Reservations Based on Religion: Playing With Fire

Commentary

MADHAV GODBOLE

A screaming headline in a national newspaper said ‘Janata Dal seeks 20 per cent seats for Muslims in Houses.’ Dal’s Working President Sharad Yadav has backed the demand of Muslim MPs for a proportional representation in the Legislatures. Yadav exhorted the Muslim members to build up pressure on the leadership.

"Strike now as the iron is hot" was his "wise" advice in the context of the tussle in the United Front on various issues, including the Women’s Reservation Bill. This is the first instance since Independence when a leader of a mainstream political party hasy backed the demand for reservation on communal basis.

This demand for a "quota within quota" has large and long-term implications for the very future of the country, and its unity and integrity, and should not be dismissed as one of the usual, mindless outbursts by a leader of a national party.

The question of separate representation for the minorities was fully and carefully gone into by the Constituent Assembly in 1947-48. As B Shiva Rao edited The Framing of India’s Constitution (volumes I to V), 1967, brings out, all relevant aspects of the issue of joint versus separate electorates and weightage were examined more than once by the Committee on Minorities and, thereafter, by the Assembly as these were of crucial importance both to the minorities themselves and to the political life of the country as a whole. By an overwhelming majority, the Committee, in its report dated August 8, 1947, submitted by its Chairman Vallabhbhai Patel, came to the conclusion that the system of separate electorates must be abolished in the new Constitution. "In our judgment, this system has in the past sharpened communal differences to a dangerous extent... It seems specially necessary to avoid these dangers in the new political conditions that have developed in the country and from this point of view the arguments against separate electorates seem to us absolutely decisive," the Committee said.

The Committee, accordingly, recommended that all elections to the Central and Provincial Legislatures be held on the basis of joint electorates. However, in order that the minorities might not feel apprehensive about the effect of a system of unrestricted joint electorates on the quantum of their representation, it recommended as a general rule that seats for the different recognized

minorities be reserved in the various Legislatures on the basis of their population. This reservation was to be initially for 10 years. The members of a minority community who have reserved seats

were to have the right to contest unreserved seats as well. The Committee was, however, opposed to weightage for any minority community. The minorities were classified into three groups: A--Anglo-Indians, Parsees and Plains tribesmen in Assam; B--Indian Christians and Sikhs; and C-- Muslims and the Scheduled Castes. As for the last named group, it recommended that seats be reserved for these communities in proportion to their population.

At further meetings of the Advisory Committee held in December 1948 and May 1949, the Committee felt that the conditions had changed vastly since 1947 when the above recommendations were made and it would no longer be appropriate to reserve seats for any religious minorities. Reservation of seats, it was felt, would lead to a certain degree of separation and to that extent was contrary to the conception of a secular democratic state.

Explaining this important decision to the Assembly, May 25, 1949, Vallabhbhai Patel stated the "vast majority of the minority communities had themselves realized after great reflection the evil effects in the past of such reservation on the minorities themselves." The voting for the abolition of communal reservation was practically unanimous, with only one member of the Committee voting against the proposal.

Finally, reservation was provided only for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. In view of the special position of the Anglo-Indians, a provision was made for the nomination of their representatives.

This country has already lived through the trauma of Partition. There have been separatist demands in some sensitive parts such as Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East which are being actively fanned by forces from across the border. Also, several national parties have always looked at Muslims as a vote bank and have stooped to any level to ingratiate themselves in the Muslim psyche. It was not, therefore, surprising that communalism of the majority community has received much more condemnation than the communalism of the minority communities. The most recent case of jettisoning of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act primarily on the ground that it was anti-Muslim is by no means unique. By definition, any legislation enacted in a secular country such as India cannot be against one religion or the other. But several mainstream national parties including the Congress and almost all constituents of what is now the United Front joined the bandwagon, purely with an eye on the elections. One should not, therefore, be surprised if other political parties quickly join in the demand for communal reservation.

This would indeed be unfortunate as any such action will land a large cross-section of the secular Hindu electorate in the lap of the Bharatiya Janata Party. With the emergence of the BJP as a strong contender for power in the States and at the Center, we are truly moving in the direction of becoming a genuine secular State. The BJP, in a bid to move away from its present political isolation, is softening its highly communal stance and the other so-called secular parties are taking a more balanced approach to religious and communal issues.

Reservation of seats in the State Legislatures and Parliament for Muslims will be a major divisive force in the already Mandalized society. Regionalism liars have already become a force to reckon with.

The other fallout of any such step will be similar demands from all other religious minorities such as in Groups A and B referred to above, yet another highly deleterious influence will be on the population policy which has already been in the doldrums. With Muslim and Christians unwilling to take a forthright stand in favor of family planning in spite of the examples set by a number of Muslim and Christian countries, a large cross-section of Hindus is also being encouraged by some political parties and others not to take to family planning. Fears are being perpetuated that otherwise the percentage of Hindus will get reduced over a period of time. The question of large and continuing influx of migrants from Bangladesh will acquire much more political and social overtones than at present, leading to serious problems of law and order and communal tensions.

It also needs to be considered whether Muslims are a real minority. With a population of over 120 millions, India has the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia. In the strict arithmetical sense of the term, the Muslims may be a minority compared to the Hindus. But can as large a population as that of the Muslims be reasonably called a minority requiring special protection by way of reservation of seats?

More important, providing for reservation on the basis of religion will totally destroy the basic structure of the Constitution. All the basic values enshrined in the Constitution will then need to be reassessed and refashioned. All issues will acquire a communal color and every action and inaction will be considered from the point of furthering the religious interests of the constituents.

India has been a melting pot of various religions, religious philosophies and beliefs. Through these have been born the traits of tolerance, respect for each other’s religion, and a belief that in the ultimate analysis, paths of all religions converge in seeking the ultimate truth. These teachings of thousands of years are now sought to be negated by harking back to the narrow and sectarian religious loyalties of various sections. As the experience of the 50 years since independence has shown, political parties are prepared to compromise the very future of the country to achieve their own short-term objectives. But to talk of reservation on a religious basis is playing with fire. If you sow the wind, you can only reap the whirlwind. It is a sad commentary that in this 50th year of Independence, we are trying to lay the foundations for the balkanization of the country.

[The writer is a former Union Home Secretary. The article, Courtesy The Hindu].

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