Quotas can’t be an entitlement

Reservations are a temporary fix to deeper problems

The Congress party’s promise of a quota for Patidars in educational institutions and government jobs if it comes to power in Gujarat is being seen as a smart political move on the part of both Patidar leader Hardik Patel and the Congress. It actually isn’t. Holding out reservations as a sop has become common currency in political negotiations with little thought to the consequences. In the last few years, we have seen the Marathas, the Jats, and the Patidars demanding reservations in education and jobs. But when it comes to implementing this, most parties have faced problems from the courts, and other communities.

Reservations are a quick, albeit temporary, fix to deeper problems. With the crisis in agriculture, once dominant agrarian communities have seen their fortunes fade and have started demanding reservations in jobs and educational institutions. They see the benefits of affirmative action among the Dalits and Other Backward Classes. But there are several problems with this. In this case, for instance, a quote will not solve the fundamental problem facing the Patidars — an agrarian crisis. But as any smart politician knows, it is far easier to announce and implement quotas than get one’s head around the riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma that is Indian agriculture. In India, reservations become permanent entitlements, not the temporary tools of affirmative action they are supposed to be. Quotas are becoming increasingly hard to implement. The law frowns on them beyond a certain proportion (the Supreme Court is clear that the upper limit be capped at 50%).

For political parties of all hues, though, the alternative is unpalatable: it could mean offending influential vote banks; worse, it could involve working to address fundamental problems related to agriculture, industry, education, skill development, and job creation (if there were enough jobs, after all, no one would be demanding reservation for government jobs). None of these is easy to address, and all will take time. A quota, in contrast, is just a number, easy to announce, and, more often than not, an end in itself.