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Session 3: Constitution, Affirmative Action and Policies
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Malavika Jayadeep
2:23
Good afternoon and welcome to the third session of the colloquium: 'Constitution, Affirmative Action and Policies'. We have Justice K Chandru, former judge of the Madras High Court, Dr Raja Sekhar Vundru, IAS and Dr Varsha Arun, TISS. This session will be moderated by Dr Vikas Pathak, member of faculty, ACJ.
2:26
Dr. Vikas Pathak introduces the theme for the third session which will touch upon reservation policies and the provisions against atrocities in the Constitution with regard to Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
2:29
The moderator, Dr. Vikas, introduces Dr. Raja Sekhar Vundru, IAS and invites him to the podium.
2:34
Dr Raja Sekhar Vundru begins by saying that instead of talking about his career, he would like to tell a story. He brings up a book which talks about the kind of people we have in a newsroom. Out of 218 media outlets, 191 were occupied by people from general category and 60% of magazine stories are covered by people from the upper caste.
2:37
He moves on to talk about the journey of Mallepalli Laxmaiah, a Telugu journalist who joined the Left student politics in the 1980s and later left politics to pursue journalism. He began his career in 1991 and reported regularly on Dalits. Laxmaiah picked up on two issues, viz, the backwardness of Telangana and the diversion of funds.
2:39
Dr. Vundru continues to talk about Laxmaiah and says that he created an organisation for the centre of Dalit studies.
2:43
After the creation of Telangana in 2014, a group of people got together and launched HMTV for which, Laxmaiah became the input editor. Dr. Raja continues to talk about how HMTV had recruited adivasis as journalists in agency areas and appointed 16 tribals as reporters. Laxmaiah contacted the Congress and other political parties regarding funds.
2:45
Dr. Vundru, greatly inspired by his story, concludes by saying that for Mallepalli Laxmaiah, Dalit adivasis were his mainstay and focus and a simple dalit who became a journalist contributed immensely to their development.
2:46
The moderator, Dr Vikas, thanks Dr Raja Sekhar Vundru and calls Justice J Chandru to the dais to further this session.
2:48
Justice K Chandru begins his lecture by stating that the topic for today's session is extremely difficult and that the interplay between caste and class is very important. He says: "In today's paper, I'm only highlighting the various aspects of decision making process. The government tries to intervene in the decision making process."
2:50
He quotes a famous Gujarat High Court judge, who said: "If I'm asked by anyone two things about what has stopped this country, it is reservation and corruption."
2:53
Justice Chandru further notes, "A question arrived, who should be prompted and there was a man named Akil Qureshi from a minority community but there was strong opposition because the guy was Muslim and therefore, his file was delayed for 8 months. Eventually his recommendation was stopped."
2:54
He touches upon the topic of Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala by saying, "Pardiwala was posted as a supreme court in judge. He will be appointed as the chief justice in 2028, which will make him the longest serving chief justice."
2:58
Justice Chandru believes that as far as the question of reservation is concerned, there is precedence before them. The Madras presidency followed its own method, known as the communal GO which continued for a while. The constitution explicitly says SC and ST can be included and it should be consistent in its efficiency. He continues by saying that the Madras government headed by Rajaji argued that this shall be extended to institutions as well.
2:59
"A woman named Champakam Dorairajan argued in the Madras High Court that the caste based reservation neglects merits. Later it was found that she was not a medical student. It was just a trojan horse. The Madras High Court stuck down the communal GO, citing article 15 and this was the first triggering point," adds Justice K. Chandru
3:00
Justice Chandru: "Following this judgement, Madras High Court also struck down reservation in employment sector which came as a shock to many."
3:03
He points out that the word 'caste' in the Constitution is mentioned in 3 places, 'class' in 4 places and 'scheduled castes' in 13 places. He asks, "What is caste? What is class?"
3:05
Justice K. Chandru on ‘Rule of Law and Human Rights’
3:09
He asserts that the question of Madras High Court striking down communal GO was an issue related to poverty and that they found that the Champakam Doirajan case was wrongly deserted. He says that in this country, the majority falls under the category of being  economically backward.
3:11
On the topic of the Mandal Commission, Justice Chandru believes that the Mandal Commission report became the subject matter of the test and the matter went on for several months after which the verdict upheld that caste as a whole satisfies the criteria of social backwardness.
3:12
"After the Mandal Commission case, courts argued that economic status merely cannot be a reason for reservation. Social and educational backwardness are also required," adds Justice Chandru
3:14
On reservation policies, Justice Chandru points out that a parliamentary act in 2007 was passed which favoured reservation in academic institutions and 27% reservation for OBCs was brought out.
3:18
He brings up Article 16 (4A) and 16 (4B) which were introduced and passed by the parliament which became the subject matter and was again, challenged in the Supreme Court. "Another question which came up, whatever affirmative action is there, there is a last stage. We have identified castes but there is not quantified data. If the state wants, they can bring in. The BJP govt has introduced it," says Justice Chandru.
3:20
Justice Chandru further notes that this question was not for the SC, ST or OBCs but was for the upper castes. He says that it was the first time when economic criteria was introduced for the upper castes and the Supreme Court has consistently said that economic criteria cannot be a factor for granting reservation to people.
3:21
"If we see the Constitutional Assembly debates, there was no question of economic criteria. 90-95% population will fall in the category because only 5% people in the country are rich and pay taxes on time," says Justice K. Chandru.
3:23
Justice Chandru concludes by saying that Marxists are yet to understand caste and Ambedkar is wrong in rejecting the class understanding. "This debate is also seen in the context of reservation and affirmative action," he adds.
3:26
With the end of Justice Chandru's speech, we adjourn for a short break.
3:54
Dr. Vikas Pathak introduces our next speaker, Dr Varsha Ayyar, and invites her to the podium.
3:59
Dr. Varsha Ayyar begins her speech by pointing out a unique problem at the IITs. A news report shows that almost 10780 seats remain vacate at IIT with 4600 open faculty seats. They have a peculiar problem, i.e, they are indifferent to the needs of the SC and ST students as well as faculties and it should be viewed as a severe problem.
4:01
Dr. Varsha believes that implementing reservation policies is a main step in education system but it is poorly understood by these institutions. "What measures can be undertaken?" she asks.
4:03
4:04
She opines that the need of the hour is sensitization workshops and asks: "Why are reservations so poorly implemented in a country where castes exists?"
4:07
She continues by saying that besides social exclusion, Dalit minorities also face economic discrimination. According to various reports, the Indian labour market is shaped by caste, category, religion and it will be a challenging task to change the economic background of people. "Our survey of dozens of corporation shows progressing mentality. For example, the TCS policy upholds the value of equality." she adds.
4:08
Dr. Varsha Ayyar asks the audience: "What is the solution to this problem? Is there hope for future?"
4:10
She moves on to say that the princely states were deeply committed to social justice and that in 1858, the colonial government declared that schools denying students on the basis of caste will not be eligible for grants.
Dr. Varsha Ayyar speaking at the colloquium
Dr. Varsha Ayyar concludes her speech by saying that the transformative artifice of caste and our constitution is an unfinished business.
4:21
In response to a question asked by a member of the audience, Justice Chandru says that we are still carrying the burden of colonialism and that the onus is on us to operate our freedom for social and economic freedom. He refers to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's speech in the Constitutional Assembly where he said that though India will have political equality, it does not have social equality. He adds that when the US adopted the constitution, it was decided that all men are equal, but this entirely depends on how the system works.
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