Beyond politics

The road to an inclusive and just society is a bumpy one. The founding fathers of Indian Constitution had mandated an inclusive society as expressed in the Directive Principles of State Policy.

The Constitution also grants wide discretionary powers to the state for any affirmative action for the welfare of the weaker sections.

However, government actions more often turn populist with an eye on the vote banks, giving short shrift to justice and fair play. The top-down development model we are following excludes the marginalised. The issue of reservation of jobs for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the backward classes has become a contentious issue clouding the original aim of social justice.

Taking Sides: Reservation Quotas and Minority Rights in India tackles the issue of social justice head on and explores ways to reach a consensus in an unequal society dogged by inequality and deprivation. Rudolf C Heredia, a Jesuit sociologist who has extensive experience in working with marginalised people, offers a comprehensive perspective on the most contentious issues of post-independent India.

His argument for justice beyond politics in a complex society is compelling. He says, “Caste hierarchy, religious traditions and patriarchy are the three most ancient and stubbornly resilient social institutions in this land.”

Tracing the complex origins of the concept of justice, Heredia discusses the conflicting concepts of justice in a rather abstract chapter. He discusses in-depth affirmative action policies in the context of caste hierarchy. He contends that quotas have become an instrument for social mobility of individuals rather than social change. The impact of social reform movements in the South seeking a new identity for the lower castes gets adequate attention.

The violent protests against the implementation of the Mandal Commission report to extend reservation of job quotas to the OBCs and the clamour for including more castes under OBC have only deepened the caste divide. Heredia argues that reservation is not the panacea for all social inequalities. He states, “Affirmative action is the site of two competing constitutional values: Universal equality for all and the protective preference for the backward and weak.”

How to balance the conflicting values is the major challenge. He faults the Union government for leaving the selection of OBCs to states, leading to confusion and politicisation. The growth of identity politics and caste becoming an effective tool of political mobilisation are also dealt with.

Decades after the implementation of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, they are still subjected to ‘dehumanising discrimination and degrading deprivation.’ Referring to the impact of development projects on the Adivasis, Heredia states that the indigenous people are excluded, creating resentment and contributing to the rise of Naxalites.

Taking sides highlights the issue of minority rights enshrined in the Constitution, the policy makers’ reluctance to follow the constitutional provisions in letter and spirit and the threat to minority rights from the rise of Hindu nationalism. Heredia feels that some affirmative action to address the backwardness of Muslims is overdue. The votaries of cultural nationalism challenge concessions to minorities as appeasement.

He argues for a proactive state policy on minority issues as the courts have limitations. A worrying factor is that while cultural nationalists are flexing muscles, the Muslims are retreating into a conservative and even aggressive fundamentalism.

He also touches upon the contentious issue of a uniform civil code that every community resists. The aftermath of Shah Bano case and Rajiv Gandhi government’s retrograde step to enact the Muslim Women Act are discussed in detail. He favours reforming of personal laws to make gender relations more equitable in the context of different communities.

The most readable part of the book is its treatment of the issue of women’s rights. Heredia contends that ‘caste hierarchy and feudal patriarchy reproduce each other.’ The growing atrocities on women are pointers to the failure of governments to implement policies for their protection and they continue to be ‘subdued, marginalised and silenced.’

He refers to the historic cases of Bhanwari Devi, Mathura and Rup Kanwar to buttress the argument in favour of affirmative action for women. Welcoming the Women’s Reservation Bill, he says they need to be better represented at the centres of power and decision making.

He believes that modernity itself is no guarantee that caste and patriarchy will be weakened and cites the impediments that a woman who wants to chart her own course will face. High hopes raised during the freedom struggle on women’s status have been betrayed.

Taking sides is an impassioned argument to ‘recapture the constitutional vision of an inclusive and egalitarian society.’ The dangers of politicising justice don’t augur well for our democracy. Devoid of polemics, the incisive, thought provoking book is bound to inspire debates on the most challenging issues of our time.