It is clear as day that Parliament has not been moved by social concerns in raising the question of reservation in promotions
It is a rank bad idea to give people promotions on the basis of caste or any similar factor, whether in the government or anywhere else, but this might soon happen if our politicians have their way. The very notion of “promotion” signifies moving people up the ladder because they have worked hard, and have shown themselves capable of handling higher responsibilities.
A promotion is a reward, although in government there exists the notion of time-bound promotion, a somewhat dubious idea which presupposes that experience alone — even when it is not allied to commitment to work — equips one for higher responsibilities. Sending people up the scale when they have merely warmed benches is not on, no matter what their caste, class or religion.
Promotions are naturally to do with individuals, not social groups. They ought to be a gauge of individual merit, efficiency and dedication to the work to be done. At the promotion stage, the question of equality cannot be a factor, for this has been taken care of earlier while preparing persons from handicapped social environments for recruitment, and then in the recruitment process itself.
Inherently, a promotion is a selection. Human biases may creep in and cause occasional distortions, but such a risk can hardly be neutralised by building a bias into the system to favour specified social groups in the name of egalitarianism. This would amount to false invocation of the equity principle. When we do so, we are not building a
modern, efficient India, which alone can raise the economic levels of the nation and its people.
Alas, none of this appears to have crossed anyone’s mind when Rajya Sabha MPs created a ruckus on the subject of reservations in promotions for SC/ST categories on Thursday. BSP leader Mayawati told the government it had agreed to call an all-party meeting to discuss the issue, and then come up with a constitutional amendment in Parliament. Samajwadi Party MPs also jumped into the fray. The government meekly gave in. It was announced that a Constitution Amendment Bill will be introduced on August 22 to allow for quotas in promotions for government service.
In April this year, the Supreme Court had struck down as “unconstitutional” a move in Uttar Pradesh, when Ms Mayawati was chief minister, to offer promotion quotas to SC and ST categories. Any constitutional amendment should therefore have to accommodate the objections of the Supreme Court. It is clear as day that Parliament has not been moved by social concerns in raising the question of reservation in promotions. Typically, the creamy layer within the SC and ST categories will make hay, ignoring the really needy. The motivations are political and electoral. That’s such a shame.