Women's RESERVATION BILL: Catalyzing Indian society
Saumitra Mohan
With Indian politics constantly trying to deal with the gargantuan 'revolution of rising expectations', everyday it is called upon to look into new demands from the various constituents of the body politic. And, it seems that finally it is the women who want their share in the national cake as evident by the vitality of the Women's Reservation Bill (WRB) that keeps popping out of the oblivion to which a section of our leadership wants it to be consigned.
No doubt, the Bill has become a major issue of debate nation-wide. But, once again it has become a butt of political manoeuvring. But, then it is quite natural in a democracy for an issue with implications for future shape of politics to become politicized the way it has. The demand for the draft Bill to be modified in a way so as to make it more representative has been raised. Though it allows women's reservation in state and central legislatures in principle, it simultaneously underlines the many hitches and glitches that remain before the weaker gender is finally given a say in making decisions that affect them.
Certain opposition parties and even some from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have been demanding sub-reservation for women from the other backward classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Now, the question that arises: Is it really some red herring that these sections are chasing so as to somehow scuttle the Bill or is there really some genuine concern for the interests of women from these sections?
While, there should be no scruple now that every political party is reconciled to the fact of an impending WRB, but before it really comes about, every party seems very keen to consolidate its vote bank in ways it deems fit. In fact, some of their fears are not as misplaced as they seem to be. If the Bill is enacted in its present form, there is every possibility that the 'Bibi-Beti' brigade from the privileged upper and dominant castes may come to dominate the scene as women from these sections are relatively more liberated and assertive than their counterparts from OBCs, SCs and STs. And, one really fails to see as to what prevents the ruling NDA to make the demanded change (reservation for women from OBCs, SCs and STs) as it is already there in the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
There have been media reports about the obscene behaviour of some OBC leaders in Parliament, defying all norms of decorum. But, one must not forget that unlike the Oxbridge educated leadership of the post-independence phase, these leaders come from a class which has just found its voice and realized its potential of numbers to get for itself those privileges which it had been deprived of so far.
Schooled in rural areas, where standards leave much to be desired, they are bound to see any such attempt to encroach on about 33 per cent seats in legislatures as a rear-guard action by the privileged in our society. To them, a 33 per cent loss of legislative seats would go directly to the upper and dominant castes and, thus, neutralize all the advantages of numbers that they have secured in recent years.
On its face, such fears appear misplaced as these parties could well ensure that their women are elected to those seats, if at all they agree among themselves to give the same percentage of seats to women of their community during ticket-distribution. But, then it could be argued that why do we need reservation for women at all as the same could be done by all parties, while distributing tickets during elections. But, despite all those talk and promises for women's reservation, nothing concrete could come about so far. So, the bottom-line is that if there has to be reservation for women, the sub-reservation can not be ignored and can be ignored only at a great political and social cost.
What is surprising is that once again the same arguments are doing rounds which surfaced during the Mandal agitation that such sub-reservation would further compromise the quality and merit of our legislators, that it would divide Indian society more than ever before and many more. When states were being reorganized on linguistic basis during the sixties, similar arguments arose about such measure threatening the integrity of the nascent Indian nation, but nothing of the sort happened and the nation only emerged stronger therefrom.
So, instead of letting such an important issue fester longer, making room for further politicking, it would be better to accept such demands in a way suiting the genius of our political system. It would only pave the way for better understanding and cohesion among different sections of Indian society without compromising the over-arching goals of justice and equity. It would only be advisable for the ruling coalition at the Centre to take the move themselves rather than appearing to be acting under pressure.
It is really amazing that despite the constitutional goal of socialism, Indian society denies half of its population an effective say in the 'decision-making mechanism' of the country, thus, leaving the social structure as inegalitarian as we inherited it in 1947. One hopes that this single move by our political class would prove revolutionary for Indian society.
The Bill is supposed to have several positive spin-off effects in various spheres. With women sharing the high pedestal in the decision making system, many urgent social issues like population, poverty, health-care system, gender disparity and literacy are likely to receive enhanced attention.
(1996)
Saumitra Mohan
With Indian politics constantly trying to deal with the gargantuan 'revolution of rising expectations', everyday it is called upon to look into new demands from the various constituents of the body politic. And, it seems that finally it is the women who want their share in the national cake as evident by the vitality of the Women's Reservation Bill (WRB) that keeps popping out of the oblivion to which a section of our leadership wants it to be consigned.
No doubt, the Bill has become a major issue of debate nation-wide. But, once again it has become a butt of political manoeuvring. But, then it is quite natural in a democracy for an issue with implications for future shape of politics to become politicized the way it has. The demand for the draft Bill to be modified in a way so as to make it more representative has been raised. Though it allows women's reservation in state and central legislatures in principle, it simultaneously underlines the many hitches and glitches that remain before the weaker gender is finally given a say in making decisions that affect them.
Certain opposition parties and even some from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have been demanding sub-reservation for women from the other backward classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Now, the question that arises: Is it really some red herring that these sections are chasing so as to somehow scuttle the Bill or is there really some genuine concern for the interests of women from these sections?
While, there should be no scruple now that every political party is reconciled to the fact of an impending WRB, but before it really comes about, every party seems very keen to consolidate its vote bank in ways it deems fit. In fact, some of their fears are not as misplaced as they seem to be. If the Bill is enacted in its present form, there is every possibility that the 'Bibi-Beti' brigade from the privileged upper and dominant castes may come to dominate the scene as women from these sections are relatively more liberated and assertive than their counterparts from OBCs, SCs and STs. And, one really fails to see as to what prevents the ruling NDA to make the demanded change (reservation for women from OBCs, SCs and STs) as it is already there in the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
There have been media reports about the obscene behaviour of some OBC leaders in Parliament, defying all norms of decorum. But, one must not forget that unlike the Oxbridge educated leadership of the post-independence phase, these leaders come from a class which has just found its voice and realized its potential of numbers to get for itself those privileges which it had been deprived of so far.
Schooled in rural areas, where standards leave much to be desired, they are bound to see any such attempt to encroach on about 33 per cent seats in legislatures as a rear-guard action by the privileged in our society. To them, a 33 per cent loss of legislative seats would go directly to the upper and dominant castes and, thus, neutralize all the advantages of numbers that they have secured in recent years.
On its face, such fears appear misplaced as these parties could well ensure that their women are elected to those seats, if at all they agree among themselves to give the same percentage of seats to women of their community during ticket-distribution. But, then it could be argued that why do we need reservation for women at all as the same could be done by all parties, while distributing tickets during elections. But, despite all those talk and promises for women's reservation, nothing concrete could come about so far. So, the bottom-line is that if there has to be reservation for women, the sub-reservation can not be ignored and can be ignored only at a great political and social cost.
What is surprising is that once again the same arguments are doing rounds which surfaced during the Mandal agitation that such sub-reservation would further compromise the quality and merit of our legislators, that it would divide Indian society more than ever before and many more. When states were being reorganized on linguistic basis during the sixties, similar arguments arose about such measure threatening the integrity of the nascent Indian nation, but nothing of the sort happened and the nation only emerged stronger therefrom.
So, instead of letting such an important issue fester longer, making room for further politicking, it would be better to accept such demands in a way suiting the genius of our political system. It would only pave the way for better understanding and cohesion among different sections of Indian society without compromising the over-arching goals of justice and equity. It would only be advisable for the ruling coalition at the Centre to take the move themselves rather than appearing to be acting under pressure.
It is really amazing that despite the constitutional goal of socialism, Indian society denies half of its population an effective say in the 'decision-making mechanism' of the country, thus, leaving the social structure as inegalitarian as we inherited it in 1947. One hopes that this single move by our political class would prove revolutionary for Indian society.
The Bill is supposed to have several positive spin-off effects in various spheres. With women sharing the high pedestal in the decision making system, many urgent social issues like population, poverty, health-care system, gender disparity and literacy are likely to receive enhanced attention.
(1996)
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