of our people and
thereby to secure social integration and harmony and national unity and optimal
national progress. This will become
possible when the Prime Minister begins to give the same amount of attention to
the issues of SCs, STs and BCs and their nitty-gritties as he is giving to
issues of infrastructure development, stimulation of investment and economic
growth. In this important national
enterprise, I can, from my six-and-half decades country-wide experience and knowledge,
give all details of inputs necessary in addition to the inputs I have already
furnished to him since July 2013 and to other concerned leaders of the
Government and other leaders after the present Government assumed office and to
some of them even earlier. These
measures and removal of lacunae pointed out above do not have to wait till the
next Budget. The deprived classes of
people and the country cannot afford to wait. They can be taken up and
implemented even after the Budget and reflected suitably in the RE 2014-15.
04. 08. 2014
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