NEW DELHI, 30 May 2006 — The issue of seat reservation for lower castes in state-run medical schools in India yesterday took a new turn with the Supreme Court asking the federal government to explain the basis of the policy.
The court was responding to a public interest litigation filed by striking doctors opposed to setting aside 49 percent of seats in medical schools for lower caste students.
A two-judge bench also inquired about the modalities the government would adopt in implementing the policy. The court asked the government about the basis for identifying lower castes as well as the rationale for adopting new norms, the PTI news agency reported.
The government has to file its reply within eight weeks.
Students from upper castes oppose the government’s plan to set aside 50 percent of places in federally-funded higher education institutions for students from lower castes in the academic session beginning June 2007.
They say the policy is discriminatory and will lower standards of the country’s educational institutions.
But there is ample support for the policy as nearly 50 percent of India’s billion plus population belongs to lower castes.
The Supreme Court would also examine the effect of the policy’s implementation which the petitioner said will result in division of the country on the basis of caste.
“These questions have serious social and political ramifications and this court will deal with it appropriately,” the judges were quoted by PTI as saying.
The judges also asked agitating medical students and doctors to call off their protests as the court was examining the issue.
As anti-reservation protesters further intensified their agitation, the government announced a 13-member committee to look into the issue of implementing the reservation without reducing the number in general category. Headed by Congress legislator Veerappa Moily, the Oversight Committee includes secretaries from several ministries. It is to submit its report by Aug. 31.
Striking doctors showed no sign yesterday of ending their 17-day agitation. Students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) demonstrated their solidarity with striking doctors by beginning relay hunger strikes on their campuses.
Faculty members of Maulana Azad Medical College, Safdarjung Hospital and University College of Medical Sciences went on leave yesterday in support of the agitation. Senior doctors of All India Institute of Medical Sciences will observe a daylong hunger strike today.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party began its two-day national executive meeting here favoring reserving 27 percent seats in higher education institutions for other backward castes (OBCs).
Party leaders discussed the issue threadbare and tried to placate its sizeable chunk of OBC members in Parliament by supporting the reservation issue in principle.
At the same time, in an attempt to nurse its traditional upper caste vote bank, they said they could not support quotas at the cost of knowledge or excellence.
“The BJP wants a blend of social empowerment and excellence in the country. We also support reservation for economically backward sections from upper castes and backward castes among minorities,” said party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad.
“Why is the government silent over reservation in minority institutions?” Prasad asked, amid a volley of questions from reporters.
A senior BJP leader who was present at the meeting said: “The issue of reservation enveloped all other issues at the party meet.”
This was the first national executive meeting after Rajnath Singh took over as the BJP chief.
“This is an acid test for the new party chief and he seems to be trying to strike a balance between political pragmatism, ideology and party’s commitment toward social empowerment of backwards and Dalits,” a BJP leader said.
— Additional input from agencies
