Books

Incisive critique

Falling Over Backwards — An Essay Against Reservations and Against Judicial Populism by Arun Shourie; Rupa & Co; Price: Rs.495; 366 pp

The April 5 public proposal made by Union human resource development minister Arjun Singh resurrecting and endorsing a recommendation of the Mandal Commission (1980) to reserve an additional 27 percent reservation for other backward castes (OBCs) in institutions of higher education and government employment, has sparked a potentially combustible chain reaction within Indian society, the outcome of which is difficult to predict.

Last December Parliament unanimously enacted the Ninety Third (Constitution) Amendment Act, 2005 which empowers the State (i.e the Central or state government) to reserve additional 27 percent capacity (i.e in addition to the 22.5 percent already reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs)) in all education institutions for allocation to OBC students. While taking care not to traverse the 50 percent boundary for all (SCs, STs and OBCs) drawn by the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India (2000 1 SCC 168)), the 93rd Amendment specifically nullifies the apex court’s judgements in T.M.A Pai vs. State of Karnataka (2002) and P.A. Inamdar vs. State of Maharashtra (2005) in which full-strength benches of the highest court ruled that minority and non-minority citizens have the fundamental right to engage in the ‘profession’ of providing education, and proscribed the Central and/ or state governments from imposing caste and admission quotas upon unaided (financially independent) institutions of higher education.

According to former Indian Express editor, former Union minister and formidable author-intellectual Arun Shourie, reckless political and judicial populism in decreeing additional reservation for OBCs in government jobs has played havoc with efficiency in government administration. And now following the enactment of the 93rd Amendment, the same experience is likely to be suffered by education institutions.

In Falling Over Backwards — An Essay Against Reservations and Against Judicial Populism, Shourie has sounded a ringing, timely warning against the dangers of the raging reservation fever within the political class and of judicial populism on this issue. And the political class as well as the judiciary — and indeed the public in general — would do well to heed this warning because Shourie, India’s pioneer investigative journalist with outstanding research and argumentative skills, is no run-of-the-mill intellectual. In this somewhat lengthy dialectic, he makes an overwhelming case against non-merit reservations in public employment and higher education institutions. Simultaneously he is unsparing of post-independence India’s over-rated higher judiciary which has rationalised and legitimised casteist subversion of the Constitution.

According to Shourie, equality of opportunity is the foundation and essence of the Constitution of India which was extensively debated and carefully drafted over a period of three years after independence. In support of this contention, he cites Article 14 which guarantees every citizen equality before the law; Article 15(1) which says that the State "shall not discriminate against any citizens on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, place of birth, or any of them" and Article 16(1) which assures citizens that "there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State".

As Shourie persuasively argues, upon a plain reading of these basic propositions of Articles 14, 15 and 16, the patent intent of the learned founding fathers of the Constitution was to prohibit discrimination (by the State) on the traditional grounds of religion, caste, gender, place of birth. In particular, he stresses that in none of the exceptions to the basic egalitarian propositions enunciated in these Articles is positive discrimination on the basis of ‘caste’ approved. Sub clause (4) of Article 16 permits the reservation of appointments or posts in government service for "any backward class of citizens". In the circumstances, given the clear intent of the framers of the Constitution to promote equal opportunity to all citizens and in particular to prohibit religious and caste discrimination, how have caste particularisms and identities assumed elephantine proportions within the national development debate?

In this enlightening work of scholarship, the author details how an innocuous provision of the Constitution in the Directive Principles (Article 46) enjoining the Central and state governments to "promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular scheduled castes and scheduled tribes" has been expanded by populist politicians and pliant judges of the Supreme Court, to provide up to 69 percent reservations in education institutions and government service (in some states) on the basis of the caste criterion. This despite the Constitution making it clear that the Directive Principles are mere goals of government and not enforceable in courts of law. And despite Article 335 specially providing that reservation for SCs and STs in government services should not be at the cost of "efficiency of administration".

The value of this book/ essay is that it recounts in painstaking and anguished detail how the disastrous path chosen by politicians pandering to sectional caste vote banks was also followed by pusillanimous judges of the Supreme Court, who after initial resistance, repeatedly caved in to justify and rationalise the caste-based calculations of populist politicians.

But while Shourie is ruthlessly critical of the political class and of fellow travelling judges of the Supreme Court whose extravagant and prolix judgements are dissected in extenso, refreshingly he also offers solutions and a prescription for re-corking the caste genie. The 93rd Amendment has not yet been legally challenged and an Oversight Committee chaired by Dr. Veerappa Moily is examining ways and means to carve out an additional quota for OBCs in Central government funded institutions of higher education.

Bona fide policy makers and intellectuals who wish the State to recapture the egalitarian spirit of the Constitution in favour of a new inclusive national identity, need to study Shourie’s incisive critique to clear their minds and sharpen their arguments.

Enriching anthology

Stories from Here and There compiled by Sunil Handa; Eklavya Education Foundation; Price: 295; 362 pp

Despite the legacy of the Mahatma and a legion of statesmen-savants who led India’s independence movement, one of the glaring blind spots of educationists is the neglect of value education in post-independence India’s syllabuses and curriculums. The country is paying a heavy price for this blind spot as evidenced by pervasive corruption, and the rise of a greedy subsidies-addicted middle class completely lacking empathy and compassion for the huge majority below the tip of the social pyramid.

Stories from Here and There, a selection of 600 tales, parables and anecdotes compiled by educationist Sunil Handa makes an attempt to promote basic human values such as honesty, humility, compassion and commitment among the nation’s children and youth drifting through the education system. "Stories present before society certain ideals of conduct and character like truthfulness, self-restraint, forgiveness, steadfastness... and so on. Stories are capable of arousing sentiments like love, compassion, forgiveness, devotion, etc," says Handa in the preface to this entertaining compilation. And Handa, an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad who gave up a promising career in industry opting out of the family business (Cadilla Labs) to promote the Eklavya Education Foundation (1996), knows a thing or two about education. Currently, he is promoter chairman of the co-educational English medium (kindergarten-class XII) Eklavya School, rated among the best in western India.

More than a few of the tales included in Stories from Here and There are likely to prove useful to teachers and parents of an increasingly argumentative generation, in developing their children’s life skills.

However, one shouldn’t entertain the idea that the book under review is a ‘how to’ manual. These are witty, pithy stories gathered from around the world, delineating simple truths and realities with clarity and humour. And perhaps their best feature is brevity, which all great storytellers know — or should know — is the soul of wit. Catholic in its preference, this compilation comprises tales starring Mullah Nasruddin, Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, a poor cobbler and several unidentified characters drawn from a wide diversity of regional identities and historical relevance.

Like biblical parables and Aesop’s fables, all the stories pack a punch and have a moral. For instance, a six- line tale titled ‘Still in Prison’ (No. 280) tells of the inmate of a Nazi concentration camp, who even several decades later, is unable to forgive his captors. "In that case, they still have you in prison," comments his companion, subtly emphasising the liberating value of forgive and forget.

Another single paragraph tale ‘Gandhiji’s shoe’ (No. 248) poignantly illustrates the Mahatma’s humanity, reflected in a mundane incident. While clambering aboard a fast-moving train, he lost one of his shoes. Quick as a flash to the astonishment of his fellow passengers, he hurled the other one after it. "The poor man who finds the shoe on the track will now have a pair he can use," explained the Mahatma.

Likewise there are a plethora of other such amusing tales spiced with variety and characterisation, testifying to ancient and modern wisdom of great men and small. The anthology was conceived at the silver jubilee reunion of the 1977-99 batch of IIM-A alumni, following which Handa e-mailed a few value education stories he had collected. "The appreciation kept pouring and it went on till 50… here we are." But while there’s much to be said for it, Stories from Here and There could have benefited from professional editing, which would have improved grammatical, punctuation and syntax errors that strike a discordant note.

Quite obviously this collection which projects humanist values and positive behaviour is not a textbook. It’s supplementary reading and salutary in its underscoring of compassion, humility, care and consideration. Given that moral education, conduct and etiquette have all but disappeared from school and college curriculums, Stories from Here and There should be available in every school and college library and perhaps in every socially responsible household. Readers are likely to be the richer for it.