Opinion: Is the 50% quota ceiling fair to Telangana’s BCs?
Restrictive provisions in the name of affirmative action and merit have left BCs steadily losing ground in jobs, education and representation
By Venkatanarayana Motkuri
In Telangana, the Backward Classes (BCs) account for 56 per cent of the State population, but their reservation quota is 29 per cent (25 per cent for Hindu BCs and 4 per cent for Muslim BCs) of available posts and seats in the State. Of the remaining, 27 per cent BCs, a portion — the creamy layer on income criterion — could be naturally excluded from benefiting from the reservation.
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However, many who are otherwise eligible are excluded due to their restricted quota, which adheres to the Supreme Court’s principle of a 50 per cent ceiling on total caste-based reservations, as laid down in the Balaji (1962) and Indira Sawhney (1992) cases. While SC/ST reservation quotas are allowed to be nearly proportionate to their population share, the BC quota is fixed, conforming to the balance of the SC/ST quotas and the 50 per cent ceiling. If the BC population share is lower than that balance, their quota is further reduced.
Big Gap
The EWS (Economically Weaker Section) quota is exclusively for the general category population (other than those listed in BC/SC/ST), and is based on the income criterion (not exceeding Rs 8 lakh). The 10 per cent EWS quota implemented at the Centre and in most of the States exceeds the Supreme Court’s 50 per cent ceiling. The General Category (GC) comprises 15 per cent of Telangana’s population, but the EWS quota for them in the State is 10 per cent. The GC includes the floating (in-migrant) population, but they are not eligible for the reservation quota in the State.
Comparing BC and EWS quotas with their respective population shares shows that the gap is highest for BCs (27 percentage points) and lowest for the GC (5 percentage points). In other words, the BC quota is equivalent to half of their share in the population, and the EWS quota is two-thirds of the GC population share.
BCs form 56 per cent of Telangana’s population, but can access only 29 per cent of seats through reservation. The remaining 27 per cent are forced to compete in the open category
The total extent of caste-based reservations in Telangana is 54 per cent, combining SC (15 per cent), ST (10 per cent) and BCs (29 per cent) quotas. After the State’s formation in 2014, Telangana’s SC and BC reservation quotas were adopted from the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. For STs, the quota increased from 6 per cent to 10 per cent in Telangana as their population share rose. With this, the total caste-based reservations in Telangana exceed the 50 per cent ceiling. Further, the 10 per cent EWS quota has raised the total reservation in the State to 64 per cent, leaving only 36 per cent for open competition, available to all categories — GC, BC, SC, ST.
Unproportionate Representation
BCs form 56 per cent of the State population, but can access only 29 per cent through reservation. The remaining 27 per cent have to compete with the GC and, in principle, SC/ST candidates in the open category. Of the 15 per cent GC, 10 per cent is covered under the EWS (subject to income criterion), leaving only 5 per cent to compete in the open category.
To achieve proportionate representation, BCs should occupy at least 27 percentage points of the 36 per cent space left for open competition. This is possible only if they are equally competitive with the GC. However, owing to their historical and social backwardness, lack of resource endowment and related disadvantages, BCs have consistently lost to GC counterparts. As a result, BCs are under-represented in employment and education. This under-representation is more severe than that of SC/STs. This under-representation is visible in government posts, educational seats, local bodies and other layers of political positions.
Different Yardsticks
At the Centre, SC/ST quotas are based on their national population share, and OBC quotas follow the Mandal Commission’s recommendations while adhering to the 50 per cent ceiling. At the State-level, these vary depending on the State-specific population share with the OBC quota fixed by the State Backward Classes Commissions.
The Centre, however, has fixed a uniform 10 per cent EWS quota for all States, unlike SC/ST/OBC quotas that vary by State. This raises the question: why is homogeneity only in implementing EWS quota while caste-based reservation quotas vary across States and differ from the Centre. For instance, in States like Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, the GC share is less than 10 per cent, while in Bihar, MP, Odisha, and North-Eastern States, it ranges from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
The EWS quota in this context challenges the judiciary’s principles behind the 50 per cent ceiling. It is intended to promote merit while making restrictive provisions for affirmative action. The same applies to Telangana, where SC/ST/OBC population shares differ from the national average. While the GC’s share in Telangana’s population is 15 per cent, the State has adopted the Centre’s 10 per cent EWS quota.
This raises a pertinent argument: why is the demand for proportionate BC representation undermined and its quota restricted by the 50 per cent ceiling? The argument and demand are valid and justified not only in Telangana but also in other States and at the national level.
(The author is Associate Professor and Coordinator, Research Cell on Education, Centre for Economic and Social Studies [CESS], Hyderabad)
