According to Human Development Report 2018, India is placed at 130th position. Among our neighbouring countries, we are behind Sri Lanka (76), China (86) and Maldives (101) and ahead of Bhutan (134), Bangladesh (136), Myanmar (148), Nepal (149), Pakistan (150) and Afghanistan (168).
India must try to beat Sri Lanka to be at the top in the region by ensuring right to education and health care for all the people of our country. However, minimum positive actions and positive discriminations have been taken in our country in favour of the backward class in the form of subsidy and the backward castes in the form of reservation in government jobs to make public administration free from caste bias. This makes us perform at least better than six of our neighbouring countries.
As a matter of fact, the human development report has praised India’s reservation policy. The report says that even though the reservation policy “has not remedied caste-based exclusions”, it has “substantial positive effects”. It has pointed out that “in 1965, for example, Dalits held fewer than 2% of senior civil service position, but the share had grown to 11% by 2001”. It is a pity that vested interests have become successful in making a sizeable section of the people believe that our policies of reservation for backward castes and subsidy for backward class are the cause of our lack of development.
Majority of Indians have still been subjected to two layered discriminations – caste and class. A Dalit will be recognised as a Dalit and face religious and social exclusion even if she or he has money power. This is the overall truth barring a few exceptions here and there. A somewhat affluent Dalit was killed a few months ago in Gujarat just for riding a horse. In many parts of our country, money cannot give Dalits rights even to sport moustaches let alone riding motorcycles.
So, to add an economic criterion to determine eligibility of an SC/ ST for promotion is nothing but to water down the concept of proportional representation of Dalits in public administration. When an SC or ST becomes eligible for a promotion in the government sector, it will be highly unfortunate if the economic or class qualification deprives the person from getting the benefit. Thus, the higher castes dynamics will remain the name of the game as a person from higher caste gets the opportunity of replacing a Dalit in a post which is earmarked for a Dalit. This will break the backbone of caste balance of power and push India’s HDI rank further behind.
