A quick-fix that backfired

In the face of the demand for reservation being pressed by Hardik Patel-led Patidar agitation, the erstwhile Anandiben Patel government of Gujarat passed an ordinance in May 2015, announcing a 10 per cent reservation for economically backward sections, meaning the upper castes. The move has backfired, with the Gujarat high court quashing the ordinance on Thursday, calling it “inappropriate and unconstitutional”. The court also pointed out that it exceeded the 50 per cent cap on reservations placed by the Supreme Court. It further held that the order — allowing reservation for the upper castes behind the nomenclature of economically backward classes (EBCs) — was without any study or scientific basis.

Gujarat plans to go to the Supreme Court now, but clearly there were many infirmities in the ordinance, which was clearly in the nature of a quick-fix response to a problem. In principle, there is nothing wrong with reservations based on the economic criterion alone. But this requires a conceptual about-turn. Originally, reservations were only for the SC/ST category. And then the OBCs were added following the Mandal agitation. Now, who can bell the cat and suggest that poverty alone is the determining factor? Except the “creamy layer” among the SC/ST and OBCs, the overwhelming bulk of the beneficiaries at present will still be eligible, but the needy from the upper castes too will be counted in. That is a hot potato.