Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India reads “All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice”

 

Hindus are minorities in atleast five states – Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, J&K and Punjab, but they are denied the protection of this Article. In TN, where the leaders are claiming that the majority (i.e 97%) are “Dravidians” and not Hindus, there too, Hindus are denied the status of “minorities”.

 

The reservation quota, when introduced at the Central Level in 1950, was 17.50% (12.50% for SCs and 5% for STs). On the mere premise (though the constitution neither proposes nor prescribes “proportionate” reservation), the reservation quota for SCs and STs was hiked in 1970 to 15% and 7.50% respectively, thus taking the total reservation quota for SC/ST in central facilities to 22.50%.

 

In 1993, additional reservation quota of 27% was introduced in Central Govt employment for an invented category called “OBC”. In 2007, 27% quota for the so-called OBCs was extended to the Central Govt Educational Institutions.

 

Thus as of today, 49.50% seats/positions in Central Facilities (i.e Jobs/education etc) stand reserved.

 

In addition, as per the reservation rule, if ‘reserved’ category candidates secure a place in the balance minuscule ‘merit’ quota, the same shall not be adjusted against the reservation quota.

 

Theoretically thus, the entire 100% of the jobs and seats can fall into the hands of the ‘reserved’ categories. Needless to say, the Unreserved Class People of India (predominantly Hindus) would then be entitled to NIL (zero%) jobs and education seats.

 

In such a scenario, the Unreserved Class People (predominantly Hindus) would stand deprived of Higher Education and everything that flows from it – right to earn, right to prosperity, right to happiness, right to citizenship and the very right to live.

 

Would such a scenario arise? Is it not an alarmist scenario? Not at all. Such a situation has already been reached in many states such as TN, Karnataka, Andhra etc, where the share of the Unreserved Class People (particularly Hindus) in education and state jobs has shrunk to almost NIL.

 

Reservation and the right to entry through the miniscule number of ‘merit’ seats are alone not compounding the problem. There are other issues as well.

 

At the very first stage itself, Unreserved Class candidates are subject to caste-based cut-offs which ensures that in highly competitive courses (such as MBBS admissions in TN where the caste-based cutoffs in 2008 were as follows SC-89%, OBC-95% and Forward Classes-96%), many are eliminated without being allowed to contest. The next hurdle is the caste-based application fees which invariably is very high (NALSAR Common Law Test fee is Rs.2500/-) for the Unreserved Class candidates. Those who are poor, naturally find themselves denied of even the opportunity to compete. Even if a person manages to secure an entry, he is subjected to very high caste-based tuition fees, mess fees, counselling fees (Rs.10,000/- in MP) and other economic charges which is sometimes so forbidding/exorbitant (e.g IIMs) that the poor URC candidates dare not enter the institution.

 

In states like TN, the reservation percentage (in blatant violation and defiance of supreme court order) is 69%, which ensures that very few seats are available in the ‘merit’ category, to which naturally all ‘reserved’ class candidates are also eligible.

 

The problem is additionally compounded by the fact that in most states of India, powerful landed and entrepreneurial castes (not lacking in resources – economic, political power etc) such as yadavs, jats, vokkaligas, gounders, chettiars, vanniyars etc have managed to force their way into the list of backward classes and are thus entitled to reservations and other forms of preferential treatment. The candidates of such castes not having any suffered any disadvantage and having access to the good education facilities (e.g Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra etc), are competing and easily defeating the totally demoralised Unreserved Class candidates (who are predominantly Hindus).

 

Impact of majority quota + right to entry through merit + caste-based cutoffs

 

MBBS admission in TN in 2008: MBBS seats (in severe short supply to the extent of 8 lakh seats) are hardest to secure. In 2008, 96.95% (1339 of 1394) of MBBS seats in TN Govt colleges have gone to SC/ST/OBC. In PG Medical Admission, it was 99% (90 of 91).

 

Thus, in state after state, the declaration of an overwhelming majority of population as “backward” (TN reportedly 97%, Karnataka 94% etc) + supremacist reservation quota (69% in TN) + right to entry through merit seats + caste-based cut-offs + caste-based application fees + caste-based tuition fees etc have made the entry of URC (mainly Hindus) into higher education not just extremely difficult but also almost impossible.

 

Religious minorities (Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis) even if many are not entitled to the benefits of caste-based reservations, are able to overcome this difficulty due to the existence of Article 30(1) which entitles them to establish and operate educational institutions of their choice, where they can reserve majority of the seats for members of their own communities.

 

Thus we find that in non-Minority institutions, the URC (particularly Hindus) have little chance of entry due to various birth-based barriers, while the religious minorities who too are generally not entitled to caste-based reservations in non-minority/govt institutions, are easily able to overcome the barrier by having the constitutional right to establish and run their own educational institutions.

 

But Unreserved Class Hindus have nowhere to go. Either they get admission through the miniscule “merit” seats or they get nothing at all, which is based on the political philosophy “get what you can on your own, else blame your birth”.  They (otherwise repeatedly called “minority” population by quota groups) are not allowed to seek education of their choice. This is injustice and discrimination of unparalleled magnitude.

 

Therefore Article 30(1) should be amended to permit “all denominations” to establish and run their own educational institutions, so that no amount of reservation quota comes in the way of the legitimate and inalienable right of the URC Hindus to seek education of their choice.

 

The bottom line is, no person or persons have the right to restrict, prevent or deny the right of any person to seek education of his/her choice, merely because such person has a particular identity.

 

Since all political parties are responsible for this precarious situation, none deserve our votes. Hence, in the coming elections, please vote under 49'O (for no one) or for a credible non-casteist independent candidate.

 

Make a beginning and make yourself heard. And frankly, is there a way out?

 

Please pass on the message to all near and dear ones. You wouldn’t get a better opportunity of being heard.