ISSUE OF RESERVATION IN JOBS

Ever since implementation of Article 16(4) in the Indian Constitution it has remained one of the
most controversial and highly criticized provisions. This provision has been widely viewed not
only as violative of Article 14 and Article 16 itself but also termed as unjust being discriminatory
in a progressive society undermining talent and giving rise to inefficiency.

The compulsive consideration under which this provision was felt necessary for specific
incorporation was the historical prospective of the social structure of the country. It was viewed
that a sizeable portion of the society has been deprived of access to basic amenities of human
livings for ages and unless special opportunities are provided to these neglected section of
population they will not be in a position to join the mainstream and talents might remain
unexplored and unutilized. Thus the state was not prevented from making special provisions for
the scheduled categories in Political representation, educational institutions and jobs. This
special provision was subjected to periodic review.

The procedure for appointments in various classes of services and subsequent selection for
promotion to different cadres in the states (union, states and such organizations falling under the
definition of State) is mostly on the basis of a combination of objective and subjective
evaluation. Objective evaluation in the form of written test is conducted to find out required
knowledge for a particular job and subjective evaluation to assess the personality and attitude of
the candidate. Appointments are made on the basis of merit list prepared from both these
assessments. In promotion to higher jobs/cadres the process followed is mostly subjective
assessment, i.e. performance appraisal and interview.

Now, before entirely rejecting the constitutional provisions for providing reservation in jobs for
scheduled categories, we need to accept that the appointment process is scientific, free from
preconceived individual biasness, nepotism and corruption. Unfortunately, the truth is something
else. In a society where corruption is a way of life, caste biasness is sacrosanct, education system
favourable to the privileged few, monopolistic control over resource witnessing widespread
economic disparities and nepotism in all echelons of administrative set ups, a specific issue like
reservation cannot be viewed in isolation. For addressing one perceived anomaly, we need to
revamp many such related issues. The selection procedure must be made more transparent to
make it free from nepotism and caste biased subjective assessment. Otherwise, words such as
talent, discrimination, equality will lose impartial connotation and will remain a cry in
wilderness.