Bull's Eye

The CM said that the Gujjar quota would not affect the existing quota of the OBC group. Really? From where then will the additional 5 per cent come? Not to mention the additional 14 per cent? The Supreme Court explicitly ruled that the total reservation allowed in any state must not exceed 50 per cent. Under the newly announced proposals, Rajasthan will have 68 per cent reservation in the state. So what will happen? Several developments could occur.

For a start, other castes could demand separate quotas for themselves as special categories within the OBC group. If Gujjars get 5 per cent, won’t Jats demand a bigger percentage guaranteed to them? More likely, won’t a host of numerically small castes demand guaranteed reservation as special OBC categories? There are after all 3,000 recognised castes among obcs in India.

More importantly, more crucially, and more inevitably, there could of course be litigation challenging the Rajasthan government’s proposal in court. It violates the Supreme Court order limiting reservation to 50 per cent. One cannot see how the measure will pass legal muster to get implemented.

In the event, the Rajasthan government could throw up its hands, reluctantly of course, and inform the Gujjars and other castes its helplessness in crossing the 50 per cent limit. Then how will the issue be resolved? Certainly not by giving separate reservation to each caste by making it a special category. A new formula will have to be found.

The inclusion of 14 per cent poor belonging to forward castes in the reservation quota is a clear indicator of the direction in which the issue is being pushed. The criteria for reservation would have to be revised. The importance of caste would be minimised, of poverty maximised. Goodbye Mandal! The CM herself need never oppose caste-based reservation. OBC leaders themselves will do it. The deadlock will compel them.

(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)