Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology

Social Justice And Protective Discrimination: A Sociological Study Of Identification And Welfare Of Backward Areas Of District Anantnag, Jammu And Kashmir Thesis

Submitted For the Award of the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy In Sociology

Sheikh Idrees Mujtaba

Under The Supervision of

Prof. S. Zainuddin

Department of Sociology Aligarh Muslim University ALIGARH (INDIA) 2017

CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION

I, Sheikh Idrees Mujtaba, Department of Sociology, certify that the work embodied in this Ph.D. thesis is my own bonafide work carried out by me under the supervision of Prof. Abdul Waheed at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. The matter embodied in this Ph.D. thesis has not been submitted for the award of any other degree. I declare that I have faithfully acknowledged, given credit to and referred to the research workers wherever their works have been cited in the text and the body of the thesis. I further certify that I have not wilfully lifted up some other’s work, para, text, data, result, etc., reported in the journals, books, magazines, reports, dissertations, thesis, etc., or available at web-sites and included them in this Ph.D. thesis and cited as my own work.

Date: (Sheikh Idrees Mujtaba) En. No.: GH-3316 …………………………………………………………………………………………..

CERTIFICATE FROM THE SUPERVISOR

This is to certify that the above statement made by the candidate is correct to the best of my knowledge.

Prof. Abdul Waheed (Professor) Department of Sociology Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh

(Signature of the Chairman of the Department with seal) DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY CHAIRMAN ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH -202002 (INDIA) Phone : 0571-2707077 (External)

Ref. No……………… Dated:……………………….

COURSE/COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION/PRE-SUBMISSION SEMINAR COMPLETION CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Sheikh Idrees Mujtaba, Department of Sociology has satisfactorily completed the course work/comprehensive examination and pre-submission seminar requirement which is part of his Ph.D. programme.

(Prof. S. Zainuddin)

ANNEXURE-ΙΙΙ

Title of the Thesis: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND PROTECTIVE DISCRIMINATION: A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF IDENTIFICATION AND WELFARE OF BACKWARD AREAS OF DISTRICT ANANTNAG, JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Candidate’s Name: Sheikh Idrees Mujtaba

The undersigned hereby assigns to the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh copyright that may exist in and for the above thesis submitted for the award of the Ph.D. degree.

Signature of the Candidate

Note: However, the author may reproduce or authorize others to reproduce material extracted verbatim from the thesis or derivative of the thesis for author’s personal use provide that the source and the University’s copyright notice are indicated. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

اﻟﺤﻤﺪ اﷲ رب اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤیﻦ

All praise to Allah the Lord of the world for providing me with the confidence and determination in accomplishing the work. May peace be upon the Leader of the Prophets, Hazrat-e-Muhammad Mustafa (s), and his household, who have been the source of knowledge and guidance for all.

At the outset, I would like to express my appreciation and earnest gratitude to my esteemed supervisor, Prof. (Dr.) Abdul Waheed, for the continuous support I received through his motivation, guidance, patience, subject expertise and care during my entire Ph.D. programme. I feel short of words to define his dedication, proficiency and the exemplary character he has earned by never diluting his principles. Indeed, without his splendid benefaction the present work would not have seen the light of the day.

My cordial and earnest thanks are due to Prof. S. Zainuddin, Chairman of the Department of Sociology for his encouragement and providing necessary facilities during the completion of my research work.

The work would not have been accomplished without the insightful comments, constructive criticism and encouragement provided by all the faculty members of the department in general and by Prof. A. Matin (Ex-Chairperson of the department) and Prof. M. Akram in particular.

The non-teaching staff members of the department Aijaz Bhai, Irfan Bhai, Vishal Bhai, Manoj, Khalid and Chand Bhai have always been very helpful and supportive enough during the entire tenure of stay with them.

I am highly thankful to this prestigious seat of learning, Aligarh Muslim University, which considered me to pursue research in the calm, beautiful and homely atmosphere, laced with all sort of modern educational and technological advancements for the better teaching and learning atmosphere. The administrative, teaching and non-teaching staff of the university deserves special praise and appreciations in maintaining the suitable atmosphere for teaching and learning process. The treasured libraries both at the department and Maulana Azad Library, the staff, have their commendable contribution in the work.

The space here will without doubt be too insufficient to express my heartfelt thankfulness to all my teachers till date right from my primary to doctorate level. I am highly indebted to each one of them for their respective efforts in shaping me to whatever and wherever I am today. The teachers at M.U. College and University of Kashmir deserve special mention in shaping my character. Special thanks to Dr. Sofia Hasan for lacing me with the necessary skills required to carry field work. Mrs.

Amatuz Zehra Ma’m and family deserve the paramount thankfulness who has been a motherly figure ever since I am in Aligarh. She has provided all sorts of help, support, affection and care for the entire duration of the programme.

It is my joyful duty to mention some important personalities, who have been of immense help to me at some critical junctures like Dr G N Ittoo (Director, SEK), Prof. M. Tajuddin (Head, D/o Political Science, JU), Er. H. R. Phonsa (Jammu) and Abid Gulzar (Assistant Professor, KU).

Besides my mentors, I would like to thank the funding agency, UGC and ICMR during my entire tenure for providing the fellowship at the junior and senior research fellowship program.

Expressions and emotions fail me to highlight the contribution of each of my family members. My parents Mr. Sheikh Ghulam Ali and Amina Begum have always been the source of inspiration, who worked tirelessly, compromising with their health and happiness, to keep us going. Their emotions, care, and love has always been there to take me along during the testing times of this journey. I am highly grateful to my elder brother Anjum Hussain and sister-in-law Shafiqa Akhter who have always stood there by me, helping to accomplish the endeavor in whatever manner they could. I am highly indebted to Salman Murtaza (my younger brother) who was ever-ready to contribute in any manner particularly in accompanying the field work. It is a pleasure to convey my gratitude to my sisters Najma Zehra, Mymoona Zainab and brothers-in- law, Shahnawaz Hussain and Ilyas Hussain deserve special thanks for their constant affection and care to ease out my nerves. The love and the thought of my niece Aayat Zehra and nephew Taheem Haider always brought smile on my face.

I shall be failing in my duty if I do not record the encouragement and support I received from all the relatives, friends and neighbours. I am highly thankful to each one of you.

It is my pleasure to express my gratitude wholeheartedly to Shabir Hussain uncle, who accompanied me to some of the areas of my field work. The family has always treated me like their sons for which I am highly obliged. Special thanks to Zahid Ali (my childhood pal) and his better half Ambreen Zainab (much like my sister) therein.

Thanks are also due to all my seniors, friends and colleagues who have always been around. Dr. Masood Bhai, Tasdeeq Bhai, Dr. Aijaz Bhai, Dr. Zahoor Bhai, Dr. Muzammil Bhai, Dr. Afzal Bhai, Dr. Fayaz Bhai, Dr Zulfikar Bhai, have provide me with the necessary support and directions at every juncture of the work. Being away was never an excuse for Afzal Bhai in particular.

This work could not have been completed without the moral support, valuable time, intellectual discussions and suggestions from all of my friends like Rumman Gul,Tahir Hussain, Rameez Ahmad, and Shahnawaz Husain who in particular deserve special mention for proof reading and his honest support in the pursuit of this task.

There are surely contributions of Mubeena, Nadiya, Rabiya, Yousuf, Sameera Aapa, Ahrar, Prafull, Imtiyaz, Wafi, Sana Rehman, Nahida, Tabassum, Arjumand and many more only to name a few.

It is an honour to specially thank Rubeena Ali, Iram Imtiyaaz, Aliya, Aftab Ahmad, Basit Ali, Asif Husain, who have been more than friends in providing their support (whenever I required) and suggestions in searching the literature, records and reports required for my work in Kashmir.

I am pleased to express my thankfulness to Nazir Ahmad, Yasir Ali, Furman Abbas, Junaid Sheikh and Ubaid Gulzar for aiding me in my field work and in particular Naseer Ahmad and Sarosh Ahmad who were kind enough to catalyze the pace of my data entry. I also want to express my sincere thanks to my room-mates Abu Saleem, Asif, Sohrab, Adnan, Junaid and co. for being helpful and kind to live together at peace.

I am extremely thankful to all the respondents and officials of many departments who cooperated with me, and were instrumental, in the collection of data which forms the basis of my research study.

Sharma ji (Hind Typing) with the settings and designing the proper format deserve special thanks in printing the manuscript.

It is impossible to mention every individual’s name and his/her contribution to my career till date, I know I have missed many of them; I thank all of you individually for the love, support and encouragement.

(Sheikh Idrees Mujtaba)

iii

ABSTRACT

The title of the study is, “Social Justice and the Policy of Protective Discrimination: A Sociological Study of Identification and Welfare of Backward areas of district Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir”. The study aims at investigating social justice and the policy of protective discrimination in Jammu and Kashmir with the areas under Residents of Backward Areas (RBAs) in district Anantnag as its universe. The study, besides exploring the origin and structure of RBA reservation policy in the state, assesses the process of identification, implementation and impact of the duo processes on the welfare of RBAs.

Objectives of the study

The study has the following six objectives:

(a) To study social justice and the origin and the structure of protective discrimination policy in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

(b) To examine the framing and implementation of backward area reservation scheme in the state.

(d) To study welfare measures taken for the development of backward areas and their impact.

(e) To examine the role of politics in the framing and implementation of the scheme.

(f) To identify shortcomings in the structure and implementation of the scheme and suggest measures for their redressal.

Research Design

The study is exploratory in nature and follows inductive research strategy in its approach. It is based on both primary data (from the field-work) and secondary data collected from different government reports, handbooks, websites and departments.

Sampling Technique

Purposive sampling technique is employed in the study. The distance of the 2 RBA villages, one nearest and one farthest from tehsil, was apt to serve the objectives of the study. Furthermore, for comparison, one non-RBA village was selected from each tehsil, being adjacent to the respective nearest RBA village.

Sample Size

The sample size of the study comprises of 240 households of 24 RBA villages (2 each from the 12 tehsils) of the district. Two kinds of interview schedule were employed for the study, one for the collecting the information about the details of the sample households and another for the village profiles of the 36 villages (comprising of 24 RBA and 12 non-RBA villages).

Tools of Investigation

Interview schedule is used as the primary tool of investigation in the study.

Findings of the study

The assessment of the RBA reservation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir based on the process of identification, the policy follows and the welfare that accrues from the policy has highlighted many of its irregularities. The study has revealed the following loopholes in the process of identification of the backward areas:

 Nowhere, either in the J & K Backward Classes Act or in the rules, annual reports of the commission is mentioned that, what should be the minimum scores on human development indicators or access to basic amenities for the identification of any area as backward.  The backward areas closer to tehsils when compared with their adjacent non- backward areas one some developmental indicators displayed similar results, suggesting thereby that besides socio-economic and educational indicators, some other forces manages the inclusions and exclusion of villages in the RBA list. For example, in these reserved villages, located in the vicinity of tehsil boundaries, the literacy rate is 47.25% which is similar to that of their adjacent non-RBA villages i.e. 47.30%, similarly, the ratio of priority and non-priority households in the public distribution system is 69:31 and 74:26 for these RBA

and non-RBA villages respectively. Also, the trend of the availability of basic facilities like electricity, drainage, dispensary, healthcare centers is more or less identical in these two sets of areas. Thus, it can be stated that that since there is no apparent difference in these adjacent RBA and non-RBA villages on the developmental indicators, therefore either the process of the inclusion of these notified RBA villages is faulty or the non-inclusion of the other set of non-RBA villages is unjustified.  There is no or rare delisting of any of the villages from the RBA list, but the list swells up with continuous additions. A strong political force seems to be operational in the inclusion of villages to the list.  Many media reports have shown that the areas of/around the locales/constituencies of ministers and legislators have got the lion’s share in the lists of backward areas.

Though the villages/areas of the district listed as RBAs have no doubt reaped the benefits of reservation as have their representation in some high profile jobs and their children have secured their admissions in many prestigious professional courses. Nonetheless, the pace of empowerment and development in these areas is far from satisfactory. The highlights of their socio-economic and educational conditions, as the study found, are itemized below:

• The average household size of the sample population (6.1) is higher than the both the national and the state average. • In the basic amenities, it was found that these villages are lacking many of them. There are 40 per cent semi-pucca/thatched / kachha houses and a similar percentage lacks water supply to their homes. Only about 38% have proper sanitation facilities while as wood is the only prime source of fuel for about 27% households. • The literacy rate (65%) is lower than the state (68) and the national average (74). • The gender gap (31) is 15 percentage points more than the national average (16) while it is only 4 percentage points ahead than the state figures (20). • From the 28.2% workers population, 45% are engaged in domestic work, 26.8% casual labourers and only about 10% in government jobs.

• These areas have 69.8% non-workers population whereas half of the workers population is casual labourers. Thus, two-third of the population belongs to the income group of Rs 0-10000 per month. The areas have lesser numbers of workers as compared to the state and the national average. • The WPR of these sample households 30.2% is well behind the country’s WPR by 9.59 points while it lags the state WPR by 4.26 percentage points • About two-third of the population belong to the income group of Rs 0-10000 per month which limits their expenditures on education. • The people from these backward areas have lesser land assets. There are 11% landless families and majority of the families (42%) have their land assets from 0-2 Kanals. Thus, the agricultural produce in these areas is far lesser than the other areas and thus they have to rely on the government supplied ration. • In the public distribution system, these areas have more 7% more priority households than the state.

Thus, the above socio-economic and educational indicators show that most of them are found to be lagging the essential basic amenities. They have low literacy rate, work participation rate, lesser land assets and are managing their lives in low incomes. It culminated to increase in poverty when these areas have 7 per cent more priority households than the state. Moreover, since the reservation is provided in employment and admissions in government educational institutes only, only a handful people from these areas have availed the benefit.

• As per our findings only 22.5 percent population has been benefitted by RBA scheme in employment and education. Only 37 jobs out of 81 are reported to be employed under RBA category from which the high profile jobs that require high skill and competence like doctors, engineers and bank managers are availed by only 7 persons. • Similarly, in the admissions after the senior secondary levels in government educational institutions, out of 130 persons in 17 have secured their seats through reservation. • Among the 240 households only 6 households were having more than one person who have availed the benefits of reservation either in admissions or employment.

As per the findings of the study, the success rate of reservation policy has not been gratifying as the policy planners would have intended to. A non-uniform distribution of benefits has been observed through the study when the tehsils/villages closer to the district have greater share in the employment and admissions than the areas that are farther to the district. Even there is marked difference between the areas that are closer to the respective tehsils and those that are closer to it. Thus, the farther RBA villages are at double disadvantageous positions by being farther from the tehsils and from the district headquarters as well. The extent of benefits dies down to these areas when one moves from the center to the peripheries.

The study has unveiled many areas pertaining to the reservation of backward areas in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which can be further explored by the future researchers. A similar fashioned study in other parts of the state if delivers the similar results then the policy of reservation badly needs restructuration. The decades’ old reservation has shown no signs of genuine development and thus, the focus of reservation must be grounded on the economic position of a household which can incorporate all the possible handicaps of caste, tribe and area reservation.

CONTENTS

Page No.

Acknowledgement i - iii

List of Tables iv - v

List of Figures vi

Abbreviations vii - viii

INTRODUCTION 1 - 4

CHAPTER 1 SOCIETY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: A REVIEW 5 - 22 OF CONCEPT AND THEORIES 1.1 Justice: Meaning 5 1.2 Social Justice: Origin and Definitions 9 1.3 Social Justice: Principles 11 1.3.1 Principle of Right 12 1.3.2 Principle of Desert 15 1.3.3 Principle of Need 18 1.4 Conclusion 21

CHAPTER 2 SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE POLICY OF 23-56 PROTECTIVE DISCRIMINATION IN INDIA 2.1 The Concept of Social Justice in India 23 2.2 Inequalities of Indian Society 28 2.3 Policy of Protective Discrimination 30 2.3.1 Scheduled Castes 31 2.3.2 Scheduled Tribes 35 2.3.3 Other Backward Classes (OBCs) 39 2.4 Impact of Protective Discrimination Policy 43 2.5 Issues of Debate 50 2.5.1 Identification of caste under the three categories SCs, 50 STs and mainly OBCs 2.5.2 Inclusion and exclusion of caste 52 2.6 Implementation of the policy 54 2.7 Conclusion 55 CHAPTER 3 THE UNIVERSE AND THE DESIGN OF THE 57-83 STUDY 3.1 Jammu and Kashmir: A Brief Profile 57 3.1.1 Geography of the state 57 3.1.2 Government and Administration 58 3.1.3 Administration 59 3.1.4 Population 60 3.1.5 Economy 61 3.1.6 Education 62 3.2 District Anantnag: A Brief Profile 62 3.2.1 Geography 63 3.2.2 Administration 65 3.2.3 Population 67 3.2.4 Education 70 3.2.5 Economy 71 3.3 Research Design 73 3.4 Objectives of the study 73 3.6 Brief Profile of the tehsils of district Anantnag 75 3.7 Sampling 79 3.9 Research Instrument 82 3.10 Data Processing and Analysis 83 3.11 Limitations 83

CHAPTER 4 SOCIAL JUSTICE, POLICY OF PROTECTIVE 85-122 DISCRIMINATION AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF RESIDENTS OF BACKWARD AREAS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR 4.1 Social Justice and the Constitution of Jammu and 85 Kashmir 4.2 Policy of Protective Discrimination in Jammu and 87 Kashmir 4.2.1 Scheduled Castes (SCs) 88 4.2.2 Scheduled Tribes (STs) 91 4.2.3 Socially and Educationally Backward Sections (SEBs) 94 4.3 Identification of resident of backward areas 97 4.4 Reservation Facility to RBA 98 4.5 Issues in the identification of Backward Areas 100 4.5.1 Structural shortcomings 100 4.5.2 Media Reports 101 4.5.3 Objective assessment 104 4.6 Conclusion 121

CHAPTER 5 RESIDENTS OF BACKWARD AREAS SCHEME 123-155 AND THE WELFARE OF PEOPLE 5.1 Household Classification 123 5.2 Population 126 5.3 Basic Amenities 127 5.4 Educational Status 129 5.5 Health Status 123 5.6 Economic Status 135 5.7 Land Holding Patterns 137 5.8 Ownership of Productive and Other Assets 139 5.9 Income, Expenditure and Indebtedness 142 5.10 Public Distribution system 144 5.11 Developmental Deficit through the Socio-Economic and Educational Status of RBA’s 5.12 Welfare through Reservation 148 5.13 Conclusion 154

CONCLUSION 156-163

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 164-175

APPENDICES 176-196

LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Title Page No. 2.1 Distribution of SCs population by religion 33 2.2 A Decadal comparative of increase in the Literacy rates of 44 SCs and STs and General Population (in %) 2.3 Category wise percentage enrolment in higher education 45 (2011-2012) 2.4 Category wise percentage enrolment in higher education 45 (2013-14) 2.5 Representation of SCs and STs in the different service groups 46 2.6 Representation of SCs, STs and OBCs in Central Departments 46 of India 2.7 Increase in numbers of OBCs with time 53 3.1 Districtwise Population, Sex-Ratio and Density of J & K 60 3.2 Population of Different Religious groups in J & K 61 3.3 Administrative Setup of District Anantnag 67 3.4 Rural Urban Population Distribution of District Anantnag 68 3.5 Anantnag- Percentage Population of Followers of Different 68 Faiths 3.6 Anantnag : Followers of Religion across Gender 69 3.7 Anantnag Tehsil-wise Population 69 3.8 Literacy rate of Anantnag and J & K State 70 3.9 Population of Literates and Illiterates of Anantnag 70 3.10 Anantnag Numbers of Educational Institutes 71 3.11 Anantnag: Comparison Between Census 2001 and 2011 72 figures 3.12 Selected Villages for Study across Different Categories 82 4.1 Population of Scheduled Castes in J & K 89 4.2 Population of Scheduled Tribes of Jammu and Kashmir 93 4.3 Selected Villages for Study across Different Categories 105 4.4 Population of RBA Villages (Nearest to Tehsil) 106 4.5 Population of Non-RBA Villages 107 4.6 Population of RBA Villages (Farthest to the tehsils) 108 4.7 Literacy Rate of RBA Villages (Nearest to Tehsil) 109 4.8 Literacy Rate of Non-RBA Villages 110

4.9 Literacy rates comparison across all categories with that of 112 District and State 4.10 Ration Card Categories of RBA Villages (Nearest to Tehsil) 113 4.11 Ration Card Categories of Non-RBA Villages 114 4.12 Ration Card Categories of RBA Villages (Farthest to the 115 Tehsil) 4.13 Percentage of Ration Card Categories across RBA and non- 117 RBA Villages 4.14 Number of Schools in the Categories of Villages 118 4.15 Basic Amenities of RBA Villages (Nearest to the Tehsil) 119 4.16 Basic Facilities of Non-RBA Villages 120 4.17 Basic Amenities in RBA (farthest) Villages 121 5.1 Composition of Categories in the Reserved Areas 124 5.2 Type of Habitations 126 5.3 Account of Different Age groups 126 5.4 Availability of Electricity, water and fuel 129 5.5 Literacy Rate across gender 130 5.6 Reasons of Educational Dropouts 132 5.7 Health Status and the Preferred Places of Treatment 133 5.8 Work status among the RBA people 136 5.9 Land Holding Patterns of RBAs 138 5.10 Agricultural Tools employed by the RBA people 139 5.11 Private and Commercial Vehicles owned by the RBA people 140 5.12 Household Assets of the people from RBA 141 5.13 Total Income of the Household 142 5.14 Main Household Expenditure 143 5.15 Range of Debt 144 5.16 Type and Numbers of Ration Cards of RBAs 145 5.17 PDS difference in RBA's 147 5.18 Jobs Availed Through reservation in Tehsils of Anantnag 150 5.19 Kinds of Jobs Availed Under RBA Scheme 151 5.20 Admissions availed by RBA in educational institutions 152

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Title Page No. No.

3.1 Jammu and Kashmir and its occupied parts 58

3.2 Districts of Jammu and Kashmir State 64

3.3 District Anantnag Topographic Map 65

3.4 District Map Anantnag 66

4.1 Literacy Rate of RBA Villages 111

4.2 Literacy Rate of Non-RBA Villages 111

4.3 Graphical Representation of the Ration Card Categories of 116 RBA Villages

4.4 Graphical Representation of the Ration Card Categories of 116 Non-RBA Villages

4.5 Graphical Representation of the Ration Card Categories of 117 RBA Villages (Farthest)

5.1 Extrapolation of Gender gap in Literacy 131

5.2 Total Land Assets of RBAs 138

5.3 Tehsil-wise number of Ration Categories 146

5.4 Percentages of RBA Beneficiaries 148

ABBREVIATIONS

AAY: Antoday Anna Yojna

ALC: Residents of areas near Actual Line of Control

ASHA: Accredited Social Health Activist

B.Tech: Bachelor of Technology

BPL: Below Poverty Level

CAPD: Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution

CoJK: Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir

ENT: Ear, Nose Throat

GOI: Government of India

IAS: Indian Administrative Service

IAY: Indira Awas Yojna

IPS: Indian Police Service

J & K: Jammu and Kashmir

LPG: Liquefied Petroleum Gas

MBBS: Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelors of Surgery

MLAs: Members of Legislative Assemblies

MPs: Members of Parliament

NCBC: National Commission for Backward Classes

NPHH: Non Priority Households

NRHM: National Rurik Health Mission

OBCs: Other Backward Classes

PDS: Public Distribution System

PHH: Priority Households

RBA: Residents of Backward Areas

SCs: Scheduled Castes

SEBS: Socially and Educationally Backward Sections

vii

SOC/SLC: Social Caste

SRO: Statutory Regulatory Order

STs: Scheduled Tribes

TPHH: Total Priority Households

viii

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

The concept of social justice and the policy of protective discrimination have been the issues of academic discussion and political activism since independence in India. A vast literature both academic and populist is produced; organizations are formed to mobilize public opinion and political action is taken by forming political parties on various issues related with the structure, implementation and benefits of protective discrimination policy in post independent India mainly after 1990 when recommendations of second national backward class commission also known as Mandal Commission were implemented. But surprisingly these issues have not attracted the attention of scholars in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, despite the political movements and government action since 1990. And, therefore, no serious academic work is so far produced on the issue related with social justice and the protective discrimination policy in the state.

The study entitled, “Social Justice and Protective Discrimination: A Sociological Study of Identification and Welfare of Backward areas of district Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir”, primarily aims at:

(a) To study social justice and the origin and the structure of protective discrimination policy in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

(b) To examine the framing and implementation of backward area reservation scheme in the state.

(d) To study welfare measures schemes taken for the development of backward areas and their impact.

(e) To examine the role of politics in the framing and implementation of the scheme.

(f) To identify shortcomings in the structure and implementation of the scheme and suggest measures for their redressal.

The study is exploratory and descriptive in nature and is based on both secondary and primary data. The secondary data is collected from the Census 2011,

Jammu and Kashmir Directorate of Economic and Statistics, J & K Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Office of the deputy Commissioner and Chief Education Officer of the district and its social welfare board whereas the primary data is collected from 240 households of 24 RBA villages of the district Anantnag, one of the largest districts of the Kashmir Valley. Two kinds of interview schedule was employed for the study, one for collecting the information about the village and another for the details of the sample RBA households in the 24 villages, 2 each from the 12 tehsils of the district.

The study employs the inductive research strategy exploring the Backward Area Reservation Scheme (RBA) which is first of its kind to the best of my knowledge.

The thesis is divided into five chapters excluding introduction and conclusion. Each chapter is subdivided into headings and sub-headings.

The first chapter entitled, ‘Society and Social Justice: A Review of Concept and Theories’ traces the origin and the meaning of the concept of ‘social justice’ through the reviews of literature pertaining to ‘social justice’ and its various interpretations in the western society. The chapter begins by explaining at length the broader concept of ‘justice’ and its principles through the works of sages, philosophers and scholars. It thus discusses the proper introduction of the notion ‘’social justice’ through the socio-economic and the political transformations brought about by the revolutions in the Europe and American societies.

The first part of the second chapter of the study, i.e. ‘Social Justice and the Policy of Protective Discrimination in India’, reviews literature pertaining to the meaning, scope and objectives of the concept of social justice in India. However, the second part of the chapter examines the formulation, the implementation and the consequences of various welfare policies mainly the policy of protective discrimination particularly with the respect to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward sections of the country. The policy of protective discrimination has generated intense debates on many of issues like its identification, inclusion and exclusion of the groups in it and its implementation, which also has been discussed briefly in this chapter.

‘The Universe and the Design of the Study’ presented in chapter third of the thesis, aims at presenting a brief profile of the state of Jammu and Kashmir including its population, administration, education and economy. It also discusses the demographic and the socio-economic and educational profile of district Anantnag which was selected for intensive field study in order to investigate the implementation and the impact of ‘backward areas reservation scheme’. The chapter also elaborates the design of the study consisting of research methodology, aims and the objectives of the study, strategies for selecting samples, methods of data collection, interpretation as well as problems faced in the field work and the limitations of the study.

A comprehensive detail of the policy of protective discrimination applied in the state of Jammu and Kashmir is elaborated in Chapter 4 of the study. Entitled, ‘Social Justice, Policy of Protective Discrimination and the Identification of Residents of Backward Areas in Jammu and Kashmir’, the chapter discussed the specific welfare measure provided by the state to the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and ‘socially and educationally backward sections’ of the state, a category which includes the ‘residents of backward areas’ i.e. RBAs. Explaining the structure and the process of identification of the RBAs, the chapter highlights the anomalies in the identification process by juxtaposing the data of the developmental indicators of adjacent but nearest RBA villages to that of the non-RBA villages. It concludes that similar show of the two categories of the villages on the developmental indicators hints some irregularities in the structuration and identification process which has very often been exploited by local politicians for their vested interests.

However, to get the actual picture of the welfare brought about by the reservation policy of the state in these backward areas, chapter 5 titled, ‘Residents of Backward Area Scheme and the Welfare of the People’ presents a detailed explanation of the socio-economic and educational status of the RBA villages, through the sample. Having equal representation of all the twelve tehsils of the district, the chapter assesses the quantum of welfare; the residents of the backward areas have gain in the fields of education and admissions in government educational institutions. It brings out the fact that there is not uniform distribution of benefits of reservation to these constituent tehsils i.e. the tehsils located nearer to the district headquarters reap the maximum benefits through reservation and vice-versa.

Indeed through the policy of protective discrimination the objectives of social justice can be achieved. Its prime target is to meliorate the conditions of weaker and the underprivileged sections of the society. Since no study has been conducted on the RBA reservation scheme, the study besides filling the gap in the literature of sociology will unfurl many other ways to conduct the research in future. Moreover, information gained from the study would also be fruitful to persons who are in pursuit of assessing the structure and implementation of the reservation policy of Jammu and Kashmir.

Chapter 1

Society and Social Justice: A Review of Concept and Theories

Chapter 1

SOCIETY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: A REVIEW OF CONCEPT AND THEORIES

Although this study aims at investigating social justice and the policy of protective discrimination in Jammu and Kashmir- the northernmost state of India bordering with China and Pakistan, this chapter reviews literature related with the concept of social justice and its various interpretations in western society. The focus of the chapter is precisely on tracing the origin and meaning of the concept and its various principles, enunciated by scholars, philosophers and jurist.

The history of the concept of social justice can be traced to the age of enlightenment, mainly the emergence of welfare state in European society. However the concept began to be employed formally from the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then social justice has become a dominant value in policy formulation and in the administration of justice in all welfare and democratic states including India. Yet the concept of social justice has not uniformly been defined and applied. Its meaning and scope differ from place to place and within a place from time to time. Indeed, ‘no universal theory of social justice has evolved either in Western liberal democracies or in socialist and communist systems’ (Menon, 1988).

1.1 Justice: Meaning

Justice has intensely been debated and discussed in moral and political philosophy since times immemorial. Sages, philosophers and scholars of all times and places visualized and conceptualized justice in their own way but did not reach to any conclusive agreement. Justice is also being discussed by common man in everyday life but the understanding of a person or group of persons differs from one another. Differences in the visualization and conceptualization of Justice emanate from variations in moral values and existential condition of philosophers, scholars and social persons. Indeed Justice is a contextual concept. It is primarily employed by people as a yardstick to distinguish between right or wrong or good and bad etc. In politics, it is used as a measure to evaluate the performance of the government. Political conception of justice is, however, not static, it is dynamic. Indeed political

5 concepts and theories change as society transforms. New ideas and concepts emerge while the older concepts become obsolete in the course of developmental process.

On analyzing the definitions of justice, form the philosophical viewpoints of Cicero, Socrates, and Aristotle etc to the contemporary thinkers we find different accounts as far as the concept of ‘justice’ is concerned. To begin with Cicero, a Roman philosopher and politician, said that,

“Justice is an intrinsic good” (Placeholder1) (Jatava, 2006).

He is of the opinion that in order to make the parameters of justice beneficial, the focus should be on the moral obligations and virtues. These things are extremely important to manifest the internal good of an individual which are eventually translated into justice. An interesting discussion came to the limelight on defining the concept of ‘justice’ between Thrasymachus on one end and Aristotle, Plato and especially Socrates on the other. While ‘Plato associated justice with the virtue of the soul’ (Jatava, 2006), Aristotle (Biswas, 2002:58) elucidates it with what is lawful and fair in equitable distributions and the correction of what is inequitable1 but Thrasymachus had a different outlook on it when he said,

“Justice is the interest of the strong” (Jatava, 2006).

He explains that justice is what is being obtained by the stronger of the society even at the cost of justice and peace itself. He supports his stance by stating that ‘men revile injustice, not because they fear to do it but because they fear to suffer it’ (Jatava, 2006)Socrates, the teacher of Plato, vehemently opposed the viewpoints of Thrasymachus, arguing that no science either prescribes or seeks the advantage of the stronger, but the advantage of the weaker over which it rules. The government provides and prescribes what is beneficial for the subject, seeking the advantage of the weaker rather than the stronger. Aristotle complements this argument by stating that,

“Justice is a virtue implying a relation to others, for it promotes the interest of another, whether he be a ruler of simply a fellow citizen” (Jatava, 2006, p. 29)

1 www.iep.utm.edu/justwest/ Accessed on 04.04.2015 6

Confucius, a harbinger of the Chinese culture, has put forth a different explanation when he associated the concept with good conduct which emanates from familial relations and subsequently to nations and the world. He says, that,

“Justice is a virtue implying a relation to others, for it promotes the interest of another, whether he be a ruler of simply a fellow citizen” - Socrates ” (Jatava, 2006, p. 30)

John Rawls (Rawls, 1971) has stressed heavily on justice when he admits that the justice cannot even be overridden by the welfare of the society. He says, that,

“Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust”.

In a broader perspective, justice cannot be limited to the intrinsic good only, deriving from the inner self, subjectivity and the feelings but it goes beyond the virtues of the individual. The rights, the obligations, the rules are indispensable when the social order is to be based on the lines of justice.

Justice has been associated with the equality, liberty, fraternity, mostly when it is said justice is ‘summ cuique’ (Miller, 1976:20), to each his due. Whenever the question of the distribution arises in a society the ideas of liberty and equality are employed in order to see that there is fair distribution, a fair share, a fair share until and unless there is a strong justification for acting otherwise. Indeed the core of justice is the same treatment for the same differences’ (Jatava, 2006:26).

As far as the objectivity regarding the application of the concept of justice is concerned, it is very true that collective interest in taken due care of rather than the self-interest. Objectivity ascertains the fact that the self-orientation has lost its ground. There are written rules, laws, guidelines and decrees based on which the larger interest or the collective orientation is ensured to establish the bits and bytes of justice. Hume has endorsed this viewpoint when he says that,

“….justice established itself by a kind of convention or agreement; that is by a sense of interest, supposed to be

common to all, and where every single act is performed in expectation that others are to perform the like.”(Jatava, 2006:32)

The self-interest is superimposed by the public interest driven by the morality, which even though starts with one’s self but eventually ends in public interest with sympathy towards the testing times of people. It is here at the hallmark of the collective interest the concepts like justice, equality, brotherhood are born. A common codes and rules are set which become the measuring parameters for the extent of injustice, followed by the appeasement or punishment in accordance with the laid rules and regulations.

With the dawn of the renaissance, the concept of justice began to be explained with different dimensions. The French revolution too promotes the cause of justice and expanded its allied areas far and wide. Democracy, equality for all, human rights, freedom of thought and expression were considered to be the fundamental elements of a just social order. In this connection intellectuals around the globe began advocating the fundamentals justice. They strongly emphasized the freedom – intellectual, religious, political, economic of an individual with the stress on the freedom of nations from the clutches of imperialism and social bondage, political equality, welfare of the needy, protection of the oppressed and liberty of the thought and conscience. Hence, the term has been utilized in accordance to the taste of the time and space and that is why we find diverse usage of the concept.

It is because of the varied and conflicting use of the concept many commentators think that Justice is bereft of substantive contents. This is true, though a negative conception, because there is no universal definition or criteria of justice. Indeed justice is a contextual concept and, therefore, its contents may be seen in a particular context. Moral values, political system and existential condition of a society largely determine form and contents of justice. In any social context a just affair, first of all involves atleast two sentient and rational beings. Secondly one of the beings enjoys either benefits or suffers with burden, if either of the condition does not exist, the question of justice or injustice does not arise. Therefore, state of just affairs emanates from the action of human beings and is subjected to change because of such actions. Hence, David Miller (1976:19) says that the subject matter of justice is the

manner in which benefits and burdens distributed among men whose qualities and relationships can be investigated2. In this way justice is a relational concept and therefore may be said to be ‘Social’. However, the concept of ‘Social Justice’ is analytically distinctive and originated at a particular historical juncture.

1.2 Social Justice: Origin and Definitions

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen (2009:5) says, “even though the subject of social justice has been discussed over the ages, the discipline received an especially strong boost during the European Enlightenment in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, encouraged by the political climate of change and also by the social and economic transformation taking place then in Europe and America”(Sen, 2009:5). Values of equality, liberty and fraternity and the emergence of democratic polity and welfare state on the one hand and the uprising of marginalized people for their rights on the other hand have been the major contributing forces in the development of the concept ‘social justice’ in the 18th and 19th century European society. It was liberals who embraced the idea of social justice probably to contain growing mass upsurge for basic rights and expressed in idealist conception of society as an integrated whole. David Miller observes that “the arrival of socialist movements as serious contenders for political power was pivotal to the development of ideas of social justice, since it was precisely the socialist challenge that forced liberals to look more critically at land ownership, private ownership of industry, inherited wealth, and other such features of capitalism, and to investigate the various socialist and communist schemes of industrial organization advocated by those further to the left. What emerges, typically; is a discriminating defense of the market economy in which some existing property rights are criticized and others vindicated, and the state is charged with enacting those reformist policies that will lead to a just distribution of social resources”(Miller, 1999:3). However, the concept was denounced by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engles (1820-1895) who believed that to speak about social justice was to accept the bourgeoisie ideology.

The first book with the title ‘Social Justice’ was published in 1900. Its author was Westel Willoughby, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University, America, who is highly critical of Karl Marx and socialist movement. He begins by

2 David Miller, Social Justice, p.19 9

“observing that in an era of popular sovereignty we cannot avoid subjecting our existing social and economic institutions to critical appraisal, and in particular asking whether they treat individuals justly. The quest for social justice is a natural consequence of the spread of enlightenment.”3

Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse (1864-1929), a British philosopher, came out with a book entitled “The Elements of Social Justice” in 1922. Hobhouse conceptualized society as an organism in which the flourishing of each element requires the cooperation of all the others, and the aim of social justice is to specify the institutional arrangements that will allow each person to contribute fully to social well-being (Miller, 1999:4). These idealist philosophers broadly conceptualized ‘social justice’ with the assumptions that:

(a) Society is an organic whole, made of, interrelated and interdependent parts.

(b) The parts or institutions of society created what may be called institutional structure affecting the prospects of each individual member of the society.

(c) Every society has an agency called state, capable of bringing about reform of change in the institutional structure for the betterment of people.

This is what Amartya Sen called ‘transcendental institutional’(Sen, 2009) approach of social justice which is explained in terms of fairness of institution in the distribution of benefits and burdens among people. This approach is more eloquently elaborated by John Rawls who conceptualized justice as fairness in a bounded community or society, justice is seen by him in terms of the fairness of institutional structure and not in terms of the actual behavior of the institution. Thus, Rawls said that the subject-matter of social justice is the basic structure of society, understood as the major social institutions that "distribute fundamental rights and duties and determine the division of advantages from social cooperation.”(Miller, 1999:4)

The concept of ‘Justice’ as a whole is a general term applied as and when the situation arises whereas the concept of ‘Social Justice’ is best understood as forming one substantial part of the broader concept ‘justice’. To define the concept of social justice more precisely and in a workable manner, David Miller distinguishes it from the concept of legal justice. He says, “legal justice concerns the punishments of the

3 David Miller, Principles of Social Justice, p.4 10

wrongdoings and the compensation of injury through the creation and enforcement of a public set of rules (the law). It deals mainly with two types of issues. First of all, it stipulates the conditions under which punishments may be inflicted, adjusts the scale of punishment to fit the nature of different crimes, and, in the sphere of civil law regulates the amount of restitution which must be made for injuries. Secondly, it lays down the procedures for applying the law-the principles of a fair trial, right of appeal, etc., from part of legal justice. Social justice, on the other hand, concerns the distribution of benefits and burdens throughout a society, as it results from the major social institutions-property systems, public organizations, etc. it deals with such matters as regulation of wages and (where they exist) profits, the protection of persons’ rights through the legal system, the allocation of housing, medicine, welfare benefits etc.”4

While delimiting the scope of social justice he says that the list of advantages must include atleast the following “money and commodities, property, jobs and offices, education, medical care, child benefits and child care, honors and prizes, personal security, housing, transportation, and leisure opportunities”5 These are defined as valued goods whose allocation is contingent upon the working of the institutions. Nonetheless, distribution of benefits and burdens is not uniform in every society. It differs from one society to another. Indeed the principle of distribution of benefits and burdens is contingent upon the notion of the society.

1.3 Social Justice: Principles

The principles –Right, Desert and Need, are identified as its three broad principles. Every principle is employed by philosophers and scholars according to their conception of society. For example, David Hume, an eighteenth century Scottish philosopher, historian and economist (1711-1776) employed the notion of ‘right’(Rai, 2002) whereas Herbert Spencer, an English sociologist (1820-1903) advocated the principle of ‘desert’ and Peter Kropotkin, a Russian philosopher (1842-1921) invoked the conception of ‘need’ for the realization of Justice. The difference among these three philosopher scholars are because of their different conception of society. Their views are briefly discussed in the following section.

4 David Miller, Social Justice, p. 16 5 David Miller, Principles of Social Justice, p.7 11

Ever since the notion of social justice emerged, not a single theory has been able to give an idea about a universal account based on which the idea of social justice can be explained. However, it has been explained differently by different theorists, who can be broadly categorized in two groups. One group is of the opinion that there is a single and same criterion which can always be applied to distinguish between just and unjust state of affairs. On the contrary, the other faction is of the opinion that there are several concepts each anchoring a different way to differentiate between justice and it’s opposite. It distinguished a number of concepts, condensed to three principles by a British sociologist, David Miller in his book entitled ‘Social Justice’. The three major principles of justice, as have been explained by David Miller are:

(1) The principle of right, (2) The principle of desert, and (3) The principle of need.

Miller says that the principle of rights corresponds to guaranteeing security of expectation and freedom of choice, the principle of desert recognizing the distinctive value of each person’s actions and qualities and the principle of need providing the prerequisites for individual plans of life (Miller, 1976:151). In a society, different minds may have different opinions which may or may not be consistent with space and time and hence, we come across the varying interpretations of the concepts like equality, freedom, liberty, justice, democracy, etc. Similarly, the three principles of justice i.e. right, desert and need are elucidated by a number of scholars of their respective times. ‘Writers like Raphael, Mill and Hume define 'social justice' in terms of rights. Other writers like Hayek and Spencer define 'social justice' in terms of deserts’ (AIR 2007 SC 71, 2007)6 while the principle of need is associated with Peter Kropotkin. But here the discussion will be limited to Hume, Spencer and Kropotkin’s ideas with respect to the principles right, desert and need respectively.

1.3.1 Principle of Right

Right is a moral principle that defines the freedom of man’s action in a social context. It empowers an individual to secure his own interests or the interests of other people. The rights act as powerful devices to pursue some particular choices or interests and protect the same. A number of philosophers, intellectuals, political

6 M. Nagaraj & Others vs. Union of India & Others on 19 October, 2006—page 12) 12 theorists, historians have defined the concept in their distinct ways. Aristotle uses dikaion, for example, to indicate that a society is “rightly ordered” and displays the correct structure of human relationships. To T. H. Green, ‘right is a power claimed and recognized as contributory to common good."7 However some scholars describe it as a compensation for something undesirable being inflicted on a person. For Deshpande, a right is “considered a 'remedial' category, a deterrent against the possibility, or a redressal of the fact, of some wrong being inflicted upon its bearer” (Deshpande, 1998:11). Few others like David Hume have linked the concept of rights with the property and carried their discussions to explain justice through that prism. Hume says that we could define justice as “respect for the rights of individuals to their goods (property) and to the property of others.”8

Rights have been broadly classified into two categories—Moral Rights and Legal Rights.9 These are sometimes referred to as ideal (moral) rights and positive rights respectively. Moral rights are based on the ethical awareness and on the sense of morality. Since, there is no formal enforcing agency, written rules, and therefore there will be no punishment on their violations (if any). But on the other hand, legal rights are recognized by the state and based on strict laws called as positive laws having no moral considerations. Its infringement or any kind of violations leads to the prescribed punishments. But there are few scholars who argue that only legal rights should be described as rights as the moral rights are fictitious. In the eyes of Bentham,

“Rights are then the fruits of law and of the law alone. There are no rights without law—no rights contrary to the law—no rights anterior to the law”.10 Both the types of rights i.e. legal and moral have been respectively associated with their four sub-divisions. The four basic components of rights, as proposed by Wesley Hohfeld (1879–1918), an American legal theorist, are the privilege, the claim-right, the power, and the immunity.11 Among the four components of rights, David Miller says that claim rights are of the central importance to social justice.

7 (http://www.preservearticles.com/201104265966/complete-information-on-the-different-types-of- rights-enjoyed-by-citizens-of-india.html) 8 David Miller, Social Justice, p. 158 9 (http://www.preservearticles.com/201104265966/complete-information-on-the-different-types-of- rights-enjoyed-by-citizens-of-india.html 10 David Miller, Social Justice, p.55 11 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights Accessed on 5/5/2014 13

David Hume visualized society as a graded one and a hierarchical one, divided into ranks, in which the traditional status was more important than the individual merit. He sees that the individual has no idea or any sort of enthusiasm to show that he seeks betterment of his rank in the society and surpass his rivals. In Hume’s words, “it is necessary, therefore, to know our rank and station in the world, whether it is fixed by our birth, fortune, employments, talents or reputations” (Boyd, 2008) However, he was not against the merit and counseled his readers to adapt themselves to their rank, showing due (though not excessive) deference to those above them and due (though not excessive) superiority to those below. He is purposefully opposed to the egalitarian society and has instead stated that the classless society is a false hope and is only possible while undertaking the two important assumptions i.e.

(1) A society without property. This type of society would exist only when there are abundance of goods such that everyone has already more than enough and unlimited generosity on the part of men so that goods are freely given to those who need them(Miller, 1976:68) (2) A society which retains private property but distributes it equally.

Both the conditions are pretty impossible as whenever the question is raised, it is silenced by the human greed, selfishness, self-interest, egoism etc. Hence, the passions of a human being disqualify him for the egalitarian society. However, it can be maintained by artificial constraining of the natural passions by government and law, custom and habit and the love of reputation. Socialization to inculcate all these values plays an important role to upheld morality and acts as a catalyst to perform virtuous acts against our interests at the stake of losing reputation. The passions- their exercise and their constraining gives rise to the just distribution of goods. It has been associated with moral rights by J.S. Mill who argues that, ‘justice implies something which is not only right to do, and wrong not to do, but which some individual person can claim from us as his moral right’12. But David Hume has tied the notion of justice closely with the property and the rights emanating from it. He says,

“the rules of justice are conventions whereby material goods (wealth, land, possession, etc.) are ascribed to particular individuals; and the virtue of justice consists in respecting this ascription, by refraining

12 David Miller, Social Justice, p.57 14

from appropriating the goods of others, and ensuring that wrongly appropriated goods are returned to their owners” 13

Hume has described justice as an artificial value as when there is no property there would be no rules of justice and the people have the property by virtue of their power. They do not possess it by virtue of their right. People have their rights on the goods, property, wealth etc and it is maintained when the other people in the society endorse it. The system of justice is preserved by the approval of the property rules which bring about the rights and are maintained only by the inflexibility of the rules. However, Hume has not explained that whether the resulting distribution of rights is just or not. To conclude we can say that Hume’s theory saw justice as comprising in the continuation and upholding of the rules of the property. These set of rules established by the property rights of an individual, acquired by birth or by his social activities, and the obligations of others to respect these rights ensure the maintenance of social order. He rested his theory on the positive or the legal rights while the ideal rights having the moral base were seen in close proximity with the other principles of justice as desert and need.

1.3.2 Principle of Desert

The second principle of justice i.e. ‘Desert’ plays an important role as far as the explanation of the term justice is concerned. ‘Justice’ means to each his due; ‘desert’ refers to what it is fitting for each person to have’14. Desert is characteristic of those qualities of an individual based on which he has suitable and appropriate form(s) of achievement. Desert endorses the concept of ‘right’ only so far as the principle of right concerns in allocating the benefits to the personal characteristics of an individual. For desert there are some institutional rules and standards that act as the foundations based on which the concept of desert arises. E.g. a man running without any organized event of race has no right to claim for anything (as he deserves). We cannot deprive a person of his desert based on the fact that his moral character is wrong. The kind of desert that is relevant to social justice is rarely moral desert.15

The concept of desert is based on the past and the present facts about the individuals and not on the affairs to be created in the future. That is desert is a

13 David Miller, Social Justice, p.158 14 David Miller, Social Justice, p.86 15 David Miller, Social Justice, p.87 15

backward looking concept which rests on the performance or the ability of an individual for any kind of desert or reward. These rewards and other deserved benefits act as the direct incentives to the production of the future good. It lays down a general ruling that the allocation of benefits are not based on the ascription, needs, incompetence etc but firmly on the achievement or desert.

The same principle is applied when we talk about the capitalism or modern day industrial society which is solely based on the competition and free market. It is matter of fact, that who survives in the race of struggle and hence takes the authoritative position in the society commanding the rest others according to his aspirations. Herbert Spencer has elaborated the concept of desert and has linked it directly with the industrial society. He says that the social structure of industrial society is created by the network of contracts entered into by individuals in their economic capacity. There is no inherited social status: a man’s place is determined by his actions, by the agreements he makes, and the rewards they bring him16. He advocated the competitive nature of individuals which was the hallmark of capitalism and also defended the accumulation of private property.17 He was of the opinion that society is remarkably fluid permitting the free agreement and there is no rigidity or hardcore rules like those in the militant society.

While the Utilitarians as Sidgwick, Bentham, Mill, were of the opinion that for any kind of good, having a number of recipients in a society, the distribution, depending on their needs, capacities etc, should take place in such an empirical way such that greatest sum total of happiness results. Spencer differed to the opinion in a way that the distribution should not take place in accordance to the respective needs of the individuals but on the basis of his past actions. These actions enable him to reap the benefit he has earned because of his skills, efforts and capabilities. It is a matter of justice too, as Spencer says; that the distribution must take place according to desert being interpreted as ‘achievement’. In the words of Spencer,

“Justice means preservation of the normal connexions between acts and results—the obtainment by each of as much benefit as his efforts is equivalent to— no more and no less. Living and working within the restraints imposed by one another’s

16 David Miller, Social Justice, p.199 17 David Miller, Social Justice, p.217 16

presence, justice requires that individuals shall severely take the consequences of their conduct, neither increased nor decreased”18

“No longer determined by the principle of inheritance, places and occupations are now determined by the principle of efficiency; and changes of structure follow when men, not bound to prescribed functions, acquire the functions for which they have proved themselves most fit. Easily modified in its arrangements, the industrial type of society is therefore one which adapts itself with facility to new requirements”.19

Industrial societies are distinguished, not by the degree to which their members are engaged in work rather than warfare, nor by the incidence of industry as opposed to agriculture, but by the form of cooperation they embody, which Spencer terms voluntary cooperation. A system of voluntary cooperation is distinguished by the following four characteristics:

(a) Each man can choose the kind of occupation he will adopt, instead of being assigned to it by birth or authoritative command. (b) He works for the rewards which he can gain, not under compulsion or for fear of sanctions. (c) He competes freely with other individuals for these rewards. (d) He is free to make contracts with others as he wishes. (Miller, 1976:198)

The individual according to Spencer is atomistic and competitive. There are no obligations on him to the society and if any of his talents or energy is used then he has to claim the repayment which is agreed upon in advance. Fair compensation of his labour or rewarded according to his deserts. Justice as distribution according to desert (Boucher & Kelly, 1998:60) can thus be seen as a natural outcome of the type of society which Spencer advocates. However, Spencer is worried about two important factors that he feels would dent his desert based justice. Firstly, the rules that would be formed will be framed be the individuals i.e. justice will act in a relative artificial sense not in the absolute natural way. Secondly, the notion of determinism apportions the goods or benefits to an individual by way of inheritance.

18 David Miller, Social Justice, p.186 19 David Miller, Social Justice, p.200 17

Spencer has criticized both the concepts of rights and that of need. Established rights always prove to be a barrier for the kind of concept endorsed by Hume. The only rights which he has advocated are those emanating from the contract as a consequence of desert. While comparing with the concept of need, Spencer argues, it is evident that in the society where the men are independent and competitive, tied together only by the links of mutual benefit, there is no scope of need. Need of those people can only be fulfilled who are challenged by the natural disasters not by their personal incompetence.

1.3.3 Principle of Need

The third principle of justice, the need, extracts its roots form the concept of ‘right’. A person can fulfill his need only when there are some pre-established set of rules, which give him the right to ask for the satisfaction of the need. Needs are sometimes, linked directly to the social status and prestige as there are a number of items which people don’t really need (Paulhus, 1973). Nevertheless to maintain the social stature by fulfilling the needs existing within the limits goes in conformity with basic principle of justice and these kinds of need is respected by the society sincerely20. ‘Justice’ is questioned when the need is undertaken only to keep up with the reference group and sustain in the competition, they apply all the possible means, irrespective of the extent of utility, called by Miller as need for ‘superior status’ (Miller, 1976:141). ‘Need’ may only be justified when the non-fulfillment of the need invites any kind of harm or damage.

With the advancement of the societies and the transformations taking place all around the globe, needs like many other things, are never the same, they change with magnitude and form with time and space. These change with the standard of living. As Halbawch argues that when wage increases gave the workers more money than they needed to buy the basic necessities such as food, they began to purchase new types of good hitherto unavailable to them (Miller, 1976:137). However, based on the amount of good, there are two possible ways in which the matter of ‘need’ can be addressed. One is that when we have abundant resources, we can satisfy the needs of the people by ensuring just distribution and when there are not sufficient goods available then justice is ensured by proportionate distribution of the resources. In this

20 http://www.anarchy.no/kropot2.html Accessed 04. 04.2018 18

way, an equal portion of needs of the people are satisfied. But the matter is that of the surplus, i.e. the good left after the basic needs are satisfied. Either the society has to cut short the (surplus) production or to distribute it according to desert. The two outcomes, having proximity to the principle of justice and equality, are that the surplus should be distributed through the proportionate satisfaction of wants21 or by holding all goods in common to ensure the equal well-being. Hence, “the ‘needs’ conception of justice and the principle of equality stand in a peculiarly intimate relationship to one another which is still less than an identity. The intimacy consists, first, in fact that equal satisfaction of needs is the most important element in bringing about full equality; and, second, in the fact that the premise which underlines the distribution according to need also underlies equality in broader sense” (Miller, 1976:149)

The principle of need has been highly discussed by Peter Kropotkin and has promoted the concept in his writings and speeches while longing for the arrival of anarchist communism. He has been highly critical of the capitalist frame of society resting on the principles like, competition, private property, survival of the fittest, etc. He had instead introduced the anarchist communism which according to him would be resting on three principles:

(a) mutual aid (helpful activities performed by one individual for another out of an instinctive feeling of human solidarity) (b) justice (when a community recognizes that each of its members has an equal claim to recognition and respect ), and (c) self-sacrifice ( giving in excess of what is due to others without thought or hope of reciprocal gain) (Miller, 1976:218)

He believed that the hostile capitalist environment is constantly paving way for the appearance of the communism where the notion of need would be conditional to justice and the maintenance of social order.

Kropotkin had visualized “a society from which the state, law, and all coercive forms of authority had disappeared. Its basic unit was self-regulating commune, intended to be a largely self- sufficient productive unit, combining in a given territorial area both agricultural and industrial functions. It would allocate the

21 David Miller, Social Justice, p.145 19

individual to a productive task and supply him with the goods he needed”22. As far as the regulation of the work is concerned Kropotkin believed that the work is always self-directing when it is the question of socially useful work. Natural feelings of solidarity and their sublimation as principles of morality are adequate to incline people for the useful work. This develops the emotional ties and hence the sympathies for each other’s needs are generated. These concepts of solidarity and communism are central to the Kropotkin’s understanding of social justice.

Peter Kropotkin has rejected the explanation of justice in accordance to law, on account of the persistent subjugation faced by the downtrodden communities through the repressive laws for example laws for slaves. In his book The Conquest of Bread, Kropotkin has mentioned the principle of need as one of the cardinal principles of distribution in anarchist communism and has linked it with equality and justice. He says,

“there is only one way in which communism can be established equitably, only one way which satisfies our instincts of justice and is at the same time practical…..In a word, the system is this: no stint or limit to what the community possesses in abundance, but equal sharing and dividing of those commodities which are scarce or apt to run short” (Miller, 1976:237)

The equal sharing and distribution as has been understood by Kropotkin is the distribution according to need. This distribution, he believes, will incline people towards it in the communist mode of production. He says,

“All belongs to all. All things are for all men, since all men have need of them, since all men have worked in the measure of their strength to produce them”

Hence Kropotkin has highlighted his theory with the principle to each man according to his needs. The notion of justice arises when a community recognizes that each of its members has an equal claim to recognition and respect. The concept of morality has been associated with the justice since it becomes a sense of moral duty to act according to the tenets of justice. His theory rests on the golden rule of justice that

22 David Miller, Social Justice, p.237 20

treat others as you would like them to treat you under similar circumstances and on the principle of equal rights.

Kropotkin had criticized both the principles of ‘rights’ and ‘desert’ advocated by Hume and Spencer respectively. He is critical to the principle of rights emanating from the rules of property that the existing rules are the impositions of the ruling class which are individualistic in nature and no social necessities are taken care of. But as far as Spencer is concerned, Kropotkin is of the opinion that if the principle of ‘desert’ is contingent upon the natural laws then why the animals like bees, ants, etc decidedly following the sense of oneness, group work and solidarity, do not comply with the laws of nature. Here the concept of desert is clearly defeated.

1.4 Conclusion

It is evident from the preceding discussion that the formal use and application of the concept of ‘social justice’ was rooted in the socio-economic and political transformation of European society during 18th and 19th century. Secondly, the idea of social justice was embraced by liberals in order to contain growing socialist movement and protect market economy. Thirdly, the idea is conceptualized with the assumptions that society is an integrated whole characterized by cooperation of people and fairness of institutions in the distribution of rights, duties, benefits and burdens. Fourthly, state is conceived as an agency for bringing about reforms or transformation in the existing institutional structure through the process of legislation for the betterment of people. Equality, liberty and fraternity and creation of just social order conceptualized as the goals of social justice. In this way contents, forms and outcome of social justice cannot be uniform across societies. It varies from society to society depending upon:

(a) The working of the institution and their outcome and

(b) Principles of distribution of benefits and burdens among members of a society.

Amartya Sen (Sen, 2009) rightly points out that a distinction should be made between what he calls niti (procedure of justice) and naya (Sen, 2009:xv) (the outcome of that procedure). Indeed institutions differ from society to society in terms of their working and outcome and therefore he says the main concern of the justice is not to define justice in terms of fairness of institutions rather than the outcome of the

21 institution. As far as principles of social justice for the distribution of benefits and burdens are concerned, they are not everywhere the same, they are contingent upon the conception of society. David Miller explains three principles of social justice that is rights, deserts and need in relation to the notion of society.

Chapter 2

Social Justice and the Policy of Protective Discrimination in India

Chapter 2

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE POLICY OF PROTECTIVE DISCRIMINATION IN INDIA

Although the concept of social justice as it is explained in preceding chapter was originated and formalized in western society, India adopted the concept as the cardinal principle of its constitution after attaining independence from the colonial rule on 15th August, 1947. The constitutional principle of social justice has been the source of framing and implementing many policies of welfare including the policy of protective discrimination in favour of marginalized and excluded groups of Indian society. This chapter reviews literature pertaining to the meaning, scope and objectives of the concept in India. It also examines the formulation, the implementation and the consequences of various welfare policies mainly the policy of protective discrimination.

2.1 The Concept of Social Justice in India

The constitution of India is characterized by the value of ‘citizenship’, ‘equality’, ‘liberty’ and ‘justice’. However, the equality of citizens is not conceptualized in the absolute way i.e. all citizens irrespective of their socio- economic and educational status, are not treated at par with rights and opportunities. A distinction is made between ‘equals1’ and ‘unequals2’ in many articles of the constitution. Unequals are referred by terms such as, ‘Scheduled Castes’ (Article 14, & 15), ‘Scheduled Tribes’ (Article 15, 16, 19 & 46), ‘socio-economic and educationally backward classes’ (Article 15 & 340) ‘weaker sections’ (Article 46), ‘Other Backward Classes’ i.e. OBCs (Article 338) etc. This is because of the reason that if equals and unequals are treated equally, this would perpetuate and sharpen inequalities further. Treating unequals differently from equals, for various entitlements is the principle on which the concept of social justice is based in the Constitution of India (India, 2007).

1 Report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, 2010, p. 56 2 Ibid, p.56 23

The core of the Indian constitution is its Preamble which is immutable and sacrosanct ideals to the governance and policy making in the country. It states that:

“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION”(Basu, 1976)

It is this preamble from which the spirit of justice and social justice springs. However, the Constitution does not define social justice in definite terms. The definition of the concept, its scope and its objectives is left to the wisdom of legislature and judiciary. Justice V R Krishna Iyer, a former Supreme Court judge in his book entitled, “Social Justice Sunset or Dawn (Iyer, 1987)” very explicitly says that, “social justice, constitutionally accepted but left undefined is a relative concept taking in its wings the people, their traditions, and aspirations, their turmoils and torments, their backwardness, blood sweat and tears”(Iyer, 1987:50). The Supreme Court of India in its several judgments elaborated the concept, the dimensions, the scope and objectives of social justice while taking into account the prevailing socio- economic and political inequalities, the suffering of people and their aspirations for an egalitarian society and judicious social order. For example, in the case Air India

Statutory Corporation Vs. United Labour Union & Ors on 6th November 1996, the court observes that,

“The concept of "social justice" which the Constitution of India engrafted consists of diverse principles essential for the orderly growth and development of personality of every citizen. "Social justice" is thus an integral part of justice in the generic sense. Justice is the genus, of which social justice is one of its species. Social justice is a dynamic device to mitigate the sufferings of the poor, weak, Dalits, tribals and deprived sections of the society and to elevate them to the level of equality to live a life with dignity of person.” The Court further observes that “In a developing society like ours, steeped with unbridgeable and ever-widening gaps of inequality in status and of opportunity, the law is a catalyst to reach the ladder of social justice.”3

In another case, Air India Statutory Corporation v. United Labour Union, the Supreme Court observes that, “Social Justice is the comprehensive form to remove social imbalance by harmonizing the rival claims or the interests of different groups and/or sections in the social structure or individuals by means of which alone it would be possible to build up a Western State”4. [Air India Statutory Corporation v. United Labour Union, (1997) 9 SCC 37 (paras 42 and 43): AIR 1997 SC 645]

Apart from Indian Supreme Court’s observations and judgments about social justice, the concept is also defined by scholars and jurist. Most of the scholars express the opinion that social justice refers to the establishment of non-hierarchical, egalitarian and judicious social order in which individuals feel free to live a dignified life, a life with equality and liberty, on the one hand, on the other hand, it refers to the protection of marginalized and underserved individuals and groups from exploitation, handicaps, misery and squalor by providing them special rights and opportunities to make them equal to others. Some of the examples of such views are as follows.

3 AIR 1997 SC 645 AIR 1997 SC 645 4 Basu, D.D, Shorter Constitution of India, p. 3 25

According to Padma Shri5 Madhav Menon, a noted scholar of law, “social justice is the collective sense of freedom, equality and fraternity that the people believe that they enjoy in a fair measure in a just society” (Menon, 1988:11).

Whereas S. Joseph, says, that “Social Justice, in any definition, denotes an egalitarian, non-exploitative society which provides the necessary conditions and opportunities for the development of its members. The satisfaction of the basic needs of the members, therefore, forms an important element in most conceptions of social justice.”

Justice Subba Rao, the former Chief Justice of India, highlights the objective of social justice as the removal of injustice or imbalance in private and the public sphere in his definition of the concept. He says that “The expression ‘Social Justice’ has a limited as well as a wider meaning. In its limited sense, it means the rectification of injustice in the personal relations of the people. In its larger sense, it seeks to remove the imbalances in the political, economic and social life of the people. Social Justice is to be understood in the latter sense. As the three activities are interconnected, there cannot be social justice even in its limited sense, unless the society progresses in all directions. In short, social justice helps to bring about a just society” (Menon, 1988:17).

Prafulla K Mahopatra views social justice as a mechanism of undoing injustice. He says that “If Justice is giving everyone his due, then to deprive someone or some group of men of what is his or their due is a denial of justice i.e., injustice. The struggle for social justice has been to undo this wrong by compensating the victims of such denials and deprivations – the Blacks in America, the Jews in Germany and the so-called lower castes in India, for example.

The above-mentioned judgments of the Supreme Court of India and definitions of jurist and scholars explicitly show that social justice

(a) is a form of justice. (b) is the spirit and the core principle of the Indian constitution. (c) has the limitless scope of creating a just social order and preventing all forms of inequalities and exploitations.

5 Fourth highest civilian honour in India, awarded to those persons who have notable contribution in arts, education, science, sports, public affairs, medicine, literature and industry. 26

(d) is a mechanism through which special rights and opportunities are provided to deprived and excluded individuals and groups of individuals. (e) is both prescriptive and proscriptive principle of justice while it prescribes all things necessary for the creation of egalitarian and just social order, it proscribes everything which threatens human dignity, liberty, equality and democracy.

In a nutshell, social justice aims at establishing a social order free from all forms of injustice, inequalities, exploitations, handicaps and so on.

The above mentioned aims and objectives of social justice can be seen in various articles of Indian constitution. Some of the major articles concerned with achieving social justice or equality or protecting welfare sections from exploitation are as follows:

The constitution unequivocally accorded the status of ‘citizen’ (Article 5) to every individual born in the country. And every citizen is equal before law (Article 14) and endowed with rights of liberty (Article 21), freedom of expression (Article 19), freedom to profess and propagate the religion of his choice (Article 25), conserve his script and culture (Article 29) etc. The constitution also forbids discrimination for opportunities on the basis of race or social affiliation (Article 15). However, the constitution guarantees protective discrimination in favour of weak and vulnerable. In this respect, under Article 15(4), the constitution decrees the state to instill some distinct provisions for their progressive development. It states that, “nothing in this article or in clause (2) of article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes”. In clause 5 of the same article, these reservations have been extended to the educational institutions to these deprived sections of the society, assuring them the elimination of the disproportions in the educational sector. Article 46 constitutes the heart and soul of social justice. It provides that “the state shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the society, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation” (Ahmad, Ali, & Ashrafali, 2006: 767). In addition to this, there is no scope left for the discrimination in terms of gender and age as the constitution ensures the protection of women and children in few of its

provisions as in Article 15(3) which states that, ‘nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children’.

The constitution prohibited all forms of exploitation like forced labour, human trafficking , and begging (article 23). No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment (article 24). Instead, it safeguards their childhood by providing ‘free and compulsory education’ (article 21-A) to the children of the age of six to fourteen years and directs the state to that the children are provided with proper healthcare facilities to ensure their development in a ‘healthy manner’ (article 39-F).

2.2 Inequalities of Indian Society

The importance of social justice cannot be understood without knowing socially and historically inherited, deeply embedded and widely prevalent ideologies and practices of inequalities, exclusions and exploitations. It is a well-known fact that has been deeply a hierarchical society. Hierarchy of role institutionalization i.e. caste system, a unique characteristic of Indian society, has been the source of many burdens and handicaps to unequals in India. The origin of the caste system is vague and therefore it is differently explained by scholars. One of the explanations is that it originated from varna system, according to which, the Indian society from the time of Rig Veda to present day was broadly divided into four major varnas i.e. Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. In fact scholars do not have uniform opinion about the origin of the caste but most of them have unanimous opinion about its characteristics and consequences. G.S Ghurye (Ghurye, 1932:2-22) has mentioned the six characteristics features of the caste system i.e.

(a) Segmental division of society (b) Hierarchy (c) Restrictions on feeding and social intercourse (d) Civil and religious disabilities and privileges of the different sections (e) Lack of unrestricted choice of occupation (f) Restrictions on marriage.

Louis Dumont (Dumont, 1988), in his magnum opus, Homo Hierarchicus, illustrated impact of caste system on Indian society. He thinks that caste system makes India a homo ‘hierarchicus’ as opposed to ‘homo equals’. He further thinks

28 that caste system divides not only people but many other things including occupations into two broad categories i.e. category of pure and impure. Likewise, Marc Galanter, who is known for his extensive work on the policy of affirmative action in India, consolidated the consequences of the caste system in form of confinements and restrictions faced by these subordinate social sections of the society, recorded below.

• “Denial or restriction of access to public facilities, such as wells, schools, roads, post offices and courts.

• Denial or restriction of access to temples where their presence might pollute the deity as well as the higher caste worshippers.

• Exclusion from any honourable, and most profitable, employment and relegation to dirty and menial occupations.

• Residential segregation, typically in a more extreme form, than the segregation of other groups, by requiring them to remain outside the village.

• Denial of access to services such as those provided by barbers, laundrymen, restaurants, shops and theaters.

• Restrictions on the style of life, especially in the use of goods indicating comfort or luxury. Riding on horseback, use of bicycles, umbrellas, footwear, the wearing of gold and silver ornaments, the use of palanquins to carry bridegrooms-all of these were forbidden in many areas.

• Requirements of deference in from of address, language, sitting and standing in the presence of higher castes.

• Restrictions of movement. Untouchable might not be allowed on roads and streets within a prescribed distance of the houses or the persons of higher castes.

• Liability to unremunerated labour for the higher castes and to the performance of the menial services to them” (Galanter, 1984:15)

In a nutshell, the caste system has been the source of social (status), economic (wealth) and political (power) inequalities in India. This was the traditional order of Indian society which still pervades in every sphere of life even after many change and development. Thus apart from traditional values and institutions which legitimize the perpetuation of inequalities, there are many other modern sources of inequalities,

29 miseries and squalor. The country has toughest challenges to face that accrue by virtue of poverty, unemployment, unequal development of people and regions etc. The unemployment rate in recorded in January, 2017 was 5.97%6 which is too bigger to ignore. According to the Human Development Report for 2016 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India ranks 1317on Human Development Index which is calculated on life expectancy, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling and gross national income per capita.

Most of the people who are highly deprived on human development indictors are generally those who occupied lowest positions in Hindu social order (i.e. scheduled castes), traditionally lived for centuries in remote areas (i.e. scheduled tribes), minorities, women and so on.

2.3 Policy of Protective Discrimination

The policy of protective discrimination is conceived for eradicating or combating socio-economic inequalities and for the welfare and empowerment of those who have traditionally been excluded and marginalized. This reservation policy, is referred by different names such as, ‘compensatory policy of discrimination’ (Marc Galanter) (Galanter, 2002), ‘reverse discrimination’ (Permamand Singh) (Singh, 1982), ‘affirmative action’ (Andre Beteille) (Beteille, 2014) and ‘preferential treatment’ (Deepak Nayyar) (Nayyar, 2011), etc. Since we have used the word ‘protective discrimination’ in this study, it seems appropriate here to define the meaning of the word. While the word ‘discriminate’, appeared in seventeenth century in English Language, has negative connotation or unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex’8 (“Oxford Dictionary,” n.d.), it assumes positive connotation when prefixed with the word ‘protective’. Therefore, Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology defines protective discrimination as ‘provisions of various types of advantages to members of groups who have been systematically oppressed for their membership in that group” (Turner, 2006, p. 9). Similarly, Marc Galanter (Galanter, n.d., 42) used the word to describe protective discrimination as India’s policy for ‘compensatory discrimination’ which according to him is “envisaged as an exceptional and temporary measure to be used

6https://unemploymentinindia.cmie.com/ accessed on 20th March, 2017 7http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2016_human_development_report.pdf Country-wise Human Development Ranking list by UNDP, accessed on 27th May, 2017 8 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/discrimination 30

only for the purpose of mitigating the inequalities between communities and is designed to disappear with these inequalities” (Galanter, 1962:45). Although the Indian Constitution treats every citizen equally and forbids any kind of discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race, religion and caste, etc, it contains many provisions for the protection and advancement of weaker sections by giving them various special opportunities as explained above. These special provisions are of various types and for various individuals and groups of people, for example, protection of women and children, prevention of immoral trafficking, old age, etc. Therefore, the policy of protective discrimination is very comprehensive and aims at removing inequalities, exploitation, discrimination and the establishment of judicious, non-hierarchical egalitarian society.

However, the focus of the policy has been on Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, the three administrative categories consisting of various castes/communities of varying socio-economic status that have traditionally been deprived or excluded. Although policy for the protection and promotion of these excluded castes/communities originated in the late nineteenth and twentieth century, it is formalized with the implementation of Indian Constitution on 26th January 1950. The makers of Indian constitution “made special provisions under article 15(4), 16(4) and 46 etc. to protect the interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and socially and educationally backward classes and weaker sections” (National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities Report, 2007:56). This is quite comprehensive policy having far-reaching social, economic and political consequences. It is debated and discussed at length. Identification of castes/communities, benefits of the policy to them, implementation of various schemes under the policy has some of the major issues of debate and discussion. In following paragraphs, we will first explain the composition of these three categories and various special provisions for them as well as the issues of debate and discussion.

2.3.1 Scheduled Castes

The constitution of India uses the word ‘Scheduled Caste’ in Article 15, 16, 46, 164, 243, 330, 332, 334, 335, 338 and 341, but doesn’t define it anywhere. However, Article 366 (24) has mentioned the term while referring to Article 341 as,

“Scheduled Castes” means such castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within such castes, races or tribes as are deemed under article 341 to be Scheduled Castes for the purposes of this Constitution”

The definition of Scheduled caste is left to the jurisdiction of the state. Sociologically, the word is used for those castes which have lowest social status in caste hierarchy, associated with low status or menial occupations and subjected to the practice of untouchability or social exclusion. Beteille has attempted to define caste “as a small and named group of persons characterized by endogamy, hereditary membership, and a specific style of life which sometimes includes the pursuit by tradition of a particular occupation and is usually associated with more or less distinct ritual status in a hierarchical system” (Beteille, 1996:46). The term Scheduled Caste is an administrative coinage for those placed at the bottommost of this hierarchy. Marc Galanter says, “the Scheduled Caste category is intended to comprise those groups isolated and disadvantaged by their ‘untouchability’- i.e. their low status in the traditional Hindu Caste hierarchy which exposed them to invidious treatment, severe disabilities, and deprivation of economic, social, cultural and political opportunities” (Galanter, 1984:122).

They have been enumerated as ‘depressed classed’ in 1931 census and as “Scheduled castes” in Government of India Act 1935, when it was first coined by Simon Commission (Ghurye, 1932:306). Mahatma Gandhi called them as ‘Harijans9’ whereas B. R Ambedkar called them as ‘depressed classed’. But today they are referred as ‘Dalit’ (downtrodden) in everyday socio-political and legal languages when the usages of words like ‘Harijan’ has been banned by the government.

In order to identify castes under the category of scheduled castes, the constitution of India under Article 341(1) empowers the President of the country to ‘specify the castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Castes in relation to that State or Union territory, as the case may be’, whereas the Parliament is empowered to amend the list via clause 2 of the same article. However, the Report of the Advisory Committee on the revision of the lists of Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes, popularly known as Lokur Committee adopted the test of “extreme

9 The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has banned using the term ‘harijan’ anymore in respect of Scheduled Castes vide notification no: 17020/64/2010-SCD on 22.11.2012 32

social, educational and economic backwardness of castes, arising out of the traditional custom of untouchability” to identify the Scheduled Castes (Lokur, 1965:6). Prior to 1950, some castes/communities of the lowest social status of all religions were included under the category of Scheduled Castes, but, by a Constitutional amendment popularly called as Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order,1950. Scheduled Caste was made a religious specific category only castes of Hindus were included in that category. But According to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Act, 1990 Sikhs and Buddhists were also brought under the category of Scheduled Castes whereas the castes of Muslims and Christians are excluded from this category. Hence, Scheduled Castes is a religion specific category. The distribution of Scheduled Castes population by castes is shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Distribution of SCs population by religion

Scheduled Castes Religion/Caste (SCs) Hindu 22.2 Muslim 00.8 Christians 9.0 Sikhs 30.7 Jains 0.0 Buddhists 89.5 Zoroastrians 0.0 Others 2.6 Source: Sachar Committee Report, p.7

Scheduled Caste is not a homogeneous category. It is heterogeneous consisting of various caste/communities of different socio-economic status. The government of India listed 1241 castes under the categories of Scheduled Castes. They are not uniformly distributed across the country. According to Census 2011, the total population of the Scheduled Caste is 20137837210 constituting 16.2 percent of the total population of the country. Punjab (31.9%) and Himachal Pradesh (25.2%) lead the SC population in states by proportion whereas Mizoram and Meghalaya have only 0.1% and 0.6% SC population by proportion respectively.

10 http://censusindia.gov.in accessed on 15.01.2015 33

There are many provisions in the Constitution for their protection and welfare of SCs. Caste based discrimination is prohibited in article 15 whereas Article 17 of the Constitution not only abolishes the practice of untouchability but has declared it a punishable offence.

In order to make them politically empowered seats are being reserved for them with respect to the ratio of their population in House of People (Lok Sabha), State Legislative Assemblies, Panchayats and Municipalities in Article 330, 332, 243D and 343T respectively. Hence, in the House of people, the Scheduled Castes are entitled to 15% reservation i.e. 84 out of 543 seats are reserved for them.

For their educational advancement, under article 16 (5) of the constitution of India (CoI), the state is obliged to make special provisions related to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State. Furthermore, article 46 of the constitution also directs the state to promote their economic and educational interests with special care and to protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. Hence, the Scheduled Castes at present enjoy 15%11 reservation of seats in the central government jobs and the government or its aided educational institutions across the country.

In addition to the reservation of seats in decision-making bodies, employment and educational institutions, Government of India formulated many schemes for their welfare. Some of the schemes are listed below.

(i) Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship (ii) Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes (iii) Scheme of Post Matric Scholarship (iv) Pre-Matric Scholarships for the Children of those Engaged in ‘Unclean’ Occupations (v) Central Sector Scholarship of Top Class Education for SC Students (vi) Central Sector Scheme of National Overseas Scholarship for SC

The schemes provide them with many facilities while studying like free uniforms, books, hostel facilities, besides being provided with the scholarships to

11 http://www.loksabha.nic.in/Members/QResult16.aspx?qref=9163 accessed on 20.01.2016 34 study right from class I. Even there are opportunities for the meritorious students amongst them to study at top ranked institutes outside the country.

In order to ensure that the safeguards are properly implemented the Constitution on its inception, provided for appointment of a special office under Article 338 of the Constitution to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes and report to the President about the working of these safeguards. The commission was set up in this regard called as National Commission for SCs and STs which bifurcated in two separate commissions on 1.12.2004 and the commission for the SCs is now called as National Commission for Scheduled Castes with Dr. D. L. Punia as its acting Chairperson. The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is the nodal Ministry to oversee the interests of the Scheduled Castes and monitor the effective implementation of the different schemes.

2.3.2 Scheduled Tribes

In India, there are many communities that have been living in remote or isolated areas, having their distinct social organization, rights, and rituals, language and culture for time immemorial. Many scholars called them indigenous people of the country.

These isolated communities were referred by different names such as ‘Adivasis’ (the indigenous population), ‘Girijan’ (living in the hills), ‘Vanyajati’ (forest dwellers), ‘Adimjati’(primitive classes), and ‘Janjati’(folk communities) (Chatterjee, 2012:152). These communities were listed as “Primitive Tribes” in Census 1931 and were categorized as “backward tribes” under the Government of India Act, 1935. But the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950 referred them as ‘Scheduled Tribes’ for the first time.

Like the term ‘Scheduled Caste’, ‘Scheduled Tribe’ has also not been defined by the anywhere in the constitution book even after it has been included in the articles like 15, 16, 19, 46, 243, 244, 275, 330, 332, 334, 335, 338, 339 and 342. However, in the light of Article 342, the term ‘Scheduled Tribe’ has been mentioned in Article 366 (25) as,

“Scheduled Tribes” means such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are

deemed under article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this Constitution

The definition and the identification of a tribe or tribes is left to the jurisdiction of state and judiciary. In Sociology, the term is used for those groups/ communities characterized by their spatial isolation and their distinctiveness in social, religious, linguistic and cultural characteristics. According to George Peter Murdock, “tribe is a social group in which there are many clans, nomadic bands, villages or other sub-groups which usually have a definite geographical area, a separate language, a singular and distinct culture and either a common political organization or, at least, a feeling of common determination against the strangers”12. Although many scholars have attempted to define the term but the most acceptable definition in the Indian context has been put forth by D. N Majumdar, wherein he says,

“A tribe is a social group with territorial affiliation, endogamous with no specialization of functions, ruled by tribal officers, hereditary or otherwise, united in language or dialect, recognizing social distance from tribes or castes, without any social obloquy stigma attached to them, as it does in the caste structure, following tribal traditions, beliefs, and customs, illiberal of naturalization of ideas from alien sources, above all, conscious of a homogeneity of ethnic and territorial integration”(Majumdar & Madan, 1986:241)

The Constitution of India under Article 342(1) empowers the President of the country to ‘specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State or Union territory, as the case may be’ from which the parliament may by law include or exclude from the list of Scheduled Tribes13. However, the Report of the Advisory Committee on the revision of the lists of Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes, 1965, popularly known as Lokur Committee has laid down the following essential characteristics for a community to be identified as Scheduled Tribes:

• Indications of primitive traits,

12http://www.sociologydiscussion.com/society/types-of-society-tribal-agrarian-and-industrial- society/2190 accessed on 21.01.2016 13 Article 342(2) 36

• Distinctive culture, • Shyness of contact with the community at large, • Geographical isolation, and • Backwardness14.(Kulkarni, 1994:3074)

However, unlike Scheduled Castes Schedules Tribes is religion neutral category i.e. communities of all religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, etc have their place in the category of Scheduled Tribes.

Scheduled Tribe, like Scheduled Caste, is a heterogeneous category consisting of 705 tribal communities. They don’t possess a regular distribution pattern and have mostly occupied the terrains of Central and the North-eastern areas of the country. The population of Scheduled Tribes according to 2011 census is 10428103415 which account 8.6% of the country’s total population. They occupy 15%16 of the country’s total land area. In the eastern states like Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, they are found in condensed state. However, they are considerably distributed in the south-west regions of the country like Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. Mizoram (94.43%) has the highest whereas Uttar Pradesh (0.57%) has the lowest ST population by proportion in the country17.

The Constitution of India has laid down many provisions for their advancement and welfare. Article 15 prohibits the discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. To preserve their distinctiveness, article 19(1), allowed them the freedom to roam, reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.

For the political empowerment of the Scheduled Tribes, the constitution has reserved seats for them in House of People (Lok Sabha), State Legislative Assemblies, Panchayats and Municipalities in Article 330, 332, 243D and 343T respectively. In Lok Sabha, they are entitled to 7.5% reservation i.e. 4718 seats from 543 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Their isolation has bereft them from the modern means of education and its various entitlements. For their educational

14 Report of the Lokur Committee, op.cit., p.7, para 12. 15 http://censusindia.gov.in accessed on 15.01.2015 16 http://tribesindia.com retrieved on 05-10-2015 17 Statistical Profile of Scheduled Tribes in India 2013, Ministry of Tribal Affairs Statistics Division, p.30 18 http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/seats_of_loksabha.aspx accessed on 15.01.2016 37 advancement, these tribals are also entitled to benefit from the special provisions under Article 16 (5) which eases their way to seek admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State. Furthermore, article 46 of the constitution, as in the case of Scheduled Castes, directs the state to promote their educational interests with special care and to protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. In proportion to their population, they have been reserved with 7.5%19 seats in the central government jobs and the government aided institutions across the country.

These tribal communities usually occupy the inaccessible and the far-flung areas of the country. Hence, the aloofness has made them miss the boat of development more badly than the Scheduled Castes. However, the government has come up with some specific welfare schemes and programmes in order to mitigate the gaps created in the course of development as,

(i) Scheme of Development of Primitive Tribal Groups (PGTs) (ii) Scheme of Market Development of Tribal Products/ Produce (iii) Vocational Training Centers in Tribal Areas (iv) Scheme of Coaching for Scheduled Tribes (v) National Oversees Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe Students (vi) Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for ST students (vii) Top Class Education for ST students (viii) Establishment of Ashram Schools in Tribal Sub-Plans (ix) Post Matric Scholarship for ST students (x) Pre Matric Scholarship

However, there is a separate Union Ministry called as the Ministry of Tribal Affairs under the Government of India which was constituted in October 1999 carved out from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It looks for overall policy, planning and coordination of programmes and schemes for the development of Scheduled Tribes.”20

19 http://www.loksabha.nic.in/Members/QResult16.aspx?qref=9163 accessed on 20.01.2016 20 http://tribal.nic.in/Content/IntroductionScheduledTribes.aspx accessed on 15.01.2016 38

2.3.3 Other Backward Classes (OBCs)

Besides Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Constitution of India provides special opportunities to ‘socially and educationally backward classes’ (Article 15) which are called Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Like the term Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Constitution of India does not define the term ‘backward classes’. The meaning and the identification of backward classes is left to the jurisdiction of state and judiciary. Prior to independence the term ‘backward classes’, was used differently in different contexts. Sometimes it was used to include all castes, tribes and communities deserve for special treatment while in other contexts it was used for a “stratum higher than the untouchables but nonetheless depressed”. In fact, the term did not have any specific meaning nor was there any organization representing backward class before independence. The category of OBC “is a product of post independent India”.

Article 340 (1) if the Constitution empowers the president of the country to appoint a commission “consisting of such persons as he thinks, fit to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India and the difficulties under which thev labour and to make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by the union or any state to remove such difficulties and as to improve their condition and as to the grants that should be made, and the order appointing such commission shall define the procedure to be followed by the commission” (Basu, 2009). While clause 2 of the article states that “commission so appointed shall investigate the matters referred to them and present to the president a report setting out the facts as found by them and making such recommendations as they think proper.”

Adhering to this article of the constitution, GOI appointed first Backward Class Commission under the chairmanship of Kaka Kalelker by a Presidential Order on January 29 1953. The terms of reference for the commission were to determine the criteria to be espoused for identifying any sections of people in the territory of India other than SCs and STs as socially and educationally backward and to prepare their list in order to improve their socio-economic conditions. After two years, on March 30, 1955, the Commission submitted its report, and put forth the following criteria for the castes or communities to be classified as backward.

(i) Low social position in the traditional caste hierarchy of Hindu society.

(ii) Lack of general educational advancement among the major section of a caste or community.

(iii) Inadequate or no representation in government services.

(iv) Inadequate representation in the field of trade, commerce and industry. (Ramaiah, 1992: 1203) (National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities Report, 2007:58)

The standards laid down by the commission put-forth ‘caste’ as a chief criterion to determine backwardness. As many as 2399 castes or communities were identified as backward from which 837 had been categorized as most backward. The notable recommendations of the commission were:

• Undertaking caste-wise enumeration of population in the upcoming census of 1961, since the latest caste wise census was undertaken in 1931.

• Relating social backwardness of a caste to its low position in the traditional caste hierarchy of Hindu society;

• Treating all women as a class as ‘backward’;

• Reservation of 70% seats in all technical and professional institutions for qualified students of backward classes;

• Minimum reservation of vacancies in all Governmental services and local bodies for other Backward Classes on the following scale:- Class I ------25% 1 % Class II ------333

Class III & IV --- 40%

The government considered the report as indistinguishable as it had not applied the objective tests for identifying backward classes and was hence rejected by both Houses of Parliament on 1956. With the result no central list was drawn at that time and the Union government empowered the states to identify the criteria as may be specific for their respective contexts. Hence, several state governments appointed their respective commissions in this regard for example, Gajendragadkar Commission of Jammu & Kashmir, Bakshi Commission in Gujarat, and Havanur Commission in

Karnataka. These commissions applied varied mechanisms of identification and the numerous litigations in the meantime were filed against it, forcing the Central government to appoint another backward class commission in this regard. On January 1, 1979, the second backward class commission was set up under the Chairmanship of B.P. Mandal, with almost same terms of reference. Popularly known as Mandal Commission, it submitted its report on 30th December, 1980 giving a detailed account for the identification of the backward classes based on the social, economic and the educational criteria classified below:

1. Social

(i) Castes/classes considered as socially backward by others.

(ii) Castes/classes which mainly depend on manual labour for their livelihood.

(iii) Castes/classes where at least 25 per cent females and 10 per cent males above the state average get married at an age below 17 years in rural areas and at least 10 per cent females and 5 per cent males do so in urban areas.

(iv) Castes/classes where participation of females in work is at least 25 per cent above the state average.

2. Educational

(i) Castes/classes where the number of children in the age group of 5–15 years who never attended school is at least 25 per cent above the state average.

(ii) Castes/Classes where the rate of student drop-out in the age group of 5– 15 years is at least 25 percent above the state average.

(iii) Castes/classes amongst whom the proportion of matriculates is at least 25 per cent below the state average.

3. Economic

(i) Castes/Classes where the average value of family assets is at least 25 per cent below the state average. (ii) Castes/Classes where the number of families living in kuccha houses is at least 25 per cent above the state average.

(iii) Castes/Classes where the source of drinking water is beyond half a kilometer for more than 50 percent of the households. (iv) Castes/Classes where the number of households having taken consumption loans is at least 25 percent above the state average.

All the three respective categories were assigned 3, 2 and 1 points respectively from which a class has to secure atleast 11 out of 22 to be listed as ‘backward’. Bases on this criteria the commission added up the added up the communities to 3743. Applying the same pro-rata reservation as in the case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the commission reserved 52% seats for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in education and public sector employment. Given the legal constraint that the quantum of reservation must not exceed 50%, by the Supreme Court in M R Balaji v Mysore case (AIR1963 SC 649), the reservation for OBCs was fixed at 27%. Almost after 10 years, i.e. on 7th August, 1990 the recommendations were accepted with minor changes by the V. P. Singh Government, 10 years after the commission has submitted its report (V. Kumar, 2008:76). The National Commission of Backward Classes in the annual report of 2014-2015 has listed 2418 entries in the central list of OBCs as on 31st March 2015, where in Maharashtra has the highest i.e. 261 castes as OBCs in the list. (Annual Report of National Commission for Backward Classes, Government of India, 2014-15:29)

The OBCs only enjoy the reservation in the educational institutes and the reservation in jobs like SCs and STs, however, there is no reservation for them in the decision-making bodies like Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, Municipalities or Panchayats. However, the government has designed many welfare schemes ‘for creating a suitable environment for purposeful studies and development of different crafts and skills to make them economically independent. Some of the schemes are:

(i) Scheme of Pre-Matric Scholarship for OBC students for studying in India (ii) Post- Matric Scholarship for OBC Students (iii) Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Construction of Hostels for OBC Boys and Girls (iv) Dr. Ambedkar Central Sector Scheme of Interest Subsidy on Educational Loan for Overseas Studies for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) (v) Central Sector Scheme of National Fellowship for OBC Students

(vi) Central Sector Scheme of Assistance to Voluntary Organizations working for welfare of OBCs

Adhering to Article 338 (10) of the constitution, directing the state to setup an agency for monitoring the safeguards of OBCs, Backward Class cell was set up under the Ministry of Home Affairs to look after the Backward Classes prior to 1985 after which Ministry of Welfare was engaged with the job. However, the Ministry was renamed on 25th May, 1998 as Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The Backward Class Division in the Ministry oversees the policy planning, implementation of programmes and the economic empowerment of OBCs. The Ministry also looks after two separate institutions namely, the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) and the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), in addition to its primary functions. NBCFDC is associated with the economic upliftment, developmental activities and to support the poorer sections among the OBCs for skill development and self employment where as the NCBC is a permanent body constituted for “entertaining, examining and recommending upon requests for inclusion and complaints of over- inclusion and under-inclusion in the list of OBCs”21 as has been directed by the Supreme Court of the country (AIR 1993 SC 477, n.d.).

Hence, the government, both at the federal and at the provincial levels of the country, is committed to implement the diverse measures for the welfare of these disadvantaged groups. In addition to it, there are many more policies designed by the states which are specific regarding the uniqueness of its topography and composition. Considering these remarkable programs of welfare, it would be equally interesting to figure out its impact.

2.4 Impact of Protective Discrimination Policy

The policy of protective discrimination has radically transformed socio- economic and educational condition of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) who have been denied civic amenities and political power and subjected to many forms of atrocities and disabilities in traditional Indian society. The policy of protective discrimination, indeed, has been a significant instrument for their empowerment in post-independent India. However, all sections of

21 http://www.ncbc.nic.in/User_Panel/UserView.aspx?TypeID=1025 accessed on 2.01.2016 43 these categories have not been empowered equally or benefitted uniformly despite many limitations in the flow of the policy to all sections of these categories, it is well documented by scholars, social activists, and journalists that the policy has brought these sections into the national mainstreams. Its impacts are multiple and cascading. These impacts can be seen in the fields of education, employment, representation in decision-making bodies, in business, commerce, industry and so on.

In the educational sector, the policy of protective discrimination has been pivotal for their educational advancement. There are many indicators that substantiate the fact, for example the increase in the decadal literacy rate. Table 2.2 shows, the comparative increase in the successive census data of SCs, STs with that of the general population. In 1961, the literacy rate for SCs and STs was 10.27% and 8.53% whereas it improved to 66.07% and 58.6% respectively, in the 2011 census.

Table 2.2 A Decadal comparative of increase in the Literacy rates of SCs and STs and General Population (in %) Census years gap General SCs STs Population 1981-1991 8.64 16.03 13.25 1991-2001 12.63 17.28 17.5 2001-2011 8.15 11.38 11.86 Source: Calculated from the data Source provided by the Statistical Profile of Scheduled Tribes in India 2013 handbook, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GOI

The 2014-2015 annual report of the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), Government of India (GoI) states that, “at the national level, the enrollment share of SC children (20.24%) is more than their share in the population (16.60%) as per census 2011 and an increasing trend can be seen over the years. The enrollment share of ST children (10.85%) at national level is more than their share in the population (8.60%) as per census 2011 and an increasing trend can be seen over the years” (MHRD, GoI, 2014-15 Annual report, p.182). The droupot rates are also declining with the increase in gross enrolment ratio (GER). The trend has been carried to the higher education, where the enrolment of SCs and STs in particular has significantly increse especially in the ongoing deacde. All India 2011- 12 survey report(Table 2.3) on higher education, conducted under Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), Government of India (GoI) revealed that the

percentage enrolment ratio of the categories like SCs and STs was 12.4% and 4.1 % which has increased to 17.1 and 11.3% respectively in 2013-2014 report(Table 2.4).

Table 2.3 Category wise percentage enrolment in higher education (2011-2012)

Enrolment Category Male Female Total Scheduled Castes 12.45 12.51 12.47 Scheduled Tribes 4.21 4.12 4.17 Other Backward Classes 31.04 31.42 31.65 Source: All India survey on Higher Education, MHRD, GoI

Table 2.3 Category wise percentage enrolment in higher education (2013-14)

Enrolment Category Male Female Total Scheduled Castes 17.7 16.4 17.1 Scheduled Tribes 12.5 10.2 11.3 All categories 23.9 22.0 23.0 Source: www.indiastat.com22

Likewise, in public employment these backward sections of the sciety have been availing the benefits the pro-rata reservations. for the SCs and STs have ended their hardships of life by improving their economic conditions. In almost all service groups, all the three groups have a fairer representation by virtue of the reservation as Subodh Verma has mentioned in the article “SC/STs fail to break caste ceiling”, (Economic Times, Sep 6, 2012). However, As per information from various Ministries/ Departments, the representation of SCs, STs and OBCs in various posts and services of the Central Government as on 1.1.2011 is shown in Table 2.5.

22 http://www.indiastat.com/table/education/6370/enrolmentofscheduledcastescscheduledtribeststudents inhighereducationclassesabovexii19862015/366816/945886/data.aspx Accessed 6th May, 2014 45

Table 2.4 Representation of SCs and STs in the different service groups

Groups Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes Other Backward Classes Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Group A 8922 11.5 3732 4.8 5357 6.9

Group B 28403 14.9 11357 6.0 13897 7.3

Group C 370557 16.4 174562 7.7 346433 15.3

Group D 110515 23.0 32791 6.8 81468 17.0

Source: http://www.staffnews.in23

The share of SCs, STs and OBCs in the government jobs has improved quite significantly. Whereas the OBCs are very behind in availing the benefits, their seats have been lying vacant due to the non-availability of the OBC candidates for the jobs. A detailed percentile representation as presented by the statistical division of India, in all the central government ministries/departments of all these groups is shown in Table 2.6.

Table 2.5 Representation of SCs, STs and OBCs in Central Departments of India

Department/Group-wise Representation of Scheduled Caste (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Others Backward Classes (OBCs) Percentage at Position in Central Government Ministry/Department in India (As on 01.01.2011) Ministry Group A Group B Group C Group D Department SC ST OBC SC ST OBC SC ST OBC SC ST OBC Agriculture and 15.7 5.2 4.8 12.7 4.1 5.5 19.8 5.8 6.5 34.8 9.5 8.4 Cooperation Agricultural 6.7 0 0 20 13.3 13.3 0 0 50 50 0 0 Research and Education Animal 8.8 1.5 9.4 15.5 3.1 12.3 21.1 4.5 15.4 27.3 4.3 12.7 Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Atomic Energy 4.9 0.8 4.1 18.6 5.7 12 20.6 11 19.1 42.8 6.1 25.1 Biotechnology 3.1 4.7 0 13.4 6 7.5 27.8 12.5 8.3 100 0 0 Chemicals and 18.5 0 0 16.7 1.7 3.3 20 0 4 28.9 8.9 6.7 Petrochemicals Civil Aviation 9.3 4.4 5.4 12 4.1 4.7 20.1 5.4 10.3 42.5 5 5 Coal 10 6.7 0 11.5 2.1 2.1 27.2 3.7 6.2 32.5 1.2 1.2 Commerce 9.7 3 1.5 10.9 5.4 4.6 8.5 6.4 5.6 38.46 13.1 7.6 Consumer Affairs 16.3 5.6 6.3 17.4 3.6 9.4 20.9 5.6 7.4 33.3 10.2 10.8 Corporate Affairs 12.6 6.7 9.1 12.2 4.5 3.3 16 4.8 8.2 27.6 7.3 4.1

23 http://www.staffnews.in/2012/12/obcs-in-government-jobs-in-comparison.html accessed on 23.02.2016

Culture 9.5 4.8 0 14.1 5.2 2.9 21 5.5 6.4 34.9 5.4 6.1 Defence 13.8 4.8 6.2 15.7 4.9 4.9 15.4 5.2 14.8 27.4 7 21.1 Defence 18.8 7.2 11.5 17.3 6.5 7.5 23.2 7.1 12.4 34.7 3.5 7 Production Development of 12.9 9.7 0 15.8 7.9 2.6 0 14.3 28.6 63.6 0 18.2 North Eastern Region Disinvestment 11.8 5.9 0 25 6.3 12.5 42.9 0 14.3 33.3 0 22.2 Earth Sciences 9.1 3.4 5.7 10.7 3.6 5.4 38 5.6 9.9 0 0 0 Economic Affairs 10.2 1.4 6.1 12.5 5.6 3 30 3.2 5.7 43.5 8.7 13 Environment and 10.2 5.8 8.5 14.2 5.4 4.4 21.1 6.6 7 21.9 6.3 4.7 Forests Expenditure 16.9 8.2 4.6 14.7 3.6 1.2 20.7 5.9 8.5 35.4 5.3 6.1 External Affairs 15.1 6.5 7.1 14.7 6 6.5 31.1 3.4 10.7 0 0 0 Fertilizers 5.4 2.7 5.4 14.1 6.1 7.1 23.4 2.1 14.9 32 3.8 9.4 Food and Public 11.1 4.6 1.9 13.9 3.9 5.4 20.4 5.6 9.8 36.8 6 12.9 Distribution Food Processing 13.3 6.7 3.3 18.4 7.9 2.6 9.1 0 18.2 44.4 0 0 Industries Health and 7.7 2.4 5.9 14.3 5.8 14.3 20.5 7 10.2 45.9 6.8 7.7 Family Welfare Heavy Industries 18.4 5.3 5.3 15.6 2.6 0 15 2.5 0 50 4.3 0 Home Affairs 14.5 7.7 10.2 12.5 5.5 9.5 16.1 9.3 19.5 28.1 10.5 17.6 Housing and 15.2 4.1 6.5 20.2 5.2 2.3 14.6 7 20 31.6 12.8 6 Urban Poverty Alleviation Human Resources 16.9 7 2.3 15.9 5 5 19.3 3.8 11.4 35.5 8.2 6.3 Development Industrial Policy 13.6 7.6 11.8 14.2 4.6 6.4 20 8.2 15.4 41.2 8 8.4 and Promotion Information and 13.5 6.3 3.6 13.4 6.5 3.7 15.2 7.7 6.9 19.4 8.4 7.8 Broadcasting Information 6.6 3.2 8.5 14.5 5.7 16.8 24.8 5.4 11.6 50.9 7.1 8.2 Technology Labour and 17.3 7 4.9 16.6 8 7.8 18.9 6.7 16.3 34.4 9 18 Employment Legal Affairs 13.5 7.3 9.4 15.1 2.4 2.4 16.8 3.4 5 32.8 8.4 10.9 Legislative 18.6 5.1 11.9 19.4 4.7 3.9 18.1 6 4.8 43.6 11.3 1.4 Department Micro, Small and 17.1 5.6 12.5 17.7 1.8 5.3 21.3 5.7 17.5 38.6 7.3 5.7 Medium Enterprises Mines 15.3 5.3 11.9 16.2 8.5 3.9 20.6 10 4.4 23.1 10.5 8.6 Minority Affairs 12 12 0 22.6 3.2 6.5 18.8 6.3 31.3 0 0 0 New and 12.1 3.4 0.9 10.7 1.7 0 27.2 5.6 4.4 0 0 0 Renewable Energy Overseas Indian 4.5 9.1 4.5 14.3 2.4 2.4 11.8 5.9 41.2 25.8 9.7 19.3 Affairs Panchayti Raj 20 5 0 25.9 3.7 18.5 28.6 0 42.9 0 0 0 Parliamentary 0 16. 0 21.1 13.2 5.3 29.4 14.7 17.6 27.3 13.6 13.6 Affairs 7 Personnel and 0 0 0 12.4 6.8 3.7 19.6 1.1 3.8 0 0 0 Training Petroleum and 9.3 2.3 0 13.4 0.9 5.4 19.6 3.9 9.8 54.8 9.5 0 Natural Gas Pharmaceuticals 19.4 13. 8.3 20.5 2.3 6.8 16.7 0 16.7 57.14 0 4.7 9 Planning 11 6.4 4.2 16.1 3.6 1.3 18.5 2.1 10.3 45.7 6.9 8.1 Commission Posts 15.4 8.4 4 14.8 6.5 4.7 16.5 7.4 11.4 19.8 7.4 12 Power 17.9 4.2 4.5 13.3 2.6 0.6 31.1 4.4 3.9 40.9 3.3 0 Public Enterprises 16.7 4.2 0 13.8 3.4 6.9 22.2 5.6 0 47.1 11.8 0 Railways 12.8 6.5 5 14.4 6.3 4.2 15.6 7.2 14.1 20.3 6.5 18.1

Revenue 14.5 7.4 5.3 15.8 7.2 4.6 20.2 6.6 10.1 29.5 7.6 9.2 Road Transport 10.4 6.3 2.1 16.9 5.6 3.8 19.3 2.6 5.3 37.5 3.1 7 and Highways Rural 8.3 9.2 3.7 11.8 5.1 4.6 18.9 7.8 6.7 36.4 6.8 7.9 Development Science and 8.6 4.2 1.5 21.7 8.6 39.6 15.8 6.2 5 30.4 4.2 2.2 Technology Scientific and 18.4 2.6 0 27.3 0 9.1 12.5 6.3 18.8 77.8 0 0 Industrial Research Shipping 17.4 5.2 9 14.8 5.9 9.5 18.5 8.8 13 28.8 13.2 7.1 Social Justice and 7.8 7.8 0 16 3.1 9.2 24.5 2.7 5.5 83.3 0 0 Empowerment Space 7 1.9 9.8 16.3 5.9 13.7 24.7 7.2 17.5 27.1 7 12.6 Statistics and 13.5 7.3 7.5 14.8 7 16.3 23 10.2 18.9 24.6 7.5 10 Programme Implementation Steel 9.5 2.4 0 12.4 3.8 2.9 5.8 0 1.9 0 0 0 Telecommunicati 16.6 5.2 7.1 11.7 2.9 4.9 16.2 3.2 10.8 29.2 7 5.8 ons Textiles 18.4 9.2 14.9 14.7 6.5 8.4 20 5 19.9 27.5 4.1 16.1 Tourism 16.4 6.6 9.8 18.3 3.5 5.2 18.1 3.5 6.3 25.9 6.5 11.7 Tribal Affairs 17.6 8.8 0 13.5 7.7 1.9 12.5 0 3.1 31.2 0 0 Urban 22.7 5.4 2.1 16.5 6.6 10.1 23.8 6.4 4 32.5 5.8 2.2 Development Water Resources 11.9 5.5 8.8 16.1 4.2 4.2 21.6 6.3 8.3 25.7 8.9 2.8 Women and Child 14.1 6.3 3.1 16.5 5.2 2.6 18.5 6.5 6.5 37.4 6 3.5 Development Youth Affairs and 15.6 4.4 4.4 14.5 7.6 11.5 19.7 5.7 13.1 32 12.8 5.1 Sports Cabinet 2.3 0.5 1.1 2.9 1.9 3.2 5.7 1.9 3.2 21.8 5.5 6.7 Secretariat Election 16.3 4.7 4.7 16.4 4.9 11.5 19.8 2.5 7.4 43.6 6.4 7.6 Commission of India Source: www.indiastat.com

Table 2.5 shows that although there is fairly proportionate representation of the three categories in the Group C and D job profiles but insufficient, nevertheless increasing, in A and B job profiles. The OBCs also equipped with 27% quota in the jobs and thus are making it count more handsomely than the SCs and STs in almost all the departments as the data suggests. In Group A jobs, which are considered the most prestigious, powerful and lucrative of government employment24, the three categories together constitute 23.2%. The competition among these categories is getting tougher with the improvement in the competitive potential of candidates ‘to such an extent that some of them are able to come in the open category’(Suri, 2014:43). The fact has been substantiated by Aijaz Ashraf by analyzing 2013-14 result of UPSC, saying that, “46% of those who cleared the Union Public Service Commission examination and interview came through SC, ST and OBC reservations.

24http://scroll.in/article/753490/redesigning-reservations-why-removing-caste-based-quotas-is-not-the- answer accessed on 16.02.2016 48

Interestingly, out of the 2576 candidates who were recommended against reserved posts, 397 qualified in the general category as well – that is, their total marks were above the qualifying standard for those outside the reservation pool”. The impact of the reservation scheme is such that it skilled the 397 to compete on an equal footing.

The reservations in education and employment, which the discriminated groups are benefiting from are mere authorizations provided by the constitutional provisions, whereas the reservations for SCs and STs in decision making bodies are provided by the constitution itself. The have their representations in the panchayats, municipalities, state legislative aassemblies and in the House of people. Moreover, the political parties also ensure their handsome representation at every levels of their composition. Some political parties are handsomely composed by these groups and some of which are predominantly caste based for example Bhaujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh. Regarding the composition, a report published on April 27th, 2015 states that almost all political parties have atleast 14%25 of its workforce comprising of these disadvantaged groups.

Besides progressing in the fields of education, employment and polity, the disadvantaged groups have also proved themselves in the fields of commerce, banking and management. There are many fine economists, bankers and managers who belong to these groups. The detailed representation in the different field at various levels is tabulated respectively in the table.

These groups have also constituted some national and international associations to promote their interests in many areas. For example, the Scheduled Castes (Dalits) for the promotion of their business enterprises have instituted the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI). This Pune based India association, has grown into 18 state and 7 international chapters, the activities of whom are diverse ranging from ‘manufacturing (sectors such as chemicals, agri- products, frozen foods, plastics, textiles, pest control, metals and metallurgy, marine engineering, solar energy, sugar refining), construction and services (health care, hospitality industries, education and international trade)’26.

25http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/diversity-deficit-across-apex-bodies-of- parties/article7144074.ece accessed on 2.12.2016 26 http://www.dicci.org/about.php accessed on 21.02.2016 49

Indeed, a class of professionals, administrators, political leaders, and entrepreneurs is created among SCs, STs, and OBCs due to the policy of protective discrimination. However, as noted above, all section of these categories are not equally benefitted.

2.5 Issues of Debate

The policy of protective discrimination has generated intense debate and in some situations violent conflicts in the country. There are both proponents and opponents of the policy. Those who oppose policy of protective discrimination draw their argument from draw their argument from the concept of equality and meritocracy. They argue that positive discrimination in favour of some undermine the egalitarian principle of the constitution and merit in education, employment and decision making bodies. As K C Balagopal says that the post Mandal agitations have created the image of the backward classes as, “worthless incompetents sneaking up from behind and depriving brilliant and deserving youth of college seats and jobs, and destroying the nation’s prospects of achieving greatness” (Balagopal, 2010:8).

Those who support protective discrimination policy also raise many issues about the structure and the impact of the policies. There are three broad issues which have been discussed and debated at length. These are as follows:

2.5.1 Identification of caste under the three categories SCs. STs and mainly OBCs

The identification of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories is somewhat clear when the measures like untouchability and the geographical isolation are considered specific to identify them respectively. But the problem is with the identification of third category i.e. Other Backward Classes. The parameters of identification, resting on the degree of backwardness in the social, education and economic sector, were finalized by the Mandal Commission report in 1980. In the absence of any large sale surveys, the commission had utilized the 1931 caste based census to extrapolate the numbers of the backward classes, as no caste based census has been undertaken since then. The authenticity on the computation will tend to remain erroneous. As a result there was great stir among the masses on the acceptance of the recommendations of the report. There were violent protests including many cases of self-immolation across the country. The rejection was because the commission has recommended the reservations based on birth.

The process of identification has many more anomalies particularly with reference to OBCs. For SCs and STs there is only one state specific list which may vary with the respective state compositions. But in case of OBCs there are two separate lists, a state and a central. A uniform criterion of identification in both the lists is nowhere to be found. According to Sachhar Committee report, “there are many OBC groups, irrespective of their religion, that are present in the State list but missing in the Central list. Madhya Pradesh, for instance, has 91 social groups listed as OBCs in the list recommended by the State Backward Classes Commission, but only 65 such groups have found entry in the Central list. Uttar Pradesh has 79 castes in the state OBC list, but only 74 in the Central list, in Rajasthan there are 74 castes in the state list but only 65 have been accorded OBC status in the Central list” (India, 2006:200). Similarly, there are many underprivileged groups that haven’t been included in the prepared by the states, although they figure in the central list, for example, Kalwars in Bihar, Mansooris in Rajasthan, Atishbazs in Uttar Pradesh etc. The varying composition of the castes/tribes and the use of area nomenclatures in the list of SCs and STs has further aggrieved the problem. According to National Commission of Linguistic and Religious Minorities (NCLRM) report, there are many castes/tribes that are reaping the benefits of reservation by virtue of it. For example, “the list of the Scheduled Tribes of Uttar Pradesh (now Uttaranchal) includes ‘Jaunsari’ based on the name of Jaunsar Pargana of Dehra Dun District. They are divided into several castes, viz., Brahmin, Rajput (Khash), Badi, Bajgi and Kolta. It is only Koltas and Bajgis who really deserve the Scheduled Tribes or Scheduled Caste status” (National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities Report, 2007:64) This area name adoption has included anyone residing in the area to be treated as ST/SC, irrespective of their status. This has led to the monopolization of the benefits by the upper stratas, thus leading to further marginalization of the poorest and the most backward sections of the society.

In “Identifying Other Backward Classes”, A. Ramaiah (Ramaiah, 1992) has highlighted a similar issue in OBCs identification. He says that since OBC identification was to ‘balance the power’, but “there are many Castes among OBC which suffer from caste discrimination like the SC and ST. These caste groups should not be in the list of OBC instead they should be incorporated in the list of SC”. Caste, although also considered by the Supreme Court in Vasant Kumar Case (1985 AIR

1495) , as a ‘relevant factor in determining social backwardness’ has led to a series of ambiguities. Justifying this caste based reservation has been very challenging as Gansham Shah (G. Shah, 1991:602) argues that, ‘there is a great deal of inter-caste and intra-caste heterogeneity among the BCs (backward classes). Those who are better off due to land ownership or who used their traditional skills to improve their economic status have acquired education and jobs’ leaving the poor among them to suffer from multitudinous disadvantages. It can be also questioned by those social or religious groups who don’t believe in the caste system. This unscientific categorization and subjective assessments of identification has left the field open to the ineligible to make the ends meet and hence rob away the benefits from the hands of the deserving groups in the society. There are, thus, many pressing demands that seek reconsideration of the identification of all the three groups of disadvantaged sections in the interest of equality and social justice.

To sum up, it can be said that these days it is the political inference of the caste or other social groups which matters their inclusion in any of the list i.e. of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, or Other Backward Classes. As a result of which the exclusions to these groups are many fold than the inclusions.

2.5.2 Inclusion and exclusion of caste

There is no hardnosed criteria for the inclusion and exclusion in the groups of SCs/STs and OBCs. However, the inclusion in SCs/STs is possible only by an act of legislature where as for OBCs a mere executive order is required, the authority of which presently lies with the NCBC. Many loopholes that have been highlighted with respect to the inclusion in and the exclusion from the reserved categories are summed up under the following two main issues:

(a) Immense increase than decrease in the list:

The numbers of the castes/communities and the tribal groups that have been availing the benefits of the policy of protective discrimination ought to have decreased for their reaching the stages where they no longer entail the benefits. Considering this assertion, the progress is counterproductive when there are subsequent additions to the list of these reserved categories with insignificant delisting. ‘For Scheduled Castes, 429, communities drawn from the 1936 list were added up to 607 in 1950 which swelled to 1109 in 2002, with the omission of only 33

52 castes. Similarly, the Scheduled Tribes, 240 in 1950 has increased by 156%, summing up to 624 tribal communities, with the exclusion of only 12 tribes’ (National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities Report, 2007:57). The Table 2.7 shows the extent of inclusion in OBCs category with time.

Table 2.6 Increase in numbers of OBCs with time

Year 1950 1955 1980 2006 OBCs 1373 2399 3763 5013 Source: Prepared from the date on a report in The Hindu on September 13, 2007

The increase is self- indicative of the fact that the considerations other than actual socio-economic backwardness of classes are conceivably responsible for increasing tendency of governments for recognizing new castes/classes. Suhas Palshikar in “Challenges before the reservation Discourse” has cited many examples of OBCs like Lingayats and Jats, to show that the inclusion in these reserved categories is based on the political considerations’ (Palshikar, 2008:10). Moreover as the creamy layer concept has been applied in the employment, it should be extended to education by proper rescaling of the sub-divisions in the OBCs. Deshpande and Yadav suggests that the creamy layer concept must be also applied in education also so that the well offs can be written off from the beneficiaries (Deshpande & Yadav, 2006:2420).

This has raised serious doubts about the worth and value of the policies and programs, aimed at mitigating the socio-economic status of the backward. The progress this way is doomed to failure in reaching out to the deserving.

(b) Cap on reservation

Sanctioned by the constitution, the incorporation or elimination to the listing of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Categories is purely a legislative prerogative. The extent of reservation for these two categories is nowhere mentioned in the constitution. There can be as many communities/groups included and that to till there is not a constitutional amendment to halt the process. Furthermore, there is no time frame particularized for these reservations. The benefits are hence continuously flowing to the successive generations irrespective of whatever their present societal status or position. The progenies of doctors, engineers, bureaucrats, IAS/IPS officers,

MPs, MLAs and those many other high profile white collar people still are tagged for the reservations. In “A new Edifice for Reservations”, Jayprakash Narayan argues that, “most benefits accrue to the children of those who already have the advantages of education, career and wealth. In most selections to/in premier institutions in higher education or recruitment to high-end jobs, it is the children of Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service officers and other senior officials, the progeny of Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLA), Members of Parliament (MP) and the other political elite, and the offspring of successful professionals and businessmen who dominate the scene in communities eligible for reservations”. (The Hindu September 2, 2015). It has bifurcated the castes/classes within itself with insignificant percolation of the welfare measures from the better-offs to the most backward sections within each caste/class. The upper ranks of each category act as bottlenecks that obstruct the percolation of the welfare measures. This better-offs known as ‘creamy layers’ are yet to be differentiated in the SC/ST categories. However, this section amongst OBCs was for the first time referred to as ‘creamy layer’ by Justice V K Krishna Iyer in State of Kerala Vs NM Thomas case (1976 AIR 490, 1976), where it was suggested that the creamy layer should be excluded from the list of the backwards to reach out the most deserving and the poorest of the poor. “If this upper crust in each caste is not removed from competing with the less privileged, the object of social justice especially distributive justice, will not be achieved”(Report of the Backward Classes Commission Tamil Nadu, 1974:101)

2.6 Implementation of the policy

On account of the discussions above, it is imperative to assess the execution of the various domains of the policy of protective discrimination. No doubt the policy has been successful in improving the socio-economic and educational conditions of the disadvantaged sections of the society, with a significant say in the decision making bodies. However, there is yet lot more undone. The permeation of the benefits is being obstructed by the well-offs in almost every reserved category. Prof Satish Deshpande and Yogendra Yadav have questioned the achievements of the policy by stating that the governments is strolling on the wrong path in the right direction to achieve the goals embedded in the constitution. They argue that, “The governments’ decision to use a one dimensional caste-bloc based quota cannot but result in an inefficient targeting of the scheme” (Yadav & Deshpande, 2006). The gender gap in

54 education and job opportunities shows that the women folk in these reserved categories have not enjoyed the transfer of the social and political power equally. Deshpande and Yadav, while supporting the fact that many families from the non- reserved categories are more disadvantaged than their reserved category counterparts, have put forth few important suggestions to fine-tune the policy instruments of social justice:

1. Exclusion of the creamy layer from the benefits of new reservation. 2. Division of the quotas in the categories as ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ sections. 3. Ensuring special opportunity to the women in these categories (Yadav & Deshpande, 2006).

2.7 Conclusion

The discussion in this chapter leads us to conclude that the concept of social justice is one of the important values of Indian Constitution. It is a comprehensive concept embracing welfare measures to all sections of society who are in need of state support for a dignified life. It is an instrument for the state to eradicate inequalities, hierarchies and all forms of exploitation in order to establish a judicious and egalitarian society. Policy of protective discrimination is one of the most important aspects of social justice. It is through this policy, Scheduled castes (SCs), Scheduled tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), who have traditionally been deprived of civic amenities and decision making are being empowered by giving them various kind of concessions in education, employment and other fields.

The policy of protective discrimination has radically transformed the life conditions of these people. However, the policy is debated on various issues such as the identification of caste/communities under the categories of SCs/STs and OBCs, criteria of identifying caste/communities for this policy, unequal benefits to different caste/communities under these categories, poor implementation of the policy and so on. In this way the policy of protective discrimination, though important for social transformation, has appeared to have many shortcomings in its design and implementation.

Our study is concerned with the identification and welfare of residents of backward area (RBA), one of the categories of protective discrimination policy in Jammu and Kashmir and similar to Other Backward Classes in other parts of the

55 country. The following chapter will present a detailed outline of the research design to be employed for undertaking the study in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir state.

Chapter 3

The Universe and the Design of the Study

Chapter 3

THE UNIVERSE AND THE DESIGN OF THE STUDY

This chapter as the title indicates, aims at presenting a brief profile of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and one of its districts called Anantnag which was selected for intensive field study in order to investigate the implementation and the impact of ‘backward areas reservation scheme’. The chapter also aims at elaborating design of the study i.e. aims and the objectives of the study, strategies for selecting samples, methods of data collection, interpretation as well as problems faced in the field work and the limitations of the study.

3.1 Jammu and Kashmir: A Brief Profile

Jammu and Kashmir, formerly the princely state, was created when it was accessed with India on 27th October, 1947. It is one of the 29 states of India having special power and identity, under article 370 of the Indian Constitution.It is the northernmost state of India, lying between 32° 15'and 37° 05' N and 72° 35' and 80° 20' E at the apex of Indian sub-continent. Among the neighboring countries, the state has China to its north and east, Afghanistan to its north-west, Pakistan to its west; whereas to its south the states like Himachal Pradesh and Punjab also share their borders with Jammu and Kashmir.

3.1.1 Geography of the State

Topographically, the state is divided into three main regions Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, distinct by their language, culture and ethnicity. In terms of geographical area, the state is tenth1 largest state in India spread over 222,236 Square Km which includes 78,114 Sq. Km under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. China occupies 37,555 Sq. Km in addition to 5,180 Sq. Km. gifted to it by Pakistan under the March 1963 Sino-Pak Boundary agreement. It is only the remaining part of the state i. e. 106,567 Sq. Km that in under the actual control of India, the portion known as Indian Controlled/Indian administered Kashmir. Figure 3.1 shows the territorial boundaries of the state and its occupied areas under the neighboring states of Pakistan and China.

1http://www.census2011.co.in/census/state/jammu+and+kashmir.html accessed on 22.03.2016

Jammu and Kashmir

Figure 3.1 Jammu and Kashmir and its occupied parts Source: http://defenceforumindia.com/countering-chinas-repeated-aggression-2072

3.1.2 Government and Administration

Earlier, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was one of the 565 princely states at the time of the independence. These princely states were authorized to stay independent or join any of the two dominions India or Pakistan. Kashmir, a Muslim majority state, ruled by a Hindu King, preferred to remain undecided by signing Standstill Agreement for the time being when the people were eager to join the dominion respective to their faith. The undefined position of the state to join any of the dominions or to remain independent created huge political furor and thus there were assured uncertainties for its peaceful future. But after the Instrument of Accession2 with India, the state was accorded a special status through the constitution of India contained in Part XXI of the Constitution entitled, ‘Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions’, under Article 370.

2The Instrument of Accessionis the legal document executed by Maharajah Hari Singh, ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, on 26 October 1947. Under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947, Maharajah Hari Singh agreed to accede to the Dominion of India by signing the pact of accession.

This special status or the uniqueness is characteristic to autonomy and sovereignty in all matters except in the areas under the domain of defense, communication and foreign policy. The article also empowers the state to have its own state flag and a separate constitution, accordingly, a constituent assembly was convened in 1951, which after much thoughtful discussions and considerate deliberations passed a constitution for the state on November 17, 1956 which subsequently came into force on 26th January, 1957. The head of the state was referred to as ‘Sadr-i-Riyasat3’, who used to run the state with help of Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers. By the Royal warrant4 Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was by the appointed as the first Prime Minister5 by Maharaja Hari Singh with the effect from 1st day of March, 1948 while as Karan Singh was the first Sadr-i-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir. At present Shri N.N. Vohra is the state head with Mehbooba Mufti as its first woman Chief Minister. It has two capital cities, Srinagar in summer (April to September) and Jammu in winter (October to March).

3.1.3 Administration

The three divisions of the state i.e. Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions comprise of 22 districts. Earlier the state was divided into 14 Districts, 7 each in Kashmir and Jammu divisions with two in Ladakh. However, on 6th July, 20066, 4 districts were carved from each divisions of Jammu and Kashmir to ensure uniformity in distribution of resources. ‘The State has a long tradition of having statutory bodies for planning at district level. For local self-governance there are 143 Community Development Blocks with 4128 Panchayats. The urban areas are governed through 2 municipal corporations, 82 Municipal Councils and 2 cantonment boards.’7

Jammu and Kashmir follows multi-party democratic system. It has adopted bicameral legislature with its lower house8 (State Legislative Assembly) consisting of

3 Changed to Governor in 1965 4“My Council of ministers shall consist of the Prime Minister and such other Ministers as may be appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister. I have by Royal Warrant appointed, Sheikh Mohd. Abdullah as the Prime Minister with effect from the 1st day of March 1948 (and) the Prime Minister and other Ministers would function as a Cabinet and act on the principle of Joint responsibility.” C.A. Debates, Volume X-XII, p. 426 5 Changed to Chief Minister in 1965 6http://www.jammu-kashmir.com/archives/archives2006/kashmir20060706a.html accessed on 20.03.2016 7http://ecostatjk.nic.in/publications/publications.htm accessed on 16.03.2016 8 Jammu 37, Kashmir 46 and Ladakh 4 seats

87 MLAs and the upper house (State Legislative Council) with 369 seats. The term of the State legislature is of 6 years unlike any other state of the country. The state has 6 parliamentary constituencies and 4 seats in RajyaSabha (The Union Upper House).

3.1.4 Population

The total population of the state is 1254130210, comprising of 6,640,662 males and 5,900,640 females. It is the 19th most populated state constituting 1.04% of the total population of the country. The Jammu district has the highest population whereas Leh has the lowest population among all the districts of the state. The sex- ratio of the state is 883. Kulgam and Shopian lead the districts in sex-ratio whereas Leh has the worst sex-ratio of 690. The district wise population, density and sex-ratio are shown in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1 Districtwise Population, Sex-Ratio and Density of J & K Population Density Population S.No. District Sex-Ratio (Square (numbers) Kilometres) 1. Anantnag 1078692 927 375 2. Bandipora 392232 889 1117 3. Baramulla 1008039 885 305 4. Budgam 753745 894 537 5. Doda 409936 919 79 6. Ganderbal 297446 874 1151 7. Jammu 1529958 880 596 8. Kargil 140802 810 10 9. Kathua 616435 890 232 10. Kishtawar 230696 920 125 11. Kulgam 424483 951 925 12. Kupwara 870354 835 368 13. Leh 133487 690 3 14. Poonch 476835 892 285 15. Pulwama 560440 912 598 16. Rajouri 642415 860 235 17. Ramban 283713 902 213 18. Reasi 314667 890 184 19. Samba 318898 886 318 20. Shopian 266215 951 852 21. Srinagar 1236829 900 703 22. Udhampur 554985 870 211 J & K State 12543012 889 56 Source: Census 2011, Government of India

9 Kashmir 11, Jammu 11, 2 Municipalities, 4 Panchayats, 8 nominated by Governor from different fields 10 Census 2011

It is evident from the above table that the population density of only 56 per square kilometers in the state is due to the vast region occupied by the twin district of Leh and Kargil. The both regions comprise of about 86 thousand sq. km of areas (from 2.22 lakh sq. km of the state) with a population of 2.74 lakh souls.

The religious composition of JK is unique in the country. It is the only Muslims majority state in India with 68.31% population of Muslims whereas Hindus with 28.44% form the largest minority group in the state, followed by Buddhists and Sikhs. The religious wise population distribution is shown in Table 3.2 below.

Table 3.2 Population of Different Religious groups in J & K

S. No Religious Communities Population Percentage 1. Hindus 3266674 26.04 2. Muslims 8567485 68.30 3. Christians 35361 0.28 4. Buddhists 112584 0.90 5. Sikhs 234848 1.87 6. Jain 2490 0.02 7. Other Religions and Persuasions 1508 0.01 (including Unclassified Sect.) 8. Religion Not Stated 20082 0.16 Source: Deduced from Census 2011 data

3.1.5 Economy

Jammu and Kashmir is primarily an agrarian economy. However it has some considerable support from secondary sectors like manufacturing, construction etc and tertiary sectors like transport, trade, banking and real estate etc. The tourism these days is an important economic sector in the picturesque state of India as the state is a global tourist destination. Its main other industries are horticulture, handicrafts, sericulture, livestock and fisheries. V.R. Raghvan states that ‘the violence has directly affected the economy of the state including important sphere of livelihood like horticulture and handicrafts’.(Internal Conflicts Military Perspectives: V R Raghvan, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd New Delhi, 2012) . The Gross State Domestic Product of the state during the year 2013-14 has improved by Rs 1658 lakhs to 37533 from the

previous financial year of 20112-13, with 5.88 as the growth rate11. The economy of the state has been hampered by the onset of militancy since early 1990. The development of the electricity, water supply and the connectivity also suffered as a huge portion of the budget is used to combat the militancy related incidents. However, the revival of the tourism has enabled the state economy to progress significantly amidst other growing sectors like handicrafts, fisheries, etc.

3.1.6 Education

Since, the tourism has made the state economy to progress leaps and bounds, the same cannot be said about the education. Every year, large numbers of students come out of the state borders to look for some better colleges and universities for furthering their education. As many as 95 colleges and 8 universities (6 State and 2 Central) are not enough to cater the educational needs of the state. The website of the Directorate of School Education has listed 23952 schools with 11766 in the Jammu region and 12186 in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. The sector has been affected be the armed straggle since 1990s. Despite these challenges the literacy rate has now started to produce the results of the huge investments in education. It has soared from 2001 to 2011 by 1312 percentage points. The literacy rate, as per census 2011 is 68.74% with 78.26% of males and 58.01% of females. However, it still lags behind the national literacy rate by 5 points. This sector also has not remained unaffected by the armed struggle in the state.

Having presented the outline of the state, its administration, population, economy and education, it is pertinent to describe the district under study in the same parameters to so as to get the first hand information about the district.

3.2 District Anantnag: A Brief Profile

Fifty-three kilometers towards the south of Srinagar (the summer capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir) is located, a beautiful place called Anantnag. Etymologically, as stated by Sir A.Stein, a well-known archaeologist, the name ‘Anantnag’ has been derived from two words, Anant and Naga ‘Anant’ meaning

11http://www.jkenvis.nic.in/administrative_gsdp_economic_activity_constant_prices.html accessed on 15.04.2016 12http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/census-jk-literacy-rate-soars-by-13-percent/article1608434.ece

‘countless’ and ‘nag’ which connotes ‘spring’, thereby Anantnag means “the land of countless springs” (Dristrict Profile13). This viewpoint has also been endorsed by the local historians including Kalhana and by foreign researchers like Sir Lawrence in his famous book ‘The Valley of Kashmir’(Sir Walter Roper Lawrence, 1895). However, the district is also being called by the name ‘Islamabad’ which was suggested to the town by Islam Khan, the Governor of Kashmir in 1663. With time the change in the nomenclature proved futile and the old name was restored. However, one must not ignore the fact that even today the term ‘Islamabad’ is more popular among people and they preferably call the district by this name rather than Anantnag which is used only in official records.

3.2.1 Geography

Anantnag District is in southern sector of Jhelum Valley. It is because of its rejuvenating climate, the inspiring majesty, its lofty mountains, the melodious flow of sweet waters of its springs and streams, fertile soil, fragrant flowers and delicious fruits that the district has come to be synonymous with greatness. It is one of the major districts of the Kashmir Valley, situated to its south and south-western direction. Geographically the district lies between 33° 20' to 34° 13' N and 74° 30' to 75° 35' E. The area of the district is 2917 square kilometres, which constitutes about 1.31% of the total area of Jammu & Kashmir state.It is the only district among all the 22 districts of the state that shares its boundaries with as many as 8 districts. It has Ganderbal to its north, Doda to its south, Kishtawar to its east whereas Kulgam lies to the west of the district. Furthermore, it also has Kargil to its north-east and Ramban to its south-west, while Srinagar and Pulwama lie in its north-eastern region. The details are portrayed in the map given in Figure 3.2.

13http://anantnag.gov.in/profile.html accessed on 25th March, 2017

Figure 3.2 Districts of Jammu and Kashmir State Source: http://www.mapsofindia.com retrieved on 28-04-2015

Of all the districts of the state, largest number of streams (Nallas) flow through the district like Sandran, Brengi, Arpath and the most important Lidder which takes off from Sheshnag Lake and irrigates maximum area of the district.Owing to proximity of Peer Panchal Range, which stretches in its South and South-East, the district has a more temperate climate in summer than other districts of the Valley. In winter, however, snowfall is heavier and temperature is relatively low. Being engulfed on two sides by mountains, the monsoon does not generally reach the district. The rainfall is often excessive in spring, moderate in summer, deficient in autumn and moderate in winter.

S N

Figure 3.3 District Anantnag Topographic Map Source: Google maps: Satellite view The topographic image of the district in Figure 3.3 shows that the district is surrounded by the snow clad mountains from north-eastern regions to the southern parts of the district. This uniqueness alnogwith the presence of many canals and rivulets decides its distinctive climates from the other areas of the Kashmir valley.

3.2.2 Administration

As per the district handbook of Anantnag, the district consists of 387 Villages having 01 Municipal Council and 8 Municipal Committees. Prior to the alterations with the tehsil boundaries within the district in 2014, it had five major sub-divisions i.e. Anantnag, Pahalgam, Shangus, Kokernag and Dooru, as shown in Figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4 District Map Anantnag Source: www.anantnag.gov.in

Anantnag before October, 2014 was having divided into 6 tehsils viz, Anantnag, Bijbehara, Dooru, Kokernag, Shangus and Pahalgam. However, after the reshuffle, today there are 12 tehsils viz, Anantnag, Anantnag-East (Mattan), Bijbehara, Dooru, Kokernag, Larnoo, Pahalgam, Qazigund, Sallar, Shahabad Bala, Shangus and Srigufwara. The tehsils Larnoo, Anantnag East (Mattan), Qazigund, Sallar, Shahabad Bala and Srigufwara14 were created on 21st October, by the

14http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/news/complete-list-of-new-administrative-units/163299.html accessed on Jan 1,2015

government order passed by the Revenue Department(vide SRO 43015 dated 21.10.2014). There are as many as 34 land revenue circles (Niyabats) and 99 Patwarhalqas. The villages of the district have also been categorized into 07 Community Development Blocks Viz. Achabal, Breng, Dachnipora, Khoveripora, Qazigund, Shahabad and Shangus. It has 296 Panchayat Halqas and 11 Municipalities/Councils with 9 Police stations for the law and order. The administrative structure is summarized in Table 3.3.

Table 3.3 Administrative Setup of District Anantnag S. No. Item Number 1. Tehsils 12 2. Total No. of Revenue Villages 394 3. Inhabited Villages 387 4. Un-Inhabited Villages 07 5. Nayabat Circle (Land Revenue 34 Circle) 6. PatwarHalqas 99 7. CD Blocks 16 8. Panchayat Halqas 303 9. Police Stations 09 10. Police Posts 08 Source: Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag

3.2.3 Population

In terms of population, Anantnag ranks third in the state only after Jammu and Srinagar on the first and the second placerespectively.As per Census 2011, the population of the district is 10,78,692persons with 5,59,767 males and 5,18,925 females. However, the rural urban composition of population is somewhat similar to the figures of the state. Table 3.4 shows that the district the rural population is 73.77 percent while the rural population of the state forms 72.62 percent of the total population of the state. Similarly, for the urban settlements, the district and the state have respectively a share of 26.22 and 27.37 percent respectively.

15http://anantnag.gov.in/villages/Delimitation.pdf

Table 3.4 Rural Urban Population Distribution of District Anantnag Anantnag Population J & K Population Area Categories Number Percentage Number Percentage Persons 795805 9108060 Rural Male 411012 73.77 4774477 72.62 Female 384793 4333583 Persons 282887 3433242 Urban Male 148755 26.22 1866185 27.37 Female 134132 1567057 Source: Computed from Census 2011

As far as the population in terms of religion is concerned, the district is exclusively dominated by the Muslims. However, Hindus with 1.22 per cent and Sikhs with about 0.57 per cent are the largest minorities in the district. Table 3.5 shows the religion wise population percentage data of the district as per Census 2011.

Table 3.5 Anantnag- Percentage Population of Followers of Different Faiths Religious Faiths and their Percent Followers in Anantnag Muslims 97.99 Hindus 1.22 Sikhs 0.57 Christians 0.13 Buddhist 0.01 Others 0.09 Source: Census 2011

However, Table 3.6 shows the religious wise population of the district spread across the gender. Buddhists, Jains and people from other religious groups have their no or negligible population in the district. From 10.78 lakh population of the district, Muslims constitute 10.57 lakh while as Hindus, Sikhs and Christians form 13, 6 and 1.5 thousand souls respectively in the district.

Table 3.6 Anantnag : Followers of Religion across Gender Religion Total Per cent Males Females Hindu 13,180 1.22 12,010 1,170 Muslim 1,057,005 97.99 542,671 514,334 Christian 1,449 0.13 845 604 Sikh 6,140 0.57 3,660 2,480 Buddhist 55 0.01 35 20 Jain 7 0 4 3 Other Religion 7 0 3 4 No Religion 849 0.08 539 310 Specified Source: Census 2011

Since the study involves all tehsils of the district, the population divide across these tehsils seems appropriate to be mentioned. Thus, in terms of population, the Census 2011 shows that among these twelve tehsils of the district, the tehsil Anantnag itself with 25.85 per cent population is largest, while as tehsil Sallar composing only 3.71 per cent of the entire population is smallest of the entire district. The population of the males and females of the different tehsils along-with the households is given in Table 3.7 below.

Table 3.7 Anantnag Tehsil-wise Population

No. of Population(Numbers) S.No. Tehsil Households (Nos.) Persons Male Female 1 Anantnag 35862 278917 143649 135268 2 Anantnag East 12722 85456 43879 41577 3 Bijbehara 16215 120146 60829 59317 4 Srigufwara 6495 41645 21020 20625 5 Dooru 12067 98670 52436 46234 6 Shahabad Bala 7015 49848 26276 23572 7 Qazigund 5671 45429 23778 21651 8 Sallar 6260 40074 20513 19561 9 Pahalgam 11590 70692 37152 33540 10 Shangus 12400 74103 39062 35041 11 Kokernag 19947 125778 66105 59673 12 Larnoo 7396 47934 25068 22866 Total 153640 1078692 559767 518925 Source: Census Department (2011)

3.2.4 Education

According to the district handbook, provided by the district administrative office, the district has 1990 educational institutions including schools and the higher education institutes for the purpose of education. It comprises of 68 female specific educational institutes i.e. 67 schools and 1 college. The district has one industrial training institute (ITI) for females and 2 formales, alnogwith one regional university campus and 6 B.Ed. colleges, the details of which are given in the Table 3.10.

The literacy rate of the district is 64.32 per cent, from which the 74.13% are males and 54.15 % females. Whereas the state overall has 67.16% literacy rate, with 76.75% literacy of males and 56.43% of females. The district is about 3 percentage points behind the state literacy (67.16%) and almost 10 points below the national literacy rate of 74.04%. In the rural sector the district has the total literacy of 59.24%, 4 percentage points behind the state average in the same sector. But in urban sector the gap is even worse with about 6 percentage points as shown inTable 3.8 while Table 3.9 shows the number populations of literates and illiterates in the district.

Table 3.8 Literacy rate of Anantnag and J & K State Literacy Rate S.No. Sector Anantnag J & K State Male Female Total Male Female Total 1. Rural 69.59 48.49 59.24 73.76 57.64 63.18 2. Urban 80.71 62.41 71.97 83.92 69.00 77.12 3. Combined 74.13 54.15 64.32 76.75 56.43 67.16 Source: Census 2011

Table 3.9 Population of Literates and Illiterates of Anantnag Population Number Persons 545532 Literate Male 324417 Female 221115 Persons 533160 Illiterate Male 235350 Female 297810 Source: Census 2011

The above two tables make it clear that the literacy rate of the district is lower than the state figures when analysed either in terms or regions or gender. The women folk of the rural regions of the district have the lowest literacy rate figure among all the categories of the table. Thus, likely the numbers of illiterates are highest among the rural females of the district. Hence, it can be said that the rural women of the district at the double disadvantageous positions in the district Anantnag of the state.

To shoot up the literacy there are many endeavours like opening up of schools and colleges at an accessible distance and also providing free education upto the primary levels of education. The district being one of the largest in the state has the following composition of schools (primary, middle, secondary and higher secondary), colleges and other institutions as shown in the Table 3.10.

Table 3.10 Anantnag Numbers of Educational Institutes S.No Particulars Numbers 1. Government 706 Primary Schools Private 90 2. Government 726 Middle Schools Private 176 3. Government 100 High/Higher Secondary Schools Private 185 4. Government 06 Colleges Private 00 Source: Computed from the data provided by the office of Chief Education Officer, Anantnag

3.2.5 Economy

Owing to its three-fourth rural population, the district is primarily based on agriculture which has earned it a term i.e. ‘rice bowl of the valley’16 . Besides, the economy of the district relies on small scale industries manufacturing cricket willows, shawls, rugs, gabbas, paper-machie products etc. According to the district industrial profile by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Mediu Enterprises, Government of India, there are 4 industrial areas with 4144 registered industrial units. Furthermore,

16http://diragrikmr.nic.in/anantnag.html accessed on 03.04.2017

harbouring some of the famous tourist attraction sites like Pahalgam, Achabal, Daksum, Verinag, etc it boost up the economy alnogwith the Amarnathji shrine annual religious pilgrimage which is a means of livelihood to a large section of people in the district.

The district at a glance is portrayed in Table 3.11, drawing comparison of the progress and development in a decadal gap between 2001 and 2011. The figures of population, geographical parameters, and sex-ratio and literacy rates are juxtaposed to understand the extent of development across the indicators. The growth rate has increased by about 6 percentage points where as there is improvement in the sex ratio by a margin of 16 points. However, astonishingly there is no change in the child-sex ratio of the district. The literacy rate of the district and of the females has also gone past beyond the 50 per cent make as the table displays.

Table 3.11 Anantnag: Comparison Between Census 2001 and 2011 figures Description 2011 2001 Actual Population 1,078,692 778,408 Male 559,767 407,429 Female 518,925 370,979 Population Growth 38.58% 32.77% Area Sq. Km 3,574 3,574 Density/km2 302 283 Proportion to Jammu and Kashmir Population 8.60% 7.67% Sex Ratio (Per 1000) 927 911 Child Sex Ratio (0-6 Age) 841 841 Average Literacy 62.69 47.59 Male Literacy 72.66 58.71 Female Literacy 52.19 35.24 Total Child Population (0-6 Age) 208,538 208,538 Male Population (0-6 Age) 113,278 113,278 Female Population (0-6 Age) 95,260 95,260 Literates 545,532 0 Male Literates 324,417 0 Female Literates 221,115 0 Child Proportion (0-6 Age) 19.33% 26.79% Boys Proportion (0-6 Age) 20.24% 27.80% Girls Proportion (0-6 Age) 18.36% 25.68% Source: www.Census2011.co.in

3.3 Research Design

This is the study aiming to explore the origin, the structure, the implementation and the impact of Backward area reservation scheme in Jammu and Kashmir, a scheme which is parallel to the reservation of other backward classes (OBCs) in India. Though it is a policy of socio-economic and political significance, no scholar to the best of my knowledge has so far studied it. Therefore, it may rightly be called an exploratory study. The study is based on both primary and secondary data. The primary data is collected from 24 selected RBA villages and 240 selected households of these villages whereas the source of secondary data used is report of government committees, records of district administration, Jammu and Kashmir State Backward Class Commission and media reports. Quantitative tools of investigation are employed in the study.

The study is designed on inductive strategy i.e. it explores the process of identification of backward areas of a district and then generalizes the results for the entire state. The study starts with the elaboration of the concept of social justice in western society (Chapter 1), from where it came to independent India. In the preceding chapter (Chapter 2), we discussed the concept of social justice in India as enunciated in the Indian constitution and defined by the judiciary, scholars and academicians. Furthermore, the chapter reviews literature related with the structure and implementation of protective discrimination policy popularly called reservation policy in India and its impact on sections of society included under the ambit of reservation. Having presented macro-level picture, we explain the origin and the structure of protective discrimination policy mainly the identification of backward areas for the benefit of reservation in fourth chapter while chapter 5 is about to investigate into the implementation and impact of backward areas reservation scheme followed by the findings summarized in the concluding chapter.

3.4 Objectives of the study

The main objectives of the study are as follows:-

1. To study social justice and the origin and the structure of protective discrimination policy in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

2. To examine the framing and implementation of backward area reservation scheme in the state.

3. To investigate parameters on the basis of which backward areas for reservation are identified.

4. To study welfare measures schemes taken for the development of backward areas and their impact.

5. To examine the role of politics in the framing and implementation of the scheme.

6. To identify shortcomings in the structure and implementation of the scheme and suggest measures for their redressal.

These objectives of the study can also be stated in the following problems for study. a. What are the prime considerations of identifying a given area as backward? b. What transformation the policy of protective discrimination has brought about since its inception in the state? c. How far is this unique reservation structure successful in meeting the realms of social justice?

3.5 Rationale for selecting district Anantnag for the study

To complete the objectives and find the answers for the above mentioned questions, Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir state was selected to carry out the extensive field work since, Jammu and Kashmir is the only state which has extensively applied the reservation of areas i.e. RBA (residents of backward areas) as a measure for the upliftment of those areas that are backward in the opinion of state. Anantnag, one of the major districts in the state has been selected for the research work for the following prime reasons:

• It is the third largest district of the state even after district Kulgam was carved out from it in 2007.As per census it has the largest rural population and also has a greater number of RBA villagesnotified under the act. • Bigger universe empowers us to minimize the errors created when the universe is small.

• Almost all RBA villages were included with the inception of the RBA schema. Since, this historical district will present a clear picture of the genesis of RBA. • The district has 12 tehsils that help us to garner even richer background of the RBA framework.

The study is exploratory in character employing quantitative methods of investigation. The study is not based only on primary data but also on secondary sources. The secondary sources are particularly used to investigate into the origin and the structure of protective discrimination policy, mainly the RBA scheme in Jammu and Kashmir. Reports of the government appointed committees for the protective discrimination policy and RBA as well as various media reports in this connection are consulted.

However, the focus of the study is on primary data collected from twenty-four selected RBA villages, 2 from each tehsil of the district, information from 240 households, 10 households from each selected village. In order to compare the position of RBA villages with non-RBA, 12 non-RBA villages have also been studied. The purpose and the structure of sampling is elaborated in following pages. Before presenting it, it seems pertinent that a brief profile of the 12 tehsils should be presented.

3.6 Brief Profile of the tehsils of district Anantnag

Tehsil Anantnag

It isthe largest amongst all the tehsils of the district. With 35862 households, the tehsil has a population of 278917 persons with 143649 males and 135268 females. The tehsil is the home of many tourist attractions and home of many historical places. It has two government colleges, one each for boys and girls. The two reserved villages, nearest and farthest, selected in the tehsil are Uttersoo-Najigund and Kamad respectively while Brakpora was selected for the non-RBA component of the study.

Tehsil Mattan

The tehsil was created formally 21.10.2014 along-with five other tehsils of the district. It is also called as Mattan and is situated on either sides of Anantnag- Pahalgam road at a distance of about 7 kilometres. The tehsil has a population of

85456 persons with 43879 males and 41577 females putting up in 12722 households. From the tehsil, Ranbirpora and Krangsoo villages were selected as the nearest and farthest reserved villages respectively for the study while Paibugh was the sample for the unreserved category of villages.

Tehsil Bijbehara

This part of the district is amongst the earlier sub-divisions of the district, situated to the northwest of Anantnag at a distance of 8 kilometres. Dara-Shikoh, a famous Mughal gardens is located in the tehsil boundaries. The total population of the area is 121046 constituting 60829 males and 59317 females settled in about 16215 households. Amongst the six degree colleges in the Anantnag district, one is located in the tehsil. For the study the villages selected from the reserved areas are HP Taveela and Dodopatti (village Marhama) as the nearest and farthest areas while GundChahal was taken from the unreserved areas of the tehsil.

Tehsil Dooru

Tehsil Dooru is also amongst those tehsils which were there before restructuration of the internal boundaries of the district. It is located towards the south western part of Anantnag at a distance of about 20 kilometres. Harbouring 12067 households, the tehsil has the population of 98670 persons with 52436 males and 46234 females. The historic Mughal garden and the spring Verinag, which is the main source of river Jhelum is situated in Verinag. For the higher education the place has the services of a government college. The two reserved villages, nearest and farthest, selected in the tehsil are Badasgam and Batgund/Agnoo/Zamalgam respectively while Bongund was selected for the non-RBA component of the study.

Tehsil Kokernag

Further down the Anantnag-Dooruroad, Kokernag tehsil is situated at a distance of 31 kilometers from Anantnag. The tehsil is famous for the name itself. Kokernag (koker=cock, nag=spring) has a spring originating in such a way that it resembles the claws of cock, and thus it is named accordingly. The population of the tehsil is 125778 souls with 66105 males and 59673 females, with 19947 households. The tehsil has also got one government college for the higher education of the students of the area.From this tehsil, Bindozalangam and Hiller Arhama villages were

selected as the nearest and farthest reserved villages for the study while Danwethpora was the sample from the unreserved category of villages.

Tehsil Larnoo

The tehsil was also created like the other five new tehsils in 2014. It is situated at a distance of 42 kilometres towards south-eastern region of the district. Comprising of 7396 households, it has a population of 47934 persons, consisting of 25068 males and 22866 females. A government college is among the newly created colleges located in Uttersoo. For the study the villages selected from the reserved areas are Larnoo and Reinarther as the nearest and farthest villages respectively though Iqbalpora Khretti was taken from the unreserved areas of the tehsil.

Tehsil Pahalgam

Pahalgam, a world famous tourist attraction and a hill station is no new even to the scholarly world. It is located towards north at a distance of 42 kilometres from the district headquarters. It is known for its scenic beauty amidst snow clad mountains to its surroundings. It is the starting point for the pilgrimage to world famous Shri Amarnathji shrine starting every year in the months of July-August. The shrine is located at a distance of 48 kilometres from Pahalgam, at an altitude of about 13000 feet, and thus remaining snow-clad throughout the year. One of the important tributary to river Jhelum, i.e. the Lidder canal flows through it after originating from Sheeshnag and Kolhai glaciers. The tehsil has 11590 households, a home for 70692 persons with 37152 males and 33540 females. Amongst all the tehsils it is the only tehsil that has every village listed in RBA category.The two reserved villages in the tehsil Pahalgam and Aru, chosen as nearest and farthest reserved areas respectively are the famous tourist places in the state. Kullar, an unreserved village of tehsil Sallar, earlier a part of Pahalgam Tehsil was selected for the non-RBA component of the study as there is no unreserved village in the tehsil.

Tehsil Qazigund

Being the first place after one enters the Kashmir valley crossing the Jawahar tunnel, Qazigund is known as the gateway of Kashmir. Pir Panjal tunnel, the longest railway tunnel connects the Kashmir valley to the other side through Qazigund. Situated to the south of Anantnag and at a distance of 21 kilometres, it has 5671

77 number of house-holds with a population of 45424 persons which comprise of 23778 males and 21651 females. For the study the villages selected from the reserved areas are Kewa and Nagress as the nearest and farthest areas while Wangam was taken from the unreserved areas of the tehsil.

Tehsil Sallar

Tehsil Sallar has been mostly carved from existing Pahalgam district. It is located towards north eastern region at a distance of about 28 kilometres. The place has 6260 number of households with 40074 person population. The number of males in the pupation is 20513 while that of females is 19561. Sallar is situated on the either sides of Bijbehara-Pahalgam road just after one passes the Srigufwara boundaries. From this tehsil, Sheikhpora and Veersiran villages were selected as the nearest and farthest reserved villages for the study while Wullarhama was the sample from the unreserved category of villages.

Tehsil Shahabad Bala

Located in south-eastern region of the district, the place is about 21 kilometres far from the district headquarters. It has been created on 2014 partly from the existing Dooru, Anantnag and Shangus tehsils. Its 26276 number of males and 23572 females add upto the population of 49848 persons who put up in 7015 households. The tehsil was earlier known as Dooru Shahabad with many areas of the newly created tehsil Dooru. The two reserved villages, nearest and farthest, selected in the tehsil are Omoh and Kapran respectively while Hiller was selected for the non-RBA component of the study.

Tehsil Shangus

The tehsil is amongst the six existing sub-divisions of the district. It is located towards the eastern part of the district headquarters at a distance of about 16 kilometres. The total number of households in the tehsil is 12400 harbouring 74103 persons with 39062 males and 35041 females. Amongst the famous Mughal gardens the tehsil has one at Achabal by the name of Achabal gardens. For the study the villages selected from the reserved areas are Wangam and Chaklipora the nearest and farthest areas while Uttersoo was taken from the unreserved areas of the tehsil.

Tehsil Srigufwara

Srigufwara has also been created from the erstwhile boundaries of Pahalgam and Bijbehara. It is situated to the north-eastern regions of the district at a distance of 19 kilometres. The tehsil has a population of 41645 souls with 21020 males and 20625 females putting up in 6495 households. From this tehsil, the entire stretch of the Gojratpas (village Khiram) was selected as the reserved village for the study since it is the only village in the tehsil listed as reserved backward area. However, to meet the standard of 20 household samples from each tehsil the sample was doubled. From the unreserved villages Wullarhama was selected being closer than the village and tehsil Saller itself.

3.7 Sampling

The study is based on multi-stage sampling while the samples of village are purposively selected. The samples of households are randomly selected. From 387 villages in the district, there are 187 villages declared as qualified in the RBA list of villages by the JK Backward Class Commission. We have selected 2 RBA villages from each tehsil, total 24 for the study. These villages are purposively selected but with one criterion of distance of village from the tehsil headquarters. Therefore in each tehsil, a village nearest to the tehsil headquarter in its location and another farthest from the tehsil headquarter is selected.

The rationale for selecting villages nearest to and farthest from the tehsil headquarters is to know whether the all villages wherever they are located benefitted equally from the scheme or their location is important in their access to the benefit of RBA reservation scheme.

Secondly, 240 households, 10 from each sampled village were selected in order to investigate into the impact of reservation scheme on the life conditions of the people. In order to select 10 households from each village, we madetwo hamlet groups, each consisted of 50 households. One hamlet group is from the periphery and another from the centre of the village. In each hamlet group, 50 households were personally identified and listed (sample frame), out of which 5 households were selected randomly.

Thirdly, in order to investigate the effective implementation of the scheme,the data was collected related to developmental indicators of 12 non-RBA villages and subsequently compared this with RBA villages (both nearest and farthest to tehsils). These 12 selected non-RBAvillages were located adjacent to RBA villages nearest to tehsil headquarters.

3.8 Tools for Investigation

In the sampled villages, spread across the length and breadth of the district, the data collection process took about four months to complete.The study has employed two types of interview schedules for the primary data collection.

The first interview schedule (structured and close ended), given in Annexure VIII was employed for collecting the household information of the 24 RBA villages to get the extent of backwardness which the backward class commission bases its decision on declaring a village qualified for the RBA list. The second schedule (structured and closed) was aiming at collecting the data particularly that of the development indicators of all the 36 villages (24 RBA and 12 Non-RBA) so as to on comparing the villages, the magnitude of welfare could be tabulated in the reserved as well as in the non-reserved villages of the district. The structured villageinterview schedules used is attached as Annexure VII.The following chart presents a pictographic outlook of the entire household sampling procedure.

District Anantnag

Tehsils [All 12 Tehsils selected]

One RBA Village (Nearest to the tehsil) One RBA Village 1*12= 12 Villages (Farthest from tehsil)

1*12= 12 Villages

10 households from each village 10*(12+12) = 240

The list of the selected villages RBA as well as non-RBA’s is given in Table 3.12 given below.

Table 3.12 Selected Villages for Study across Different Categories S.No Tehsil Villages Villages Selected Non RBA Selected Farthest to Tehsil Villages Nearest to Selected Tehsil 1. Anantnag Uttreso- Kamad Brakpora Najigund 2. Bijbehara HP Taveela Dodopati (Marhama) GundChahal 3. Mattan Ranbirpora Krangsoo Paibugh 4. Dooru Badasgam Agnoo/Zamalgam/Batgun Bongund d 5. Kokernag Bindozalangam Hiller Arhama Danwethpora 6. Larnoo Larnoo Reinarther IqbalporaKhre tti 7. Pahalgam Pahalgam Aru Kullar 8. Qazigund Keva Nagress Wanpora 9. Sallar Sheikhpora Veersiran Wullarhama 10. Shahabad Omoh Kapran Hiller Bala 11. Shangus Wangam Chaklipora Uttarsoo 12. Srigufwara Gojratpas Gojratpas (Khiram) Khiram (Khiram) Source: Primary Data

For secondary sources of data, the census 2011 data complemented with the information collected from the following state and district bodies was used:

• Office of the Backward Class Commission, Srinagar • Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Srinagar • Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag • District Social Welfare Department, Anantnag • Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Anantnag

3.9 Research Instrument

The highlights of the schedules vary according to the objectives they are aimed for. The two kinds of schedules with their summary of the areas focussed in them are explained briefly hereunder:

Households Schedule

This schedule focussed on the household details, income, expenditure and assets of many kinds possessed by the household. It also contained detailed information about the educational status, droupouts and the reasons therein. A good assessment of the healthcare sector is also attempted in the outlay of the schedule. Questions about the availability and the accessibility of the basic life amenities have also been incorporated. In the closing ends, the schedule focuses on the reservation benefits and the extent of welfare the household has accrued of it.

Schedule for Villages

The village schedule focussed on the facilities available in the village. It included the population distribution particularly via the public distribution system to present a picture of the possession of wealth by the people. It has a detailed account of literacy particularly across gender. The schedule also incorporates the details about the availability and accessibility of the basic life amenities like water supply, electricity, drainage, healthcare and educational institutions.

3.10 Data Processing and Analysis

The data collected from the field was followed by the subsequent codification in accordance with the acceptability of the statistical package; SPSS (windows version 20.0) with the help from the Microsoft excel spread sheets. The data was entered in the computing software followed by the analysis and interpretation of the different data sets that were created. It involved the descriptive statistics, mapping, picturizations, cross tabulations and other type of analysis as and when required.

3.11 Limitations

As the study has been carried out in one of the largest districts of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, there were some limitations worth mentioning as the study on the reservation policy in Kashmir is the first of its kind. Some of these limitations are:

• Rearrangement of the tehsil boundaries in the district created some problems as the data available with some departments was in accordance with the earlier frames of division.

• The information available on the websites was not updated on regular basis creating inconvenience. Even the manual records at many prime administrative offices were not up to date. • The period of data collection unfortunately coincided with the one of the greatest political turmoil in the history of Kashmir Valley. Life in the valley had come to halt. Anantnag being highly involved in the process made the conduct of the data collection a bit challenging. People those days were not allowed to move during daytime because of the civic hartaals17(curfews like situations) and somewhere the respondents’ reluctance was an inevitable outcome of the situation. For example, in few villages of Kokernag tehsil, some people asked the researcher to write that they have got nothing except the agonies and pains from India. They said, “Just ask them to set us free, we don’t require any of your welfare and development kind of stuff”. In a way they were not ready to sit across and objectively assess the development. • Tehsil Pahalgam has no non-RBA village, thus for comparison purpose one non- RBA village ‘Kullar’ was selected from nearest tehsil Saller. • Tehsil Srigufwara has the only village called Gojratpas (Khiram) listed as reserved. To meet the demands of sampling number (i.e. 10 from each village) the number was doubled for the statistical purpose.

17Complete shutdown observed against the state machinery for different reasons ranging from rights violations and atrocities.

Chapter 4

Social Justice, Policy of Protective Discrimination and the Identification of Residents of Backward Areas in Jammu and Kashmir

Chapter 4

SOCIAL JUSTICE, POLICY OF PROTECTIVE DISCRIMINATION AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF RESIDENTS OF BACKWARD AREAS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

The chapter discussed the specific welfare measure provided by the state to the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and ‘socially and educationally backward sections’ of the state, a category which includes the ‘residents of backward areas’ i.e. RBAs. Explaining the structure and the process of identification of the RBAs, the chapter highlights the anomalies in the identification process by juxtaposing the data of the developmental indicators of adjacent but nearest RBA villages to that of the non-RBA villages and also with those RBA villages which are farther to the tehsils.

4.1 Social Justice and the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir

It is elaborated in the preceding chapter that the state of Jammu and Kashmir has distinctive status and power in the union of India. The special status of the state emanates from the nature and circumstances of its accession to India and the same is protected by Article 370 of the Indian constitution. It is because of this special power of the state, that the Jammu and Kashmir has its own constitution called ‘the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir’. Though having distinct identity, the Constitution of J K is similar to Indian Constitution in letter and spirit. Like the constitution of India, the Constitution of J & K unequivocally emphasized upon the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity and has highlighted the philosophy of social justice and egalitarianism in it. Its preamble states that,

“WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR, having solemnly resolved, in pursuance of the accession of this State to India which took place on the twenty sixth day of October, 1947, to further define the existing relationship of the State with the Union of India as an integral part thereof, and to secure to ourselves:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and' worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among us all;

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this seventeenth day of November, 1956, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION” (Preamble, Constitution of J&K)

Many of the sections of the Constitution of J K explicitly emphasize upon the values and the goals of social justice. Some of the major sections are mentioned below:

Section 25 of CoJK enjoins for the creation of a society based on fraternity, cooperation and free from all kind of prejudices and discrimination. The section states that,

“The State shall combat ignorance, superstition, fanaticism, communalism, racialism, cultural backwardness and shall seek to foster brotherhood and equality among all communities under the aegis of a Secular State”.

The constitution also enjoins for creating ‘socialist order’ (Section 13), for improving the living standard of rural masses (Section 15), for ensuring development of economy (Section 14) and for providing public assistance to certain cases (Section 19). The Constitution make it obligatory for providing free and compulsory education in certain cases (Section 19) and the state shall strive for special care of women (Sections 21) and children and (Section 22).

In a nutshell, it seeks protection of all the marginalized sections of the society socially, economically, educationally and politically. Part IV-23 of the Constitution says that,

“The State shall guarantee to the socially and educationally backward sections of the people special care in the promotion of their educational,

material and cultural interests and protection against social injustice” (Constitution of J&K section 23).

Similarly, Section 49, apart from defining Scheduled Castes, directs the state to provide reservation for the SCs in the state assembly proportional to their population. The constitution of J & K doesn’t specify anywhere the term Scheduled Tribes.

4.2 Policy of Protective Discrimination in Jammu and Kashmir

The Policy of Protective Discrimination in Jammu and Kashmir, like that of Indian Constitution, is comprehensive. It includes many areas such as protection and promotion of children, women, poor, deprived, landless people and so on. There are many policies and programmes for providing housing to homeless, income generating opportunities to unemployed, training and financial assistance to artisans, redistribution of land to landless and so on. Many of these policies and programmes of Protective discrimination or welfare of people are those which exist in other states of the country. Hence, the scope of the protective discrimination policy is comprehensive to include almost all the disadvantaged sections of the society.

However, the policy of reservation in education, employment and decision making bodies is of a great importance. It has multiple socio-economic and political consequences, and, therefore has been debated and discussed in media and political arena but no scientific study, to the best of my knowledge has so far been conducted about the reservation policy in J & K.

Scheduled caste of the state were extended reservation facilities from nineteen fifty-six, the structure of the policy of reservation and the identification of other categories of people evolved over a period of time through the recommendations of various committees and commissions appointed by Government of JK and finally an act Called “Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act” was enacted in 2004. Some of the major committees/commissions, whose recommendations contributed in the evolution of the structure of the reservation policy are as follows:

Gajendra Gadkar Commission (1967) Justice Janki Nath Wazir Commission (1970) Justice Adrash Sen Anand Committee (1976) Justice K. K. Gupta Commission (1994)

Today, as per J & K Reservation Act 2004, Reservation is provided to scheduled castes (8%), scheduled tribes (10%), Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (25%) which is classified into three categories as Residents of Backward areas (20%), Residents of the actual line of control (3%) and Social castes (2%). It also physically challenged (3%) and ex-servicemen (6%). However, the focus of this chapter is on identification of RBAs for reservation.

4.2.1 Scheduled Castes (SCs)

The Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir in Section 49 (b) defined Scheduled Castes as follows:

“Scheduled Castes" means the castes, races or tribes or part of, or groups within, castes, races, or tribes which are for the purposes of the Constitution of India deemed to be Scheduled Castes in relation to the State under the provisions of Article 341 of the Constitution.”

Hence, President of India, in consultation with ‘Sadr-i-Riyasat’ (Governor of Jammu and Kashmir) issued an order called the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order, 1956, under article 341 (1) of India Constitution. This Presidential Order contained a list of 13 castes under the category of Scheduled castes which are as follows,

1. Barwala 2. Basith 3. Batwal 4. Chamar or Ramdasia, Chamar-Ravidas, Chamar-Rohidas 5. Chura, Bhangi, Balmiki, Mehtar 6. Dhyar 7. Doom or Mahasha, Dumna 8. Gardi 9. Jolaha 10. Megh or Kabirpanthi 11. Ratal 12. Saryara 88

13. Watal.1

Out of these 13 castes, 10 are exclusively Hindus. One i.e. ‘Doom’ is common to both Hindus and Muslims and two of them i.e. Jolaha and Watals are exclusively Muslims. However, the Presidential order mentioned it explicitly that the concession under the category of Scheduled Castes would be available only to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. This is similar to in other parts of the country where under the category of Scheduled Castes the castes of only Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists are included. The castes of Muslims and Christians are capped out of the scope of Scheduled Castes.

Population and Benefits

These 13 castes constitute 924991 persons in J & K. Their share in the population of the state is 7.38% while they are nearly 0.45% in national population of SCs. The SCs of J & K are mainly concentrated in the regions of Jammu. Census of India 2011 provides caste wise population of Scheduled Castes in the state which is presented in the following table (Table 4.1).

Table 4.1 Population of Scheduled Castes in J & K

Population S. No. Caste Total Male Female 1. Barwala 33225 17197 16028 2. Basith 24407 12654 11753 3. Batwal 43945 23191 20754 4. Chamar or Ramdasia 212032 112623 99409 5. Chura 6918 3680 3238 6. Dhyar 8343 4350 3993 7. Doom 193803 101410 92393 8. Gardi 4596 2445 2151 9. Jolaha 306 188 118 10. Megh 359105 186813 172292 11. Ratal 2784 1489 1295 12. Saraya 15825 8242 7583 13. Watal 146 79 67 Source: Census 2011

1 Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order, 1956 in Annexure I of J&K Reservation Rules, 2005. 89

Scheduld Castes have been provided 8 per cent reservation, slightly more than their ratio in the state population (7.38%), in education, employment and in state legislative assembly. Reservation to SC emanates from section 49 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, which states as under:

“there shall be reserved in the Legislative Assembly for the Scheduled Castes in the State a number of seats which shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same, proportion to the total number of seats in the Assembly as the population of the Scheduled Castes bears to the population of the State”.

Thus, in pursuance of the Jammu & Kashmir Representation of the People Act 1957, 7 out of 87 seats are reserved for them in State Legislative Assembly. Similarly, in urban local bodies, according to the Jammu & Kashmir Municipal Act, 2000, from 918 Municipal Committees 73 are reserved for SCs. However, they have not been provided reservation in panchayat as Jammu and Kashmir government has yet not adopted 73rd 2 amendment in the Indian Constitution. In addition, there are many schemes launched for their welfare and empowerment.

Apart from the reservations in decision making bodies, educational institutions and recruitments, there are many schemes designed for the welfare of SCs in J & K, enumerated below:

• Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes Students in J & K • Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes Students in J & K • Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for SC/ST Students in J & K • Schemes in collaboration with National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKDC), Govt. of India, New Delhi • Stipend to ITI students from OBC background (includes SCs as well)

In addition to it, there are many Social Welfare bodies working under the Department of Social Welfare. It includes Social Welfare Boards and Welfare Corporations working in their specific capacities to improve the condition of these weaker sections. For SCs following bodies have been constituted:  Schedule Caste Development Advisory Board

2 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act was passed in 1992 to do away with some of the limitations of the village panchayat system, one of which was to give due representation to the schedule caste and scheduled tribe communities. 90

 Social Welfare Board  State Commission for Backward Classes  The Jammu & Kashmir SCs, STs & BCs Development Corporation

These facilities of reservation and welfare are found to have positive impact on the life condition of scheduled castes. Their level of education, representation in government employment and state assembly has increased leading to the creation of a middle class among them. Their literacy rate in the state is 60.55% merely 6 percentage points below the literacy rate of SCs at national level. Their work participation rate is 35% which is also not much behind to the national average.

4.2.2 Scheduled Tribes (STs)

Unlike the Constitution of India, the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir did not mention the category of scheduled tribes despite the fact that many communities in the state have traditionally been pastoral nomads and living in hilly regions and forest areas. They are distinct from other communities in terms of their social structure, culture and language. For the first time, two of such communities namely Gujjars3 and Bakerwals4 were identified as backward communities in 1969 by Janki Nath Wazir Committee5. Their inclusion in the list of backward communities only entitled them to avail those facilities of government available to any other backward community. Subsequently, in 1977, Justice Adarsh Sen Anand Committee6, recommended 4% reservation to these two communities. However, the committee did not recognize them as scheduled tribes.

3 A semi-nomadic tribal community, located mostly in the northern regions of India, is characterized by their distinct culture and language. Their economy was chiefly associated with their livestock but now they have begun to work as agricultural labourers also. 4 Bakerwals, the high altitude shepherds or goatherds in Jammu and Kashmir are the nomadic tribes. With livestock is their chief source of economy, they belong to the same racial stock of Gujjars as their culture, language and dressing sense is akin to those of Gujjars. 5 J. N. Wazir Committee, was appointed on February 3, 1969 vide Government Order No. 252-GD of 1969 to: a) Consider the observations and recommendations of the J & K Commission of Inquiry and to recommend the classes, other than Scheduled Castes, which are backward based on the multiple criteria suggested by the Commission and on other relevant matters. b) Indicate, as nearly as may be possible, the proportion of population of each of the backward classes so recommended, to the population of the State as a whole. (WCR page 2) The report of the Committee was submitted in December 1969. 6The Committee was framed to rectify the shortcomings present in the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules 1970, with the following terms of reference:

Implementation of the recommendations of the second national backward class commission also known as “Mandal Commission” after the name of its chairman B P Mandal in 1990 triggered off protests and demonstrations either in favour of reservation policy or against it in almost all states of India including Jammu and Kashmir. In the state of JK many protest and demonstrations were organized by those communities which were living in mountainous and hilly regions. They were demanding the status of ST for them.

In the wake of such intense mobilization and demonstration a presidential order i.e. an order by the President of India, was issued in 1989, for notifying some communities of Jammu and Kashmir as scheduled tribes. The order is known as Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order, 1989. It defines ‘Scheduled Tribes’ as,

“The tribes or tribal communities, or parts of, or groups within, tribes or tribal communities, specified in the Schedule to this Order” (Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order, 1989)

The Schedule initially included eleven communities namely Balti, Beda, Bot/Boto, Brokpa/Drokpa/Dara/Shin, Changpa, Garra, Mon, Purigpa, Gujjar, Bakarwal and Gaddi7. Subsequently, another community namely Sippi was included in the schedule of tribes in 1991 by an amendment through presidential order no. 3 of 1991.

In this way the category of ST was introduced as late as 1989 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Population and Benefits

The twelve communities having the status of STs belong to different regions and religions of the state. Gujjars, Bakerwals and Baltis who are mostly located in the Kashmir valley are Muslims, Gaddis and Sippis from the Jammu regions follow Hinduism whereas Buddhism is followed by Bedas, Botas, Brokpas, Changpas and Garra tribal groups, mostly distributed in the Ladakh region of the state.

The population of 1493296 of these tribal communities, according to the Census 2011is composed of 1493296 persons. These STs of the state constitutes 11.91% of total population of the state where as it accounts to only 1.43% of the total

7 Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order, 1989 in Annexure II of J&K Reservation Rules, 2005. 92

population of STs of the country. The population composition of the different Scheduled Tribe Communities is shown in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2 Population of Scheduled Tribes of Jammu and Kashmir Population S. No. Name of the Tribe Total Males Females 1. Balti 51918 26473 25445 2. Beda 420 216 204 3. Bot/Boto 91495 45295 46200 4. Brokpa/Drokpa/Dara/Shin 48439 25240 23199 5. Changpa 2661 1335 1306 6. Garra 504 275 229 7. Mon 829 418 411 8. Purigpa 39101 20119 18982 9. Gujjar 980654 510710 469944 10. Bakarwal 113198 59621 53577 11. Gaddi 46489 23808 22681 12. Sippi 5966 3064 2902 Source: Census 2011

The scheduled tribes have been provided 10% (near about 2% less than their proportion in the population of the state i.e. 11.91%) reservation in education and employment. It should be noted here that scheduled tribes, unlike scheduled castes of the state have not been provided any reservation in the state assembly. Nonetheless, they have reservation facilities in local bodies. As per Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Act, 2000, 24 out of 918 Municipal Committees are reserved for scheduled tribes.

In addition to the reservations, there are many schemes that are framed to safeguard the interests of the STs in the state. Many welfare schemes aimed for the educational advancement along-with the financial improvement for these groups of people. Some of them are,

• Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe Students in J & K • Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe Students in J & K • Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for SC/ST Students in J & K • Stipend to ITI students from OBC background (includes STs as well)

Like scheduled castes they many welfare bodies are also constituted particularly to address the specific issues of Scheduled Tribes in the state, for example:

• Social Welfare Board • Gujjar & Bakarwals Board • State Commission for Backward Classes • The Jammu & Kashmir SCs, STs & BCs Development Corporation

However, the socio-economic and educational developmental indicators show that they have been benefitted by the reservation policy but not to the extent the SC have developed. Their economic status (with 35.71% worker population) is almost equivalent to those of SCs but they lack considerably in the educational and political sector. Mere 40.29% literacy rate of STs in the state, as shown by Census 2011, is enough to explain their predicament in the education. They are lagging by about 18 percentage points to the literacy rate of the STs at the national level (58.96%). The STs of J & K are alarmingly behind the state literacy rate and the national literacy rate with about 26 and 32 points respectively. A meager improvement 2.79% from the last census in the literacy rate of STs in the state shows that educationally, they are the weakest among all the disadvantaged sections of the state. Their isolated habitats and aloofness becomes a greater impediment to ward off the backwardness, unemployment, poverty and illiteracy.

4.2.3 Socially and Educationally Backward Sections (SEBS)

The category of socially and educationally backward sections has its origin in Section 23 of the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir which states that,

“The State shall guarantee to the socially and educationally backward sections of the people special care in the promotion of their educational, material and their cultural interests and protection against social injustice.”(The CoJK Section 23)

The constitution did not define or spell out the socially and educationally backward sections of Jammu and Kashmir. Its definition and identification is left to the jurisdiction of state and judiciary. The government of the state appointed committees/commissions for the identification of backward sections and facilities of

94 protective discrimination to them. The first of such committees and commissions was headed by Mr. Gajendragadkar and, therefore known as Gajendragadkar Commission. It was constituted in 1956 for the identification and welfare of backward classes. However, instead of identifying backward sections entitled to reservation benefits, the commission only laid down criteria for the identification of such sections8. Subsequently Justice Janki Nath Wazir Committee, acting on the criteria, identified 6 broad categories of backward sections consisting of geographical areas, groups of people and occupations9. Neither Wazir Committee report nor the Jammu and Kashmir Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation) Rules 197010 explicitly spelt out backward sections. It was Justice Adrash Sein Anand Committee in 1976 which rearranged the classification based on the social and educational backwardness. It proposed the categorization of backward classes11 as follows:

1. Weak and under privileged Classes12 2. Residents of Backward Areas i.e., (i) Bad Pocket13, and

8 The criteria laid down by Gajendragadkar commission for the identification of backward classes is: (a) The economic backwardness of the classes (based on suitable adhoc figures of annual income), (b) The occupation or occupations pursued by that class of citizens, (c) Their places of habitation, (d) Average students population per thousand and (e) Caste in relation to Hindus (GG report, Para 5.34) 9Janki Nath Wazir Committee was constituted in 1969 recommended that the following six sub-categories should be treated as backward: i. Bad Pockets (Appendix I) ii. Areas adjoining the Cease-fire Line [Tehsil Akhnoor (26 villages), Tehsil Nohshera (48 villages), Tehsil Rajouri (27 Villages), Tehsil Haveli (41 Villages) and Tehsil Mendhar (34 villages)] iii. Pensioners (Civil ex-class IV employees and army ex-servicemen unto the rank of Subedars, non- combatants and followers and corresponding ranks in Navy and Air Force) iv. Cultivators (Appendix II) v. Social Caste (Appendix III) and vi. Occupational Class (Appendix IV) The list of these six different categories of backward classes is shown in their respective appendixes. 10 Jammu and Kashmir Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation) Rules 1970 were framed by the state government acting on the recommendations of the Wazir Committee 1969. The rules made provisions for reservation of appointments and posts in favour of scheduled castes and backward classes of the society that in the opinion of the Wazir Committee were not adequately represented in the state services, with the following ratio: (i) Scheduled Castes 8% (ii) Backward Classes 42%, including 2% reserved for permanent residents of Ladakh District i.e. the present day Leh and Kargil Districts of Ladakh division of the state. (Ananad Committee Report Page 7) 11 The term ‘backward classes’ was used for ‘backward sections’ after the judgment of Janki Prasad Parimo and Others versus State of Jammu and Kashmir which stated that, “the expression ‘backward class of citizens’ in Article 16(4) means the same thing as the expression ‘any socially and educationally backward class of citizens’ in Article15(4) and Section 23 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir” (AIR 1973 SC 930) 12 The 22 consolidates classes consolidated by the Anand committee from the 4 categories of Pensioners, Cultivators, Social Caste and Occupational Caste as had been identified by Wazir Committee. 13 The subcategory comprises of the people living in the notified backward areas. 95

(ii) Areas near the Line of Actual Control14 (Anand Committee Report Page 67) The classification of backward sections by Justice Adrash Sein Aanand Committee was further consolidated by K K Gupta Commission of 199415, and adopted by Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act 2004. As per this act, socially and educationally backward sections (SEBS) or backward classes are classified into three categories which are as follows:

1. Weak and under privileged class (Social Caste16) i.e. SOC/SLC, provided 2% reservation 2. Actual Line of Control (ALC)17 entitled for 3% reservation, and, 3. Residents of Backward Areas (RBA), entitled for 20% reservation

In this way the category of socially and educationally backward sections is provided 25% reservation. Among the three categories having the status of backward classes, the category of Resident of Backward Areas is largest.

This category of socially and educationally backward sections in Jammu and Kashmir may be described as parallel to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in rest of the country. However, there is a major difference between the two. While category of backward classes in Jammu and Kashmir consist of people living in identified areas

14 The areas within 8 kilometers of the Line of Actual Control (Adrash Committee Report, Page 68) 15 The categorization of the backward classes in the recommendations of K K Gupta Commission (1994) report is as follows: (1) Scheduled Castes - 8% (2) Schedule Tribes- 10% (3) Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (i) Residents of Backward Areas- 20% (ii) Areas near the Actual Line of Control - 3% (iii) Weak and under privileged Classes or Other Social Castes - 2% (4) Children with Disabilities-2% (5) Ex-Servicemen and Children of Defence personnel- 5% 16 Social Castes are certain educationally backward sections of people in the state, the services/occupations of which carry stigma with it, for example bathing dead bodies, traditional dancers, singers, beggars, etc. There were 21 such castes identified by Wazir Commission whereas the 2005 JK Reservation Rules has grouped them into 25 castes (Annexure V). The SOCs enjoy few scholarship schemes apart from being monitored by the Jammu and Kashmir State Commission for Backward Classes. Financially there are entitled to many benefits in many schemes run by the J & K State Advisory Board for the Welfare and Development of Other Backward Classes and by the Jammu & Kashmir Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes & Backward Classes development corporation Limited, Srinagar. 17 As per Wazir Committee ALC are those places which are located within the aerial distance of five miles from the ceasefire line. These are characteristic of many disadvantages for being in close proximity to the border which lead to the economic and educational backwardness of the inhabitants. In Chapter X of the report as many as 179 Villages (26 in Akhnoor, 49 in Nowhera, 27 in Rajouri, 42 in Haveli and 35 in Mendhar Tehsils) have been identified to be included in the category 96

and members of few social caste, the category of other backward classes is predominantly made of social groups or castes.

Neither Census of India nor official statistics of the state provide population figure of backward sections of the state. Furthermore there is no specific measure of welfare other than reservation in education and employment provided to the section of the society. Nonetheless, under Section 50(8), the Constitution of the State politically empowers the entire category of ‘socially or economically backward classes’, by reserving them 3 seats in the 36 member State Legislative Council, which are to be nominated by the Governor.

4.3 Identification of resident of backward areas

It is just mentioned above that in the three sub-categories of socially and educationally backward sections, resident of backward areas category is the largest category. The origin of this category can be traced in the recommendation of Justice Janki Nath Wazir Committee, which identified a category called ‘bad pockets’. The committee identified 10 bad pockets as well as recommended some criteria for the identification of such bad pockets18. Afterwards the Adrash Sein Anand Committee, by slightly modifying criteria for the identification of bad pockets mentioned in the Wazir Committee, recommended inclusion of 7 more bad pockets19. Thus, the number of bad pockets increased from ten to seventeen.

In 1992, the word ‘bad pockets’ was replaced by the word ‘backward areas’ through SRO no 272 of 1982 and State Administrative Council decisions on January 3, 1992. This was not merely the change of the word but also the change in the policy of identifying backward areas and reservation benefit to them. Government of Jammu and Kashmir constituted national backward class commission in 1997 and empowers it to investigate the claim for the status of backward area and take the decision in this

18 The criteria laid down by the 1969 Wazir Committee report for identifying the bad pockets is hereunder: (a) Difficult terrain (b) Inaccessibility (c) Absence of vehicular communication (d) Deficient soil production due to rocky/sandy soil (e) Scanty or inadequate irrigation (f) Non-availability of electric power (g) Lacking industrial infrastructure even the cottage industries (Wazir Committee Report, Page 42 ) 19 The 7 bad pockets added include 70 villages from district Doda, 41 from Kathua, 123 from Udhampur, 50 from Rajouri and 13 villages from Poonch whereas 10 and 47 villages were added respectively from Baramulla and Srinagar districts. 97 regard. However, specific rules, procedures or criteria for the identification of backward areas are not mentioned in the backward class commission document. When we visit to this commission, and enquire about criteria or procedures for the identification of backward areas, we received a very lukewarm response. No official was ready to disclose the intricacies of procedures in the identification of backward areas. However, they informed us that there is a Performa consisting of 49 questions is to be filled by the headman/elders of the village. This perform seeks information about the demographic and the socio-economic features alnogwith the educational status of the village like land assets, irrigation facilities, types of houses, basic amenities of life like electricity, source of fuel and drinking water besides collecting information about the literacy rate, droupouts and the employment ratio of the village. The Performa is attached in Annexure VI. The details are then assessed by two verifying officers who must not be below the rank of Naib-Tehsildar. The Performa is then forwarded to the commission before being certified by the Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner of the district. The 6 member Commission scrutinizes the certified Performa based on the socio-economic and educational indicators in conformity with the guidelines of the apex court laid down in the Indra Sawhney Case (AIR 1993 SC477). On the overall considerations of the indicators and the constitutional reservation policy, the Commission unanimously concludes that whether the village is socially and educationally backward or not. Under section 9 of the Jammu and Kashmir Backward Classes Act, 1997, the commission recommends the government to include or exclude a particular village in the list as defined under 2(d) of the Act. J & K Reservation Rules, 2005 in its Annexure B (page 47) has listed the Backward Areas to which the additions are made after every report of the J & K Backward Class Commission.

4.4 Reservation Facility to RBA

The recommendations of the different committees and commissions constituted for the reservations of the backward classes were repealed by the committees that followed, till 2004 when the state of Jammu and Kashmir published the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act on March 23, 2004. The act provides for reservations in appointment and admissions to all the reserved categories of Jammu and Kashmir. Based on the act, the Resident of Backward Areas (RBA) category has accordingly been provided reservations, the details of which are laid down in the

Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules, 2005, which were published by the Social Welfare Department of the state government vide notification SRO-294 dated 21st October, 2005. The act provides for the inclusion of those areas in the backward areas list that are socially and educationally backward across the length and breadth of the state. A comprehensive list of villages included in the category of backward areas is listed in Annexure ‘B’ of the rules.

According to the aforesaid rules, in appointments, where direct recruitment takes place, the RBA’s are entitled to 20% reservation in any service, class category or grade. However, in case of reservation in appointment by promotions, the RBA’s shall be reserved with only 10% seats only till those posts, the pay scale of which does not exceed to that of Deputy Secretary to Government. In case of admissions to the professional institutions of the state, among the seats, the RBA’s are reserved with 20% seats. However, the reservation would be halved in the admissions for the post graduate professional courses like MS/MD, Agricultural Sciences and M.Tech/ Engineering. Nonetheless, their qualifying marks are slashed by 10% to the 50% marks for the open merit category20. The reservation rules have maintained the roosters for all purposes to the entire process of reservation to answer any doubt in this regard.

As far as issuing the certificates is concerned, a person claiming benefit under RBA sub-category of socially and educationally backward classes needs to fill form III given in the J & K Reservation Rules, 2005. The competent authority answers the claim within a stipulated 15 days from the receipt of the application keeping in view the eligibility criteria, i.e. a person is eligible if:

• He/She is not excluded under rules 3 of the reservation rules which includes persons and their children of

(i) Permanent Residents of the State heading any Department or Organization in the Central Government,

(ii) Persons having enjoyed the benefit of employment in any International Organization like, U.N.O. International Monitory Fund, World Bank and other such Organizations for a period of not less than five years,

20 The unreserved categories in the state 99

(iii) Officers of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and other Para-military Forces not below the rank and status of Colonel in army and other equivalent posts. (Reservation Rules page 2)

(iv) He/She has resided in the area for a period not less than 15 years before the date of application and is actually residing in the said area (Reservation Rules page 25)

Although, for the eligibility part 22 mention the process of determination of gross annual income but the income slab has not been mentioned anywhere in the rules which thus is subjected to change from time to time. After complete secretin of the eligibility criteria, the tehsildar, appointed as the competent authority in this regard issues the RBA certificates, which, according to rule 24 of the JK reservation rules, are valid for a period of five years.

4.5 Issues in the identification of Backward Areas

The structure of reservation provided to the villages as RBA villages has many flaws in its process of identification and in the allocation of welfare measures. The section will highlight its loopholes in the identification process of RBAs. Firstly the shortcomings ensuing from its structural will be discussed, followed by the media reports relate to these issues before objectively assessing the RBA against non-RBA villages and the nearest RBA villages against farthest RBA villages of the tehsils on few developmental indicators.

4.5.1 Structural Shortcomings:

Some of the structural flaws highlighted in the study are:

 What should be the minimum scores on human development indicators or access to basic amenities for the identification of backward area is not known. It is a top secret. Thus, the line to earmark the RBA and the non-RBA villages is missing in the reservation acts, rules and in the reports of the State Backward Class commission as well.

 Similarly, some officials who visit for investigating the claim with the filled performa authenticate the false entries, for corruption and political pressure.

100

 Although it is mentioned that there should be reassessment of the of the RBA list every ten years but till date there are no exclusions from the list of backward villages.

 No limit is mentioned in any of the rules to stop the one from receiving the reservation benefits and thus the old dictum stays proved that, ‘once backward is always backward’.

 Even though the annual report of the Jammu and Kashmir State Commission for Backward Classes like 2013-14 report, mention that the benefit of reservation may not be available to the inhabitants of a RBA village who belong to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe yet the JK reservation rules, 2005, have mentioned whole of the Kargil and Leh district as backward which only harbor the tribal populations.

 A girl from non-RBA village married in a RBA village has to wait for the 15 years to be issued a RBA certificate where as a migrant (temporary or permanent) from RBA to non-RBA village enjoys the same.

 The RBA villages, unlike OBCs in other parts of the country, are reserved with only 10% seats in the processional post graduate courses like MS/MD, Agricultural Sciences and M.Tech/Engineering as against 20% reservation at all other remaining courses.

4.5.2 Media Reports

These loopholes of the policy affect not only the reserved but the unreserved masses who have been alleging the destruction of merit and excellence in the state. Many such shortcomings have been widely discussed in the media, some of which are briefly outlined below:

 On 24th Feb, 2014, Greater Kashmir, one of the leading newspapers in the state writes with the heading ‘Backward villages: Social Welfare minister, deputy get major share’, that “Kulgam, the home district of Minister for Social Welfare Sakina Ittoo and Ramban, the native district of her junior Minister Vikar Rasool, have got a major share of the villages declared as backward by the Government in the past five years”.(Greater Kashmir, February 24, 2014)

101

 Raja Muzaffar Bhat, founder of J & K RTI Movement, in one of his articles ‘The RBA Lollypop’ declares the process of identification process as unjust and out-rightly alleges the political intervention in the inclusion of villages in the list, He states that, “We have many areas in our State which are covered under RBA category, but presently such areas have all the modern facilities like Roads, hospitals, Schools, Colleges etc and even some areas are looked after by Town Area Committees but are still enlisted under RBA category . Can one believe that some areas which are just 12 to 15 kms from Srinagar city are enlisted as RBA villages in Kashmir? These areas were backward 20 years back but not now at least and it is so sad to know that some of our senior leaders of the State have used RBA as a tool to gain political mileage. On contrary to this I known many areas which are totally in accessible and poverty stricken but haven’t been included in the RBA categories. It is a known fact that such enlistments have been made purely on political basis. The areas which were represented by powerful people of a particular political party got the RBA status and the areas which had weak representation could make it” (GK 17.4.2013)

 Arjimand Talib, one of frontline columnists, in his weekly column, criticizing the similar intervention of politics in the allocation of backward status to the villages, writes that, precarious “One of the reasons that the state’s governance remains in a shambles is that reservation based official machinery is dogged by mediocrity. Although this system is a handy tool of maintaining political order and conflict management, it also underlines how precarious our political situation is” (GK, April 11, 2010).

 Under Rule 3(2)21of the J & K Reservation Act, it is mentioned that any person appointed on RBA shall serve in such areas for a period of not less than 7 years. However, according to a new report published 16.3.2017 in an English daily, Rising Kashmir, the rules is ignored as “about 77.5percent of the doctors selected in Health and Medical Education (H&ME) Department on Resident of Backward Area(RBA) category have never gone back to their native places to serve there and provide medicare to the needy people.( 16.3.2017 in RK)

21 Inserted by Act No. III of 2009, s. 3, w. e. f. 5th March, 2008. 102

 In yet another violation of the act which states that that there may be any inclusions and exclusion from time to time by the State Government on the recommendations of the State Backward Classes Commission but recently in January 2011, the then NC-Congress coalition government of the state increased the list with 37 more villages where as there was no exclusion from the list of RBAs i.e. till date no villages has been developed by the reservation as there are no exclusions.

 As per the figures, there is constant inclusion with some rare exclusion from the RBA list. Thus, sensing the swelling of the numbers of RBA villages, a forum created for the protection of RBA rights (JKRF) with Zakir Hussain Bhallesi has demanded that they must be given 32% reservation instead of 20 as the continuous inclusions of the villages in the RBA list shrinks our spaces in the reserved seats. 23.9.2012(the India Post daily news). Given the legal constriction that the quantum of reservation of all the disadvantaged sections must not surpass 50%, by the Supreme Court in M R Balaji Vs Mysore case22, there is scope of further 7% extension in the reservations in J & K, since, the SRO 294 has reserved a total of 43% reservation.

Thus, the media reports clearly highlight the violations of the act which have been carried on with the political interventions as selection process is mostly seen as a gratuity to the villages which are the strongholds of the respective parties in power. This can be well supplemented by a case study regarding RBA identification of a village in the district.

During my field work, I met a man Mr. ‘A’ from a newly declared RBA village in Shangus tehsil of the district. He said prior to inclusion of his village in the RBA list (i.e. before 2012), his village was a municipal ward of the nearby municipal area. But a local leading political figure Mr. ‘X’ was influential enough in generating the political pressure to force the authorities to include their area in the RBA list of villages as well. He continued that Mr. X was instrumental in getting the area detached from the municipal limits and helping them get it declared as RBA village. He furthermore told that the performa which was filled by the seniors of the village was discarded even when it had more than half fabricated entries but later in another

22 AIR 1963 SC 649 103

attempt Mr. X himself directed how to fill the performa. It was in fact filled by his personal staff who against the reality mentioned the dismal socio-economic and educational condition of the village. The two visiting officials from the J & K Backward Class Commission, required to authenticate the entries, visited the village for a mere formality and returned while endorsing the false entries as true. The process was carried forward and the village was declared as backward villages in the subsequent list of the Commission. Mr. A further said that the filled in performa is so false and fake that even today we share a great laughter at the (identification) process.

Hence, it is evident that the issue has become of a high political importance, the way issue caste politics is operative in other parts of the country. It is now a tool in amusing the voters who also long for the jobs and admissions in government sector undertakings. The RBAs prefer to vote in large numbers for those representatives of political parties that prioritize such demands. It can be seen from the field data that from the 240 sampled RBA households, 84 percent of them confirmed to have voted in the latest assembly elections of 2014.

However, there are many other misuses of the area reservation scheme too. There were many cases in which some people were reported to have fiddled with the parentage or residence of their children with their kiths and kins from RBA villages, which enable them to avail all the benefits of this reservation. Moreover, some people from non-RBA villages construct some ordinary residential buildings in backward areas and then claim for the benefits after the scheduled time of fifteen years. These bottlenecks inflict lamentable damages to the actualization of social justice through reservation.

4.5.3 Objective assessment

Apart from these textual and secondary data assessment, the data was also collected from the field to objectively assess the situation. In the district where the study was carried, one RBA village from each tehsil (but nearest to the tehsil) is compared with its adjacent non-RBA village and also with the farthest RBA village of the tehsil. The selected villages across each category are shown in Table 4.3.

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Table 4.3 Selected Villages for Study across Different Categories S.No Tehsil Villages Villages Selected Non RBA Selected Farthest to Tehsil Villages Nearest to Selected Tehsil 1. Anantnag Uttreso- Kamad Brakpora Najigund 2. Bijbehara HP Taveela Dodopati Gund Chahal (Marhama) 3. Mattan Ranbirpora Krangsoo Paibugh 4. Dooru Badasgam Agnoo/Zamalgam/ Bongund Batgund 5. Kokernag Bindozalangam Hiller Arhama Danwethpora 6. Larnoo Larnoo Reinarther Iqbalpora Khretti 7. Pahalgam Pahalgam Aru Kullar 8. Qazigund Keva Nagress Wanpora 9. Sallar Sheikhpora Veersiran Wullarhama 10. Shahabad Omoh Kapran Hiller Bala 11. Shangus Wangam Chaklipora Uttarsoo 12. Srigufwara Gojratpas Gojratpas Khiram (Khiram) (Khiram) Source: Primary data

A village schedule was employed for the purpose of gathering the information regarding the said development indicators. However, the data on the numbers of the people employed in different public sector undertakings couldn’t be available with any of the village headman or the sarpanch. The district authorities also displayed their cold hands as far as the information of each village in concerned. With this limitation, the following sections focus on the development indicators like literacy, poverty and the availability of basic life amenities like electricity, water supply and the range of educational institutions in these villages.

(a) Population

The populations numbers of the villages in the two categories i.e. population of the villages located nearest to the tehsils and non-RBA villages situated close to the RBA villages that are nearest to the tehsils is illustrated in Table 4.4 and Table 4.5 respectively. The extrapolations has also displayed the numbers of scheduled castes

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and scheduled tribes. The means values of the villages will be compared at the end of the section.

Table 4.4 Population of RBA Villages (Nearest to Tehsil)

Scheduled Number of Total Population Scheduled Tribes Name of Villages Castes Households

Male Female Total Number Percent Number Percent Uttreso- 252 1321 1286 2607 0 0 0 0 Najigund HP Taveela 354 1439 1528 2967 0 0 0 0

Ranbirpora 1038 3376 3345 6721 0 0 0 0 Badasgam 1150 4603 4485 9088 0 0 1 0.01

Bindozalangam 519 1576 1428 3004 0 0 72 2.39 Larnoo 698 2107 1959 4066 0 0 611 15.02

Pahalgam 966 5541 3723 9264 66 0.71 20 0.21 Keva 337 1328 1258 2586 0 0 806 31.16 Sheikhpora 301 1005 925 1930 32 1.65 145 7.51 Omoh 301 945 773 1718 0 0 776 45.16 Wangam 185 743 635 1378 0 0 0 0 Gojratpas 302 814 710 1524 0 0 1524 100 (Khiram) Total Values 6403 24798 22055 46853 98 -- 3955 -- Mean Values 533 2066 1837 3904 98 0.2 330 8.45 Source : Primary data

Table 4.4 shows the population details of the selected villages nearest to the respective tehsils. Badasgam and Ranbirpora are the largest villages in terms of population where as Wangam and Gojratpas (of Khiram) are the villages with lowest population counts. The average number of household per village is 533 with the mean population of 3904 persons. Thus, the average household size as per the data is computed to be 7.3 persons that is higher than the district average by 0.28 points and to that of the state by 1.4 points. As far as the population of the SCs and STs in these villages is concerned, there are a total of 98 persons SCs found only in Pahalgam (66)

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and Sheikhpora (32) villages, while as the ST population is scattered in the villages differently which forms only 8.5% population of these villages.

Table 4.5 Population of Non-RBA Villages Name of Total Population Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes Villages Number of Households (Unreserved) Male Female Total Number Percent Number Percent

Brakpora 490 1928 1776 3704 0 0 55 1.48

Gund Chahal 151 541 577 1098 0 0 0 0

Paibugh 105 430 474 904 0 0 0 0

Bongund 196 842 767 1609 0 0 32 1.98

Danwethpora 194 623 627 1250 0 0 0 0

Iqbalpora 494 1703 1578 3341 0 0 840 25.14 Khretti Kullar 571 2024 2028 4052 0 0 862 21.27

Wanpora 151 730 684 1414 0 112 7.92

Wullarhama 294 934 814 1748 0 0 10 0.57

Hiller 289 1424 1278 2702 0 0 179 6.62

Uttarsoo 1574 4479 4246 8725 0 0 3510 40.22

Khiram 1453 4724 4418 9160 0 0 1601 17.47

Total Values 5962 20382 19267 39707 0 -- 7201 --

Mean Values 496 1698 1605 3308 0 0 600 5.5 Source: Primary data

The above table depicting the tale of the non-RBA villages is not showing any marked differences against the data shown in Table 4.4. The population (39707), the average number of households (496) and the mean population of a village (3308 persons) of these non-RBA villages is not too different to the RBA villages (nearest). Where, there is a difference of 1.4 points in the average household size of the villages between these two categories. No SC population was found in these sampled non- RBA villages.

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However, it would be interesting to compare these figures between the RBA villages nearest to the tehsil with the farthest ones. The population numbers of the farthest RBA villages are shown in Table 4.6. Table 4.6 Population of RBA Villages (Farthest to the tehsils) Number of Total Population Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes Name of Villages Households Male Female Total Number Percent Number Percent Kamad 453 1742 1523 3265 1 0 1 0 Dodopati 483 1680 1406 3086 0 0 3086 100 (Marhama) Krangsoo 636 1506 1356 2862 0 0 0 0 Agnoo/ Zamalgam/ 1044 4390 4010 8400 0 0 1039 12.36 Batgund Hiller Arhama 916 3042 2849 5891 0 0 998 16.94

Reinarther 519 1576 1431 3007 0 0 1210 40.23

Aru 204 369 269 638 0 0 201 31.5

Nagress 295 725 632 1357 0 0 1357 100

Veersiran 220 608 610 1218 0 0 141 11.57

Kapran 512 1961 1685 3646 0 0 345 9.46 Chaklipora 748 2075 1977 4052 0 0 3347 82.6 Gojratpas 302 814 710 1524 0 0 1524 100 (Khiram) Total Values 6332 20488 18458 38946 1 -- 13249 --

Mean Values 527 1707 1538 3245 0.08 0 1104 34.02 Source: Primary data

Assessment of the results from the three tables shows that there are some differences in the population figures across the three categories, which are summarized in the following manner.

 The average population of non-RBA villages (3305 persons) is higher than that of RBA (farthest) villages (3245) whereas it is lower than the RBA (nearest) villages (i.e. 3904).  The average household size of non-RBA (5.9) and farthest RBA villages (6.1) is similar but lower than that of the nearest RBA villages (7.3).  The sex-ratio of nearest (899) and farthest RBA(901) villages differ by just 2 points whereas there is a difference of 46 and 44 points respectively when these are compared with the sex ratio of non-RBA villages (945).

On comparing the different variables of the population figures, there is some difference between the RBA and the non-RBA villages, albeit not that notable which

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can be instrumental in deciding for the status of backward or non-backward areas of the district.

(b) Literacy

It is pertinent to mention the levels of the literacy of the state and the district here as the literacy rate is one of the important indicators of social development. The literacy rates of the reserved villages (nearest) are shown in table 4.7.

Table 4.7 Literacy Rate of RBA Villages (Nearest to Tehsil)

Reserved Villages (Nearest) Male Literacy Female Literacy Total Literacy Uttreso-Najigund 67.15 55.44 61.29 HP Taveela 62.47 47.51 54.99 Ranbirpora 60.96 44.10 52.53 Badasgam 53.94 48.87 51.40 Bindozalangam 61.55 48.04 54.79 Larnoo 53.49 36.86 45.17 Pahalgam 71.47 33.36 52.41 Keva 51.58 41.34 46.46 Sheikhpora 42.79 32.21 37.50 Omoh 45.82 33.64 39.73 Wangam 52.49 42.36 47.42 Gojratpas (Khiram) 27.64 19.01 23.32 Total 54.28 40.22 47.25 Source: Primary data

In these reserved villages, located in the vicinity of tehsil boundaries, the literacy rate is 47.25% with 54.28% of males and 40.22% of females. It is about 15 percentage points behind the district and 20 points lagging to the state literacy rate. Omoh, Sheikhpora and Gojratpas (Khiram) figure badly in the literacy rate with 39.73%, 37.50% and 23.32% respectively. Table 4.7 shows the figures complemented by the line graph in Figure 1. The treadline in the figure shows that the literacy rate of the areas falls between 35 to 60 percent. This is indicative of the fact that the areas figure badly in literacy rates particularly in this era of development and modernization.

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Table 4.8 Literacy Rate of Non-RBA Villages

Village Name Male Literacy Female Literacy Total Literacy

Brakpora 60.27 48.31 54.29 Gund Chahal 60.44 45.75 53.1 Paibugh 69.07 54.22 61.65 Bongund 47.98 39.37 43.88 Danwethpora 56.5 44.5 50.5 Iqbalpora Khretti 47.86 31.31 39.59 Kullar 53.71 37.82 45.77 Wanpora 51.1 43.71 47.41 Wullarhama 43.47 33.54 38.51 Hiller 52.6 38.89 45.75 Uttarsoo 53.49 34.6 44.05 Khiram 52.96 33.82 43.39 Total 54.12 40.49 47.30 Source: Primary Data

However, as per the data in Table 4.8 the literacy rates are akin to that of the reserved villages. The literacy rate of the villages located closer to the district is higher as compared to the areas that are farther to it. Paibugh (Anantnag East) has the highest while as Iqbalpora Khetti (Larnoo) has the lowest literacy rate among these unreserved villages.

The near similarity of the results of the means of the literacy rates of the non- RBA villages and the RBA villages will surprise many. Table 4.8 and Table 4.7 show the similar mean values of literacy both male and female literacy rates of the two categories. For males the literacy rates in the non-RBA villages is 54.12% and for females it is 40.49% whereas the same in case of RBA villages (nearest) is 54.28% and 40.22%. Figure 4.1and Figure 4.2 represent the data of the RBA and non-RBA to present a vivid outlook of the same. The treadlines in both the figures show that the literacy rate of these areas fall between the 35- -60% and 40-54% respectively.

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70 60 50 40 30

Percentage 20 10 0

Name of RBA Village (Nearest)

Figure 4.1 Literacy Rate of RBA Villages

70 60 50 40 30

Percentage 20 10 0

Name of Villages (Non-RBA)

Figure 4.2 Literacy Rate of Non-RBA Villages

It is thus clear from the figures and tables that the literacy in both the cases is almost same. This is in clear contrast to the statement from the commission that “for social and educational backwardness every locality is a separate unit to be independently considered on its merit”, since the localities adjacent to each other experience the many facilities and burdens alike.

Nonetheless, when the figures of these two categories are compared with that of the RBA (farthest) villages, a marked difference is noted between across the data of

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the three categories. The following table (Table 4.9) presents the gist of the comparison.

Table 4.9 Literacy rates comparison across all categories with that of District and State Literacy Rate Areas Males Females Total

RBA villages 54.28 40.22 47.25 (Nearest to Tehsil) RBA villages 46.11 32.57 39.34 (Farthest to Tehsil) Non-RBA villages 54.12 40.49 47.30 District Anantnag 72.66 52.19 62.69 J & K State 76.75 56.43 67.16 Source: Primary Data

Across all the categories, it is evident that the RBA villages (nearest) and their adjacent non-RBA villages have similar literacy rates but when it comes to the farthest RBA category, a lot of variations are evident. It means, that the identification of villages as RBA villages, based on the educational backwardness is apparently not given due consideration. Thus, on the basis of educational backwardness either the non-RBA villages are ignored to be incorporated in the RBA list or the nearest RBA villages are incorporated for some other reasons better known to the J&K Backward Class Commission.

To compare the RBA and non-RBA villages on the economic fronts through Public Distribution Scheme (PDS), it is necessary to give a brief account of the PDS system in the state. The PDS, managed by the Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, distributes the ration amounts among the different sections of the people in the respective localities. A Munshi (store supervisor) of the respective depots distributes the ration based on the economic level of the household i.e. AAY (Antodaya Anna Yojna), BPL (below poverty level) and APL (above poverty level) with the designated colours of their ration cards as blue, yellow and orange/pink respectively. They get the ration from the depots at highly subsidized rates. The categorization has been changed into ‘priority’ and ‘non-priority’ households according to the National Food Security Act, 2013. The priority households (PHH) 112 are those comprising of the AAY and BPL categories while the non-priority (NPHH) are the households of APL people. According to the PDS portal webpage, the state has 2824738 ration cards out of which are 1657967 are priority ration cards and 1076925 are non-priority ration cards. The ratio of total PHH to NPHH comes out close to 60:40. Whereas the district has a total of 190107 ration cards, consisting of 134469 PHH and 54745 NPHH ration card holders. The AAY and BPL card holders are 19824 and 34928 numbers respectively. The AAY group forms the 10.42% whereas the old BPL categories are 18.37% in numbers. The additional BPLs added as PHH are of 41.93%, which makes the total PHH percentage composition to 60.31%. This way ratio of PHH to NPHH ration cards of the district is similar to that of the state. The numbers of the different ration card categories of the RBA and non- RBA villages are presented in Table 4.10 and Table 4.11 respectively.

Table 4.10 Ration Card Categories of RBA Villages (Nearest to Tehsil) Tehsil RBA Near AAY BPL PHH TPHH NPHH Ex Total Anantnag Uttreso- 12 35 40 87 47 0 134 Najigund Bijbehara HP Taveela 39 134 250 423 120 0 543 Mattan Ranbirpora 141 186 391 718 510 0 1228 Dooru Badasgam 131 229 678 1038 595 15 1648 Kokernag Bindozalangam 104 219 297 620 362 15 997 Larnoo Larnoo 159 368 363 890 103 0 993 Pahalgam Pahalgam 180 109 164 453 242 0 695 Qazigund Keva 36 99 207 342 132 0 474 Sallar Sheikhpora 26 90 184 300 55 0 355 Shahabad Bala Omoh 31 61 180 272 151 1 424 Shangus Wangam 23 63 78 164 89 2 255 Srigufwara Gojratpas 86 100 124 310 92 3 405 (Khiram) Total 968 1693 2956 5617 2498 36 8151 (Percentage) (11.9) (20.7) (36.1) (68.9) (30.6) (0.004) Source: Primary Data

Table 4.10 depicts that apart from Mattan tehsil none of the respective villages of the tehsils have the priority households (consisting of AAY, BPL and the newly added PHH ration cards) below the 60 percent mark. However, the selected villages from Larno, Sallar, Srigufwara and Bijbehara tehsils have these households more than

113 three-fourths of the total numbers. For these RBA villages the AAY percentage is 11.9 where as it is 20.7 for the people belonging to the BPL categories. The new prioritized households compose of about 36% which frames the total PHH ratio as close as 69:31 i.e. about 9 percentage points more than the district and state average.

Table 4.11 Ration Card Categories of Non-RBA Villages Tehsil Non RBA AAY BPL PHH TPHH NPHH Ex Total Anantnag Brakpora 57 21 285 363 228 1 592

Bijbehara Gund Chahal 37 14 126 177 22 0 199

Mattan Paibugh 5 28 163 196 134 5 335 Dooru Bongund 32 34 95 161 76 0 237

Kokernag Danwethpora 48 174 104 326 113 0 439 Larnoo Iqbalpora 78 228 273 579 71 0 650 Khretti Pahalgam Kullar 47 189 356 592 104 0 696 Qazigund Wanpora 16 44 132 192 57 0 249 Sallar Wullarhama 13 57 165 235 75 0 310 Shahabad Hiller 81 136 447 664 254 4 922 Bala Shangus Uttarsoo 254 597 352 1203 627 5 1835 Srigufwara Khiram 196 580 717 1493 422 9 1924

Total 864 2102 3215 6181 2183 24 8388 (Percentage) (10.3) (25.05) (38.32) (73.68) (26.02) (0.002) Source: Primary Data

However, in case of the non-RBA villages (nearest) the AAYs and the BPLs constitute 10.3 and 25.5 % respectively. Together with other priority households the total priority household swells upto 73.68% which is about 14 percentage points more than the district and the state average. This way ration of the TPHH to the NPHH comes out to be around 74:26.

The similar data figures of RBA villages (farthest) shown in Table 4.12 explicitly shows that there is considerable difference between the nearest and the farthest list of RBA villages.

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Table 4.12 Ration Card Categories of RBA Villages (Farthest to the Tehsil) Tehsil RBA Far AAY BPL PHH TPHH NPHH EX Total Anantnag Kamad 26 66 175 267 180 10 457 Bijbehara Dodopati 95 100 185 380 84 0 464 (Marhama) Mattan Krangsoo 61 21 540 622 232 37 891 Dooru Agnoo/ 105 213 387 705 265 7 977 Zamalgam/ Batgund Kokernag Hiller Arhama 226 248 467 941 549 11 1501 Larnoo Reinarther 68 144 152 364 14 0 378 Pahalgam Aru 18 76 88 182 42 0 224 Qazigund Nagress 24 77 79 180 61 0 241 Sallar Khellan 55 171 180 406 36 0 442 Gojran Shahabad Kapran 97 137 153 387 75 3 465 Bala Shangus Chaklipora 139 196 234 569 39 0 608 Srigufwara Gojratpas 86 100 124 310 92 3 405 (Khiram) 1000 1549 2764 5313 1669 71 Total 7053 (14.2%) (21.9%) (39.2%) (75.3%) (23.66%) (1%) Source: Primary Data

For a quick glance of the situation emanating from the above three tables Figure 4.3, Figure 4.4 and Figure 4.5 below graphically show the two bar graphs of TPHH and NPHH categories in red and blue colours. The three pictures do not present an outlook too contrasting to one another in all the three cases. From the figures it is clear that on the basis of this indicator the economic position of the non- RBA is lower to both the respective nearest and farthest RBA villages in the district, whereas the figures of the nearest and the farthest RBA villages clearly show that the nearest RBA villages have been performing better on the economic scale. This is completely in contrast to what is generally expected by the masses in both the cases.

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100 90 80 70 60 50 AAY 40 BPL Percentage 30 PHH 20 10 TPHH 0 NPHH Ex

Name of the Village

Figure 4.3 Graphical Representation of the Ration Card Categories of RBA Villages

100 90 80 70 60 50 AAY 40 BPL Percentage 30 PHH 20 10 TPHH 0 NPHH Ex

Name of Village

Figure 4.4 Graphical Representation of the Ration Card Categories of Non-RBA Villages

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120 100 80 60 AAY

Percentage 40 BPL 20 PHH 0 TPHH NPHH EX

Name of Village

Figure 4.5 Graphical Representation of the Ration Card Categories of RBA Villages (Farthest)

The summary of the above discussion on the PDS system is presented in the following Table 4.13. Table 4.13 Percentage of Ration Card Categories across RBA and non-RBA Villages Ration Card Categories (percentages) Area AAY BPL TPHH NPHH District Anantnag 10.42 18.37 70.77 28.74

RBA Villages 11.90 20.70 68.90 30.60 (Nearest to Tehsil) RBA Villages 14.20 21.90 75.3 23.66 (Farthest to Tehsil) Non-RBA Villages 10.30 25.02 73.68 26.02 Source: Primary Data

From the above table it is clear that the percentage of BPL category is largest in the non-RBA villages which can surprises any scholar. It correspond the outcomes in the literacy rates of the three categories of villages. And thus the following inferences can be made:

 The RBA villages (nearest) are economically well off than the non-RBA and the RBA (farthest) villages and even better than the district average.  The RBA (farthest) villages have the largest numbers of AAY category.

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 The non-RBA villages have the largest numbers of BPL households even more than the district average.

It means that for the identification process of backward areas, ‘poverty’ an important factor or social and economic backwardness has not been uniformly applied. The figures of the nearest and the farthest villages also show variations which is a clear indication of the deformities in the structure or in the application of the reservation policy in these areas.

(d) Number of Educational Institutes According to the 2015-2016 lists of schools released by the office of the Chief Educational Officer, the total number of schools in the district Anantnag is 1555. Since, there are 387 inhabited villages in the district i.e. a mean value of 4.01 schools per village in the district. The details of the numbers of schools established by the government authorities are shown in Table 4.14. Table 4.14 Number of Schools in the Categories of Villages Schools Higher Villages High Total Primary Middle Secondary Schools Schools Nearest 9 9 5 1 24 RBA Farthest 10 10 3 0 23 RBA Non-RBA 16 16 7 4 43

Total 35 35 15 5 90 Source: District Handbook

On comparing the table with the literacy rate figures, it is obvious that the lesser numbers of RBA (farthest) villages have resulted in their lesser literacy rates whereas the similar numbers of the educational institutes in the RBA (nearest) villages presents a different outlook. Their literacy rates differ by 8 percentage points with the farther RBA villages have only one educational institute lesser than the nearest RBA villages.

Although the non-RBA villages have the literacy rates same as of the RBA nearest villages but the numbers of educational institutes in the non-RBA villages are almost

118 double than those found in the RBA villages. Thus, these figures also add to the concerns for the improper identification of the backward areas in the state.

(e) Basic Facilities

Basic facilities of a village are very instrumental in deciding the level of backwardness. The amenity like availability of electricity, proper roads, water, and the healthcare institutions clearly gives us a sound idea of the life conditions of the people living there. Table 4.15 and Table 4.16 and Table 4.17 present the data from these three different areas under comparison.

Table 4.15 Basic Amenities of RBA Villages (Nearest to the Tehsil) Availability of

Name of Electricity Approach Drainage Safe Technical Dispensary Primary Tehsil Road System Drinking Training Health (Pakka) Water Center Center

Uttersoo- Yes No No Yes No No No Najigund Hasanpora Yes No No No No No No Taveela Ranbirpora Yes Yes No No No No No Badasgam Yes No No No No Yes No

Bindozalgam Yes No No No No No No

Larnoo Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes

Pahalgam Yes Yes No No No No Yes

Kewa Yes No No No No Yes No

Sheikhpora Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No

Omoh Yes Yes No Yes No No No

Wangam Yes No No No No No No Gojratpas of Village Yes No No Yes No No No Khiram

Source: Primary data

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Table 4.16 Basic Facilities of Non-RBA Villages Availability of Name of Electricity Approach Drainage Safe Technical Dispensary Primary Tehsil Road System Drinking Training Health (Pakka) Water Centre Centre

Brakpora Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Gund Chahal Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Paibugh Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Bongund Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Danwethpora Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Iqbalpora Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Khretti Kullar Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Wanpora Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Wullarhama Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Hiller Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Uttarsoo Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Khiram Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Source: Primary data

Table 4.17 Basic Amenities in RBA (farthest) Villages Availability of Name of Electricity Approach Drainage Safe Technical Dispensary Primary Tehsil Road System Drinking Training Health (Pakka) Water Centre Centre

Kamad Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Dodopati Yes No No No No Yes No (Marhama) Krangsoo Yes Yes No No No No No Agnoo/ Zamalgam/ Yes Yes No No No No No Batgund Hiller Yes No No No No No No Arhama Reinarther Yes Yes No No No No No Aru Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Nagress Yes No No No No No No Khellan Yes Yes No No No No No Gojran Kapran Yes No No Yes No Yes No Chaklipora Yes Yes No No No Yes No Gojratpas Yes No No Yes No No No (Khiram) Source: Primary Data

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The comparison of the data present in the tables brings out some more problems in the process of identification. Although, on few parameters like approach road, drainage and drinking water facility, the non-RBA villages are ahead to the RBA villages (nearest) as per the expectations. Whereas the table of the farthest RBA villages states that almost all these villages lack the basic amenities apart from availability of electricity. There are only few villages like Kamad and Krangsoo which have some of these basic amenities; the rest areas are left high and dry.

From the above data it is clear that baring few parameters the condition of the RBA (nearest) villages and non-RBA villages adjacent to each other is almost similar. It is more surprising to hear that at times on some basic amenities; the RBA villages have treaded slightly ahead than the non-RBA villages. Moreover, the farthest RBA villages have been left very far on the availability of these basic amenities when compared to the RBA (nearest) villages.

Thus, a clear mal-identification process is followed by the people at the helm of the affairs. The allegations that have been leveled against the process of favoritism in the RBA are valid even today. Thus, the irregularities in the identification of RBA villages is surely denting the objectives of the reservation scheme, wherein the real beneficiaries are obscured by the fake and false ones to keep them wanting for the benefits of the schemes.

4.6 Conclusion

There are anomalies in the structure and in the mode of application of the backward areas reservation scheme in district Anantnag of the state. When compared on many developmental indicators like literacy, poverty, basic amenities, etc, no uniformity was found either between nearest and farthest RBA villages of the tehsils or between the nearest and their adjacent non-RBA villages. The data from the field endorses some of the claims made by the media, that the process of identification is deeply affected by the political parties which mars the objectives of the scheme. Thus two important inferences can be drawn

1. If we compare the adjacent reserved and unreserved villages in the tehsils we find that the reservation has done no good to the reserved villages and at times the non-reserved villages are lagging behind the reserved village as shown in literacy and BPL household count.

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2. The marked difference between the nearest and the farthest RBA villages in almost each Tehsil of the district suggests that the identification and application of the RBA scheme is biased.

Thus, either the scheme is improperly applied or it has flaws in its structure or even both.

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Chapter 5

Residents of Backward Areas Scheme and the Welfare of People

Chapter 5

RESIDENTS OF BACKWARD AREA SCHEME AND THE WELFARE OF PEOPLE

This chapter analyses socio-economic and educational status of selected 240 households, 10 households from each of 24 sampled RBA villages of district Anantnag on the one hand, on the other it investigates into the access of people to benefits available to them under RBA scheme. It is mentioned in the preceding chapter that RBA’s only entitle people for 20% reservation in government jobs and admissions in government educational institutions. Besides reservation in education and employment available only to the identified categories of people, there are many schemes for the welfare of people across the length and the breadth of the state. Thus, it is important to know the impact of these schemes in RBA villages as reservation in education and employment is not only way, though very effective, for the welfare of the people. Hence, this chapter also contains data and analysis about the welfare schemes in RBA villages.

5.1 Household Classification

It is mentioned in Chapter 3rd that the population in district Anantnag belongs to five religious groups i.e. Muslims (97.99%), Hindus (1.22%), Sikhs (0.57%), Christians (0.13%) and Buddhists (0.01%). But all the sampled households are of Muslims. Eighty households out of 240 i.e. (33.3%) are of Scheduled Tribes. These households belong to a community called Gujjars. Three households are found of Doom community which are Muslims but included in the list of Scheduled caste. However, they are excluded from availing the benefit available to non-Muslim Scheduled Castes. Remaining Households (157 i.e.65.4%)are of Muslims which do not have any administrative status except resident of backward areas. Distribution of these households across sampled villages of twelve tehsils of the district is shown in the Table 5.1.

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Table 5.1 Composition of Categories in the Reserved Areas Reserved Category Reserved ST Name of Tehsil SC & Total Name of the Village Backward & RBA Area RBA Anantnag Uttersoo-Najigund 10 0 0 10 Kamad 10 0 0 10 Hasanpora Taveela 7 3 0 10 Bijbehara Dodopatti of Village 0 0 10 10 Marhama Dooru Badasgam 10 0 0 10 Agnoo/ 0 0 10 10 Zamalgam/ Batagund Kokernag Bindozalgam 10 0 0 10 Hiller-arhama 10 0 0 10 Larnoo Larnoo 10 0 0 10 Reinarther 0 0 10 10 Mattan(Anantnag Ranbirpora 10 0 0 10 East) Krangsoo 10 0 0 10 Pahalgam Pahalgam 10 0 0 10 Aru 10 0 0 10 Qazigund Kewa 10 0 0 10 Nagress 0 0 10 10 Sallar Sheikhpora 10 0 0 10 Veerseran 10 0 0 10 Shahabad Omoh 10 0 0 10 Kapran 0 0 10 10 Shangus Wangam 10 0 0 10 Chaklipora 0 0 10 10 Srigufwara Gojratpas of 0 0 20 20 Village Khiram Total 157 3 80 240 Source: Primary data

It is evident from the above table that Gujjar households are found only in villages of 6 tehsils, However, their concentration 20 is in Srigufwara. This is a mountainous area of the district and is far away from tehsil headquarter.

Simple and complex male and female headed households

Out of 240 sampled households 173(72.08%) are found to be simple. The remaining 67(28.91%) are of joint/complex nature. Simple or nuclear household is that household which comprises of parents and their children whereas the complex or

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the joint households has grandparents, married children, their wives and their off- springs in addition to what is found in simple household.

This data demolish a widespread perception that people in villages usually live in joint or complex households. In fact we observed that the trend of transforming joint households into simple households is increasing in Kashmiri society due to various socio economic changes.

Only 6 households are found to be female headed, the remaining are male headed. These female heads of the households are in fact widows, after the death of their husbands; their sons consider them as the head of the household, though practically decisions in matters related with household affairs are taken by the eldest son.

Household Ownership

All the sample households were self-owned. No family was found to be putting up in the rented accommodations in these areas. Only one amongst the sampled 240 households was constructed by the government under Indira AwasYojna1 (IAY) to a BPL family in Kokernag tehsil. As the policy document states that it will also target to provide assistance to scheduled tribes and scheduled castes for construction and upgradation of house but as revealed by the study from as many as 83 households belonging to the scheduled tribes and scheduled tribes together, no assistance was ever provided to any of them either for construction or for upgradation which many of them needed badly.

Habitation Type

Distribution of households according to their type of habitation indicates that there are 91 households (i.e. 37.9 percent) who are putting up in either thatched2/katchha3 or semi-pucca4 houses, the rest 61% people are living in pucca houses. The distribution of households is shown in Table 5.2 below.

1A rural housing programme under the Ministry of Rural Development, GOI, in January 1996 and then restructured into Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana –Gramin (PMAY-G) w.e.f. 1st April 2016 to target ‘housing for all’ by 2020. Ittargets the housing for the households living below poverty line particularly belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and freed bonded labourers. The target groups are provided with the assistance for constructing affordable houses with basic amenities. The IAY document states that for new construction a sum of Rs 75,000/- is provided while as for upgradation rupees 20,000 is provided to a household. 2 Houses the roof of which is made from the dry vegetation like straw (of rice plant), water reed, etc 3 Houses made of wood, mud, unbricks made out of mud and dry straw

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Table 5.2 Type of Habitations Type of Habitation Numbers Percentage Thatched 7 2.9 Katchha 33 13.8 Semi-Pucca 51 21.3 Pucca 148 61.7 Other 1 0.4 Source: Primary data

5.2 Population

The population of 240 households is found to be 1466. It means the average household size is 6.1which can be considered neither a very big nor a very small size of the household in the villages of India. However it is higher than the state and the national household size i.e. 4.8 and 5.8 respectively.

Of the total population 684 (46.7 percent) are females, therefore the sex ratio i.e. number of females per 1000 is 874. This sex ratio is higher than the sex ratio of state (833) by 43 points where as it is lower than the district sex ratio (927) by 53 points. Age wise distribution of the population is presented in Table 5.3.

Table 5.3 Account of Different Age groups Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent Age 0-5 years 116 7.9 7.9 in 6-10 years 107 7.3 15.2 Years 11-15 years 141 9.6 24.8 16-20 Years 199 13.6 38.4 21-26 Years 215 14.7 53.1 26-35 Years 253 17.3 70.3 36-45 Years 135 9.2 79.5 46-60 Years 222 15.1 94.7 61-70 Years 64 4.4 99.0 71-85 Years 11 .8 99.8 Above 85 3 .2 100.0 Years Total 1466 100.0 Source: Primary Data

4Houses the roof or the walls only are made of burnt bricks, concrete, cement etc.

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This is evident from the above table that the percentage of population consistently increases from age group 0-5 i.e. (7.9%) to the age 26 to 35 i.e. (17.3%) from the age group 36 to 45 (9%) it consistently decreases. This shows the abundance of youth population and lower longevity. In fact many of the people died because of the unavailability of health facilities. Another important characteristic which appeared from the data is that the percentage of the dependent population mainly of children up-to the age of sixteen years is 26%. This population needs education and employment and aspires to have better future.

5.3 Basic Amenities

Electricity

Every sampled village is found to be electrified but in every sampled household, electricity is not available. Thirteen households are found not having electricity connections. It is not due to their in-access to electricity but because of certain administrative problems whereby they could not get electricity connections. Therefore, it can be said that in almost every sample household village is electrified.

However, the supply of electricity is acute problem in valley mainly in winter season. In most of the cases people complained about the availability of electricity only in between the range of 6-10 hours per day. Thus, they have to opt for other sources of light like solar lights, oil lamps etc in times of need.

Drinking Water

Though the water is available in abundance in the district Anantnag, it source is mainly the rivers and the springs. Very often the water of these rivers and springs is found to be contaminated or not safe for drinking. Another problem of the drinking water is created during the winter season when springs and rivers are frozen and pipes of hand-pumps are jammed. Therefore, availability of safe drinking water is a problem which is very often encountered by villages. Nonetheless it is found to be that out of 240 households only 144, i.e. about 60 %of the houses have their own registered taps available. The other 40 %houses have to fetch the water from outside their home, either from public hand-pumps, taps or from ponds, rivulets or streams. This water fetching process becomes very challenging with the onset of winter. Those areas which are far off from the tehsil headquarters have complained about the

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defunct water supply schemes. Like in Dodopativillage of Tehsil Bijbehara, the inhabitants showed the dry water pipes which have been laid few years back only to see it becoming nonoperational the next season. According to the inhabitants, there were no efforts from the government to assess the failed setup. Thus, they have till date to rely on few public hand-pumps irrespective of the time and weather.

Sanitation

Unlike safe drinking water, condition of sanitary facility does not appear encouraging as 61% still use the dry latrines whereas the septic tanks were found in 38% households. Only single case of open defecation was reported from the entire sample of 240 households.

Fuel Used

Wood and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are found to be the primary source of fuel in the sample households. It is used by about 66% households where there are 27% households that use only wood as the fuel. Only 6.3% relied only on the LPG connection for their prime source of fuel.

However, as reported by the respondents, the increased curbs on collecting firewood from the forest has forced people to look for the sources of fuel that are readily available. With the advent of providing subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and the inception of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna5, people have started to opt for using LPG instead of the kerosene stoves used before. Furthermore, the cap of 6 cylinders per year was raised to 9 per year which has enabled them to use LPG more than ever before.

Thus, the basic amenities of life in these reserved backward areas barring electricity is mostly not up to a standard level. A considerable numbers of people still are not having the direct water supply connections and a similar number of houses are not laced up with the sanitation facilities. Even today, some people are still relying only on wood as a fuel which furthers way for many health related issues. The details of these basic amenities in these sample households is tabulated in Table 5.4.

5 PMUY scheme launched on 28th Sep, 2016 2016, which provided an LPG connection to a BPL family for Rs 1800 (security deposit) instead of Rs 4800 so that the target beneficiaries can live a more healthy, smoke free and environment friendly fuel. (The Hindu Newspaper, 28th September, 2016 )

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Table 5.4 Availability of Electricity, water and fuel Basic Life Amenities at Home Frequency Percentage Availability of Yes 227 96.6 Electricity No 13 5.4 Source of Light in Oil Lamp/Lantern 9 3.8 House Candles 1 0.4 Solar Light 3 1.3 Electricity 227 94.6 Total 240 100 Source of Drinking Public hand-pump/Well 14 5.8 Water Public Tap/Stand post 79 32.9 Own registered tap 144 60.0 Pond/River/Stream 3 1.3 Total 240 100 Sanitation Septic tank Latrine 91 37.9 Dry Latrine 148 61.7 Open 1 .4 Total 240 100 Main source of fuel Wood 66 27.5 Gobar Gas 1 0.4 LPG 15 6.3 Wood and LPG 158 65.8 Total 240 100 Source: Primary Data

5.4 Educational Status

The figures related with the different educational levels of sampled population across gender are shown in the table. Both the literacy rates and the educational level of the sampled population are cross-tabulated are marked by gender disparities as Table 5.5 below shows.

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Table 5.5 Literacy Rate across gender

Gender Male Female Total Educational Qualification Count Percentage Percentage Count Percentage Percentage Total with within a of the with within a of the Count Percentage percentage qualification Total percentage qualification Total (Male+Female) Pre-literate 52 46 53.1% 3.5% 46.9% 3.1% 98 6.7% (6.6%) (6.7%) Illiterate 111 297 27.2% 7.6% 72.8% 20.3% 408 27.8% (14.2%) (43.4%)

Informal 37 16 69.8% 2.5% 30.2% 1.1% 53 3.6% Education (4.7%) (2.3%)

Primary 111 101 52.4% 7.6% 47.6% 6.9% 212 14.5% (14.2%) (14.8%) Middle 140 91 60.6% 9.5% 39.4% 6.2% 231 15.8% (17.9%) (13.3%) High School 144 68 67.9% 9.8% 32.1% 4.6% 212 14.5% (18.4%) (9.9%) Higher 87 33 72.5% 5.9% 27.5% 2.3% 120 8.2% Secondary (11.1%) (4.8%) Graduation 56 16 77.8% 3.8% 22.2% 1.1% 72 4.9% (7.2%) (2.3%) Post- 29 13 69.0% 2.0% 31.0% 0.9% 42 2.9% Graduation (3.7%) (1.9%) Professional 11 2 84.6% 0.8% 15.4% 0.1% 13 0.9% UG (1.4%) (0.3%) Doctorate 3 0 100.0% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 3 0.2% (0.4%) (0.0%) Madrassa 1 1 50.0% 0.1% 50.0% 0.1% 2 0.1% (0.1%) (0.1%) Total 782 684 -- 53.3% -- 46.7% 1466 100.0% (100.0%) (100.0%) Sources: Primary Data The following major educational gaps have emerged from the above table:

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 There are 34.5 %illiterates in the RBAs of the sample population, thus the literacy rate come out to be 65.5%.  In males, percentage of population consistently decreases with the increase in the level of education except at the middle level and primary level. Whereas in females there is consistent decrease right from the primary level of education.  From the senior secondary education level i.e. in the university phase, there is only 6.8% representation of males while it is just 2.5% for females.  In the professional education, there was a total representation of 0.9% with 0.8% of males and 0.1% of females.  Gender gap is widespread in all levels of education. Overall the females lag behind the males by whooping 31.78 percentage points.  Percentage of females is less than that of males at every level of education barring primary level of education which is more or less similar.  Beyond secondary levels of education, there is a huge gap in the enrolment at every educational level that follows.

The gender gap computed from the literacy rates in Figure 5.1 shows that the gap in the literacy rate decreases as we compare it with that of the state and the nation as a whole. The gap is almost double between the nation (16%) and these backward areas (31%) (see Figure 5.1). However, there is a difference of about 4 percentage points between these RBAs and the state.

Gender gap in Literacy

90 82.14 83.98 80 74.04 78.25 68.74 65.46 India 70 58.01 65.84 Jammu and Kashmir 60 52.25 50 People from RBA’s 40 31.73

Perentage 30 20.24 20 16.68 10 0 Total Literacy Male (%) Females (%) Gender Gap (%) (%) Literacy rate

Figure 5.1 Extrapolation of Gender gap in Literacy

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Thus, the increasing gender gap and the lower representation of these people at the university levels for both the genders can be attributed to the poverty and the location of the higher educational institutes at a considerable distance from their locations.Like the higher secondary schools, the colleges are also found to be located at a fairer distance from these localities which prompts the candidates and even their families to give a second thought before seeking admissions in the higher educational levels. Furthermore the process is impededby the unsatisfactory performance of a good numbers of students especially in girls. Some localities do not have the tuition facilities, counselors and guides to direct their enthusiasm for seeking education. All the process becomes stone-cold with time and thus there are lesser numbers in higher education.

Educational Dropouts The phenomenon of drop outs is widespread in these areas. As many as 245 children have been reported as drop outs. Various explanations have been provided for it, like work at home, the lower economic position, the distance to educational institutions, poverty and political turmoil, etc. The details of the different reasons as stated by the people are arranged in Table 5.6.

Table 5.6 Reasons of Educational Dropouts Reasons of Schooling Status Dropping out Never Left After Left After Total Percentage Enrolled Enrollment Getting Job Work at home/Job 0 16 8 24 9.8 Lower Economic 0 18 0 18 7.35 Position School too far from 0 15 0 15 6.12 Home Illness 2 2 0 4 1.63 Failed In Exam 0 34 0 34 13.9 Poverty 0 105 0 105 42.9 Not interested in 0 19 0 19 7.76 further reading Political Turmoil 0 22 4 26 10.6 due to militancy Total 2 231 12 245 100 Source: Primary data

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It is evident from the above table that the prime reason of dropping out from the school has been the poverty as reported by 105 cases from 245 cited the reason. The reasons like ‘the school being too far away from their habitations’ and ‘failing in exams’, cited by about 20% students can be looked into by the government to improve their standards of education and trying to establish the higher educational institutes at a convenient distance. The political instability has also contributed about 10% drop outs in education. These factors give birth to another factor which they in their terms call as being ‘uninterested in studying’, which was also stated by about 8%. Nonetheless there are some 17 %cases that dropped out to stabilize their economic conditions of their families. This was an indirect bearing of poverty onto the younger ones of the households who opted out of the schools to lend their families an earning hand.

5.5 Health Status

Of the total sample population 160 (10.91%) persons are found to be suffering from various kinds of diseases. Highest number of patients are found to be suffering from hypertension and orthopedic related problems (35 patients each i.e. 21.90%). It is followed by the stomach aches reported by about 18% patients. From the fatal diseases there were 3 cancer patients while as 7 people have complained about the heart related ailments. Nonetheless no particularistic disease was found in these reserved areas of the district. Table 5.7 shows the cross-tabulation of the different type of illness against the placethey visit for the treatment.

Table 5.7 Health Status and the Preferred Places of Treatment Treatment through Both Illness Type Government Private Total Government Hospitals Hospitals and Private Count 2 0 0 2 Typhoid Percentage 1.60% 0.00% 0.00% 1.20% Count 6 2 2 10 ENT Complains Percentage 4.90% 25.00% 6.70% 6.20% Count 29 1 5 35 Orthopedics Percentage 23.80% 12.50% 16.70% 21.90% Count 4 0 1 5 Ophthalmology Percentage 3.30% 0.00% 3.30% 3.10% Count 20 3 7 30 Stomach Aches Percentage 16.40% 37.50% 23.30% 18.80% Gynecology Matters Count 5 0 0 5

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Percentage 4.10% 0.00% 0.00% 3.10% Count 26 1 8 35 Hypertension Percentage 21.30% 12.50% 26.70% 21.90% Count 5 0 1 6 Jaundice Percentage 4.10% 0.00% 3.30% 3.80% Count 7 0 2 9 Disability Percentage 5.70% 0.00% 6.70% 5.60% Count 7 1 1 9 Diabetes Percentage 5.70% 12.50% 3.30% 5.60% Count 6 0 1 7 Cardiac Problem Percentage 4.90% 0.00% 3.30% 4.40% Neurological Count 2 0 0 2 Problem Percentage 1.60% 0.00% 0.00% 1.20% Count 1 0 0 1 ProstateEnlargement Percentage 0.80% 0.00% 0.00% 0.60% Count 2 0 1 3 Cancer Percentage 1.60% 0.00% 3.30% 1.90% Count 0 0 1 1 Liver Problem Percentage 0.00% 0.00% 3.30% 0.60% Count 122 8 30 160 Total Percentage 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% Source: Primary data

The high cost of the private healthcare institutions forces the patients from these areas to visit the low cost government hospitals for their treatment. Thus it is no surprise that from the 160 patients only 8 have approached the private healthcare centers for treatment while as 122 (76%) have been exclusively availing the government facilities. The remaining 20% patients are those who have been treated by both government and private healthcare agencies.

Child Immunization Programme

The Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), launched by government of India in 2005 is one of the important components of the national health mission. The program now consists of vaccination for 12 diseases- tuberculosis, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), poliomyelitis, rubella, measles, Hepatitis B, Diarrhoea, Japanese Encephalitis, Pneumonia (Heamophilus Influenza Type B)and Pneumococcal diseases (Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Meningitis). The programme appears to be implemented handsomely in these areas. From time to time and as the

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need arises, the vaccines like BCG6, DPT7and polio vaccinations are received by the people of these areas. The results of these efforts are evident in a manner that from these areas not a single case was reported to be suffering from the diseases like polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and tuberculosis. Thus, this is one of the healthy signs in the progress of the healthcare sector in the state.

Aasha Assistance

None of the villages complained the unavailability of the trained female community health activist known commonly as ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist), who, according to the webpage of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, has to ‘create awareness on health and its social determinants and mobilize the community towards local health planning and increased utilization and accountability of the existing health services8’.Ashas, as per the locals stated, would reinforce community action for safe delivery, prenatal and postnatal care and universal immunization programmes.

Although there are many shortcomings which may have at time some drastic effects on the rural healthcare. The sub-centers located in some of the villages give a gloomy outlook. The researcher didn’t found any doctor at any of these setups in these villages. At Veersiran Village in Tehsil Sallar, the locals even complained that the sub-center was laced with expired medicines which came to limelight only recently and according to them it was exposed by the locals forcing them to throw that away. Many other sub-centers were closed or no official was present the time when the researcher visited there. The clear violation of the Indian Public Health Standard (IPHS) standards risks the life of the patients in the catchment area of the sub-centers.

5.6 Economic Status

Work Status

The economic status of a household is determined by multiple factors like work status, type of work, ownership of physical assets and so on. Table 5.8 indicates the work status of the sample households which has been analyzed across 11

6Bascillus Calmette-Guerin, an attenuated strain of tubercle bacilli, used to vaccinate humans against tuberculosis 7 A vaccine of prevention from the Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus diseases 8http://nhm.gov.in/communitisation/asha/about-asha.html accessed on 09.04.2016

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categories. Persons in first four categories like ‘Casual Labourers’, ‘Government Employee’, Private Sector Employee’ and ‘Self-employed’ are classified as workers. They constitute 443 persons i.e. 30.2% of the sample population. The casual labourers (49.2%) constitute the almost the half of the workers population. Next to it are the self-employed or businessmen who form 28.4% of the total workers population. The government and the private sector regular salaried employees comprise of 18.2 and 4%respectively.As far as women work participation is concerned, they were found to be engaged in the domestic work.There was no case of women engaged in gabba9 work, embroidery, paper mache10 or handicrafts or any other gainful economic activity. However, three women workers from the entire sample population which were working in the public sector, one as doctor, another a Class IV employee in Health Department and one Anganwari11 Supervisor. Thus, women inthe workerpopulation merely represent 0.67% of it.

Among the 1023 non-workers i.e. (69.8%) the students form the major portion of it whereby they constitute 42.8%. The category of ‘too young and too old to work’ constitutes about 17.15% whereas there were only 8 pensioners and13 unemployed persons in the entire sample.

Table 5.8 Work status among the RBA people Nature of Work Number Percent Casual Labourers Workers=443 218 14.9 Government Sector Employee 81 5.5 Private Sector Employee 18 1.2

Self-employed/Business 126 8.6 Domestic Work /Household 369 25.2 Chores Non Workers=1023 Unemployed 13 0.9 Too young to work 109 7.4 Too Old to work 67 4.6 Student 438 29.9 Retired/Pensioner 8 0.5 No reason/No work 19 1.3 Total 1466 100.0 Source: Primary data

9 Unique Kashmiri floor covering with varieties of pleasing designs 10 An art which richly decorates the paper pulp in the form of vases, lamps, trays, holders, boxes etc. 11 A rural and mother child care center

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From the table the Work Participation Rate (WPR)12 for the sample household is computed out to be 28.33%, which is 56.26% for males and only 0.44% for females. Census figures of 2011 show that the for India the WPR is 39.8% which is 53.3% for males and 25.5% for females while as for the state the WPR figures is 34.47%, 48.11% for males and 19.11% for females. Thus, the sample households are behind the country’s WPR by 11.47 points while it lags the state by 6.14 percentage points. The women WPR of is insignificant in these areas, nonetheless their male counterparts are stand marginally higher than the national work participation rates.

Out-Migration

Only one case of out-migration was reported from the entire sample population, who used to sell the Kashmiri Shawls in Uttar Pradesh within the borders of the nation. As the winters are harsh in Kashmir the migration is seasonal i.e. it takes place in the winter season only.

5.7 Land Holding Patterns

Land is the major physical asset which is instrumental in determining the economic status of a household apart from defining its social position in rural society. There are 26 families who are landless i.e. they don’t possess either irrigated or non- irrigated land. However, the rest 214 i.e. about 89% families have either irrigated, non-irrigated or both types of land. The areas like Dodopatti of village Marhama (Bijbehara), Hiller Arhama (Kokernag), Aru (Pahalgam), Nagress (Qazigund), Sheikhpora (Sallar), Veersiran (Sallar) and Gojratpas of Village Khiram (Srigufwara) have no irrigated land i.e. about 60% families have no irrigated land (table 8). The high aggraded land of most of these areas rules out the possibility of irrigation supply to their lands. The lands are mostly rocky and less fertile too. The land holding patterns of these sample households is shown in Table 5.9.

12 WPR is computed as the percentage of the total workers to the total population and similarly the Male WPR is the percentage of male workers to the total male population.

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Table 5.9 Land Holding Patterns of RBAs Type of Land Number of Irrigated Land Non-Irrigated Land Kanals13 Number of Number of Percentage Percentage Households Households Nil 146 60.8 61 25.4 0-2 21 8.8 57 23.8 2-4 24 10.0 43 17.9 4-8 34 14.2 49 20.4 8-12 10 4.2 21 8.8 12-16 4 1.7 3 1.3 16-20 0 00 3 1.3 Above 20 1 0.4 3 1.3 Source: Primary Data

From the data it is evident that from these backward areas, there are no big land owners residing in these areas. There are only 26 households i.e. about 11% who have their land assets above 12 kanlas. The extrapolation of the total land assets (irrigated and non-irrigated) is shown in

Figure 5.2 below.

Total Land assets

57 60 55

50 43 40 33 30 26

20 17 Number of Household 6 10 Number Number of Households 3 0

Land in Kanals

Figure 5.2 Total Land Assets of RBAs Source: Primary Data

13 1 Kanal = 5400 square feet= 1/8 Acre

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5.8 Ownership of Productive and Other Assets

Table 5.10 reveals the ownership of productive and other assets in sample households. Information has been sought about 18 different kinds of productive and other assets which can be categorized as (i) Productive agricultural assets, (ii) Vehicles for commercial and personal use, and (iii) Other household assets. (i) Productive agricultural assets As per their land assets these people have fairer common agricultural tools like spades/shovels, daajis, drantis etc. Among the productive agricultural assets, pump set, tractor, sprayer are of great significance for agriculture which have reported by 6.3%, 2.5%and 7.9% respectively. Table 5.10 Agricultural Tools employed by the RBA people Agricultural Tools Numbers of Possessed by Percent tools Households None 32 13.3 1 54 22.5 2 76 31.7 Shovel/Spade 3 42 17.5 4 23 9.6 5 10 4.2 6 2 .8 10 1 .4 None 33 13.8 1 80 33.3 2 60 25.0 Sickle 3 52 21.7 4 10 4.2 5 3 1.3 Above 5 2 .8 None 32 13.3 1 54 22.5 2 76 31.7 3 42 17.5 Hoe/Daaji 4 23 9.6 5 10 4.2 6 2 .8 10 1 .4 None 225 93.8 Pumpset 1 15 6.3 None 234 97.5 Tractor 1 6 2.5 None 221 92.1 Sprayer 1 19 7.9 None 209 87.1 Plough 1 23 9.6 2 7 2.9

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3 1 .4 Source: Primary Data The table makes it clear that among the sample households 93.8%, 97.5% and 92.1% households do not possess the pump sets, tractors or sprayers nonetheless plough is available in 13% households. Thus we can say that the advancements in the agricultural technology are very scarcely used in these regions. Moreover the tools like power tiller, thrashing machine or fodder cutter are yet to be known or introduced in these regions.

(ii) Vehicles for commercial and personal use

Vehicles for personal use such as cars and motor cycles are reported by 9.6 %and 4.2 %households respectively. In the commercial vehicles there were 2 load carriers and 4 auto-rickshaws in these areas whereas no trucks or buses were found (for details see Table 5.11).

Table 5.11 Private and Commercial Vehicles owned by the RBA people Private Vehicles Commercial Vehicles Count Car Motor-Cycle Load Carrier Bus/Truck Auto-Rickshaw None 217 (90.4%) 230 (95.8%) 238(99.2%) 240 (100%) 236 (98.3%) 1 21 (8.8%) 10 (4.2%) 2(0.8%) 0(0%) 4 (1.7%) 2 2 (0.8%) 0 (0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) Source: Primary Data

The table shows that in the 6.9% households own the private vehicles like cars and motor cycles whereas there are 6 households that possess the commercial vehicles. It is thus indicative of the fact that the people of these areas are not involved in the business ventures related to the transport industry.

(iii) Other household assets.

The availability and quantity of the household assets also indicates a socio- economic position of a household in a society. About 88 %families were found to be having the mobile phones. Some of the families were even having more than 4 mobile phones in the house. However, unlike mobile phones there is not that much prevalence of electric fans, televisions, refrigerators and the washing machines in these households. As many as 169 (70.4%) such households don’t have even a single electric fan in their house, though there were some families which had 5, 6 or even 7

140 fans operational in their home. Televisions, refrigerators and washing machines are found reported to be unavailable in 53, 67 and 71 %families respectively. The data set of the numbers of the modern household assets like electric fan, television, refrigerator, washing machine, etc, in these areas is formulated in Table 5.12.

Table 5.12 Household Assets of the people from RBA Number of Households Household Assets Percentage Items Possessing None 169 70.4 1 30 12.5 2 11 4.6 3 1 0.4 Electric Fan 4 17 7.1 5 7 2.9 6 3 1.3 7 1 0.4 8 1 0.4 None 29 12.1 1 115 47.9 2 58 24.2 Mobile Phones 3 23 9.6 4 10 4.2 5 3 1.3 6 2 0.8 None 129 53.8 Television 1 108 45.0 2 3 1.3 None 161 67.1 Refrigerator 1 78 32.5 2 1 0.4 None 171 71.3 Washing Machine 1 68 28.3 2 1 0.4 Source: Primary Data

From the above table it is also clear that as the cost of the electronic household gadgets increases, the people of these areas are least buyers. It can be seen that the

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television, refrigerator and washing machines are not available in 53.8 per cent, 67.1% and 71.3% household’s respectively. 5.9 Income, Expenditure and Indebtedness

Income

The socio-economic status of a household is directly linked with the income of the household. The magnitude of land assets, the household and other means of modern technological tools used in homes is directly proportional to the range of income of the household from all the sources. The above discussion on the belongings of the household is supposed to have direct link on the income a household collects.Whopping 46 %households manage their lives on a meager income range of Rs, 0-5000. However, 21.7% households fall in the income group of Rs 5000-10000. 26 households (10.8%) belong to the income category of Rs 10,000-20,000 whereas the remaining households (21.4 % i.e. 51 households) have their income beyond Rs 20,000 Table 5.13 illustrates the range of the income of all the sample households.

Table 5.13 Total Income of the Household

Range of Income Number of Percent Households Zero 1 0.4 Rs 0-2,000 7 2.9 Rs 2,000-5,000 103 42.9 Rs 5,000-10,000 52 21.7 Rs 10,000-20,000 26 10.8 Rs 20,000-40,000 33 13.8 Rs 40,000-1,00,000 15 6.3 Above Rs 1,00,000 3 1.3 Total 240 100.0 Source: Primary Data

As the work status shows that majority of the people from these backward areas (45.4%) were found to be engaged in agriculture either as farmers or labourers. The data shows that the similar percentage of households (i.e. 45.8%) falls in the monthly income range of Rs 0-5,000.There was a household with no income and was supported by the locals to meet its both ends. However, 7.6% people have their

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income in the range of 40,000 to 1 lakh Rupees. Baring the Rs10000-20000 income group, the percentage of households decreases sharply with the increase in income groups. Thus, it is indicative of the fact that most of people from these areas belong to the lower income group.

Expenditure

The highest percentage (i.e. 61.7) of households spends on the eatable requirements of the family. There were only 5.8 and 3.8% families who respectively stated that their major household expenditure is on education and on medicines respectively. Nonetheless, there remaining clubbed these three factors in two’s and three’s to describe it as their major households expenditure. Table 5.14 exhibits the expenditure patterns on these six broad categories.

Table 5.14 Main Household Expenditure

Main Expenditure on Frequency Percent

Eatables 148 61.7 Education 14 5.8 Medicines 9 3.8 Eatables/Education 50 20.8 Education/Medicine 7 2.9 Eatables/Education/M 12 5.0 edicine Total 240 100.0 Source: Primary Data

Thus, as the table suggests, that more than 60% households of the sample population of these areas do not have the spending on education as the major expenditure. There was not a single family from scheduled tribe background which stated that education in their list of their major expenditures. Nonetheless, there were many families who have somebody with any grave health problem, on whose treatment; the major earnings of the family are spent. There were 2 cancer patients and few others with some severe orthopedic problems, whose treatment was very costly.

Indebtedness

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Out of the total 240 household only 14 were found indebted to the banks on account of construction or maintenance of their houses. However, the quantity of debt taken has not gone past Rs 5 lakh in any case. The people do not require much for their sustenance. The meager amounts of debts are taken by the well placed people around their locations which they clear by repaying, providing their service or sometimes by selling their agriculture produce or livestock to them. The details of the amounts of debt taken are shown in the Table 5.15.

Table 5.15 Range of Debt

Debt in Rupees Households Percent

NA 226 94.2 Upto 50,000 1 0.4 50,000-1,00,000 1 0.4 1,00,000-2,00,000 5 2.1 2,00,000-5,00,000 7 2.9 Total 240 100.0 Source: Primary data

The table shows that there are five cases that have borrowed the debt somewhere between 1 lakh to 2 Lakh rupees whereas only 7 people have borrowed in the range of Rs 2 lakh to 5 lakh rupees. The people have complained about the cumbersome process in availing the debt acts as a hindrance for these people to avail the debts from the banks instead they prefer to borrow the things they need from the close contacts who trust them as they have been working with them for years altogether. Nonetheless few households from Shangus tehsil of the district alleged that even after completing the tedious formalities for the loan amount, the banks didn’t provide them with the loans for the reasons best known to them.

5.10 Public Distribution System

The functioning of the Public Distribution System is found to be near the satisfactory mark. Although there weren’t many complains about the unsystematic distribution of ration cards but people from many areas expressed the insufficiency of the quota of ration allocated to them. All the sample households were having ration cards barring few who were denied due to some discrepancies in their status, though

144 they records were marked on separate registers. Table 5.16 given below shows that the NPHH14 i.e. non-priority households, earlier known by the term APL (above poverty line) households are 34.6 percent. It comprises 83 households only whereas the PHH (priority households), constituting AAY (Antyoddya Anna Yojna) and BPL (Below Poverty Line) categories together sum up to be 157 i.e. 65% of the sampled households. Thus, about two third of the rural households belong to the PHH category.

Table 5.16 Type and Numbers of Ration Cards of RBAs Ration Card Category Numbers Percent

83 34.6 APL NPHH 97 40.4 BPL

AAY 59 24.6 PHH Other 1 0.4 Total 240 100.0 Source: Primary Data

According to the PDS portal of India, maintained by department of Food and Public Distribution, under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, government of India, Jammu and Kashmir State has 58.6% PHH and 38.1% NPHH families while district Anantnag of the state has 70.6% PHH whiles 28.8% belong to NPHH category of ration cards. However, in these sample households of the backward areas of the district, it was found that there are 65.4% PHH and 34.6% as NPHH families. Thus, these backward areas have about 7 % more priority households than the state average while as it has lesser priority households than the district average by 5%. Tehsil-wise the distribution of the ration cards is extrapolated in Figure 5.3. The green and the gray marks showing PHH households look healthier and denser than the blue lines representing the NPHH households.

14The restructuration took place through the National Food Security Act, 2013 on 1st February, 2016

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Figure 5.3 Tehsil-wise number of Ration Categories

The graph shows that apart from Anantnag, Mattan and Kokernag tehsils of the district, the PHH categories of ration cards are greater in numbers than the NPHH categories in all the other tehsils. Tehsil Srigufwara is one such place which has no APL category of ration cards from its sample household population.

Among the difficulties, which are faced by people in availing ration, the major one is insufficient quantity. Next to it is ‘non availability of the supply in time’ followed by ‘irregular supply’. The details of the difficulties faced by the people are shown in Table 5.17.

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Table 5.17 PDS difference in RBA's

PDS difference Frequency Percent Insufficient Quantity 118 49.2 Bad Quality 17 7.1 Non-availability in time 71 29.6 Irregular Supply 27 11.3 Insufficient and 2 0.8 Irregular Bad quality and 2 0.8 Irregular Fine 3 1.3 Total 240 100.0 Source: Primary data

It is clear from the table that about 50 %of the beneficiaries are unsatisfied with the monthly quantity of the food items being provided to them. 29 %were worrisome for the irregular supply of the ration. The people from few areas reveled that they do face a lot of problems when the monthly installments of the PDS delivery is late and their ration depots do not receive all the food items every month.

5.11 Developmental Deficit through the Socio-Economic and Educational Status of RBA’s The preceding discussions explicitly show some developmental deficiencies which are as follows: 1. The average household size of the sample population (6.1) is higher than the both the national and the state average.

2. In the basic amenities, there are 40 %houses semi-pucca, thatched or kachha houses and a similar percentage lacks water supply to their homes. Only about 38% have proper sanitation facilities while as wood is the only prime source of fuel for about 27% households.

3. The literacy rate (65%) is lower than the state (68) and the national average (74).

4. The gender gap (31) is 15 percentage points more than the national average (16) while it is only 4 percentage points ahead than the state figures (20).

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5. In the health sector, there are about 11% patients who have been suffering from some serious health ailments.

6. Among the workers population 45% are engaged in domestic work, 26.8% casual labourers and only about 10% in government jobs.

7. The WPR of these sample households 28.33% is well behind the country’s WPR by 11.47 points while it lags the state WPR by 6.14 percentage points

8. There are 11% landless families and majority of the families (42%) have their land assets from 0-2 Kanals.

9. Majority of these households do not possess the advanced agricultural tools and the modern household gadgets.

10. About two-third of the population belong to the income group of Rs 0-10000 per month which limits their expenditures on education.

11. In the PDS, these areas have more 7% more priority households than the state.

Thus, in almost every indicator of development, these backward areas are lagging behind the state and the national averages which have creat-ed a deficit in the course of development in these areas. It is pertinent to see that how far the reservation programme has been implemented in these areas to ward off these developmental deficiencies with time. The following sections will discuss the extent of welfare percolated to these target groups through the reservation.

5.12 Welfare through Reservation It has already been explained that RBA

scheme entitled people for 20 %reservation in 22.5% Yes government jobs and admissions in government No educational institutions. It is important here to 77.5% highlight that the ratio of reservation in educational 15 institutional reduces to 10% in post graduate Figure 5.4 Percentages of RBA Beneficiaries professional courses such as MD/MS/M.Tech,

15Part IV of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act 2004, there are 20% seats reserved for the residents of the backward areas in the professional institutions across the state. Considering the significance for the post graduate courses in MD/MS/M.Tech, Engineering and Agricultural Sciences, etc, the reservation of these groups of people has been reduced by 10%.

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Engineering and Agricultural Sciences. This reduction of 10% is contrary to 27% OBC reservation in other parts of India.

The available reservation facility in education and employment is bot availed by sizeable population of the sample household as the data shows. As per our findings only 22.5% population (see Figure 5.4) has been benefitted by RBA scheme in employment and education.

It means 77.5%population could not avail the benefit of reservation scheme. Furthermore, as the data reveal the benefits of reservation is not availed uniformly by people across villages. People of some villages availed more benefits than the others. In following sections, the data related with availing the benefits in employment and education is presented.

(a) Beneficiaries of Employment (b) Beneficiaries in Admissions in Government Educational Institutions

(a) Beneficiaries of Employment

The data reveal that there are 81 persons in government jobs of various kinds. Out of this only 37 (45.6%) government employee are reported to be appointed under the category of RBA’s (see Table 5.18). These 37 beneficiaries are found to be of 37 different households, it means that more than one person in government job under RBA schemeis not in any sampled 37 household.

Although these 37 households in which we find government employees appointed under RBAs are distributed across villages of 11 tehsils, the share of each tehsil in these 37 jobs is not uniform. Highest number of jobs i.e. 8 in number is found in tehsil Anantnag, followed by Bijbehara with 6 and Mattan with 5 jobs. One tehsil i.e. Shahabad does not have any share in these jobs. These figures are shown in

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Table 5.18 Jobs Availed Through reservation in Tehsils of Anantnag Jobs Availed Name of (with percentage from each category)

Tehsils Class IV None Teacher Doctor Engineer Management Defence Employee

12 4 2 1 0 0 1 Anantnag 60.0% 20.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 14 3 0 0 0 0 3 Bijbehara 70.0% 15.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 15.0% 19 0 0 0 0 0 1 Dooru 95.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 16 2 0 0 0 1 1 Kokernag 80.0% 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 5.0% 18 1 0 0 1 0 0 Larnoo 90.0% 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% Mattan 15 0 0 0 4 0 1 (Anantnag 75.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 20.0% 0.0% 5.0% East) 18 0 0 0 1 1 0 Pahalgam 90.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 5.0% 0.0% 18 0 1 0 1 0 0 Qazigund 90.0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 18 1 0 0 1 0 0 Sallar 90.0% 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 Shahabad 100.0 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% % 19 0 0 0 0 1 0 Shangus 95.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.0% 16 2 0 0 2 0 0 Srigufwara 80.0% 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% 203 13 3 1 10 3 7 Total 84.6% 5.4% 1.2% 0.4% 4.2% 1.2% 2.9% Source: Primary Data

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Thus it is evident that the people of 240 households of 24 villages succeeded in getting only 37 government jobs.Moreover, the distribution of these 37 is not equal. Thus, those villages which are nearest to district headquarters or have more access to civic amenities like education succeeded more in availing the benefits of reservation scheme.For example as per the data the villages of the tehsils like Anantnag, Bijbehara and Mattan, located nearest to district, together have got more than 54% of these jobs, whereas the villages of tehsils like Shangus, Pahalgam, Qazigund and Sallar, located farthest to the district, have equal representation of only 5.4% in the government employment. Thus greater the distance of these RBA villages from the district, the lesser is their representation in the government jobs on account of RBA reservation.

Furthermore, it is found that out of 37 government jobs, highest numbers i.e. 13 are of teachers in schools, followed by 10 class IV employees, 7 policemen, 3 doctors and 3 bank managers and one engineer. It means the majority of 37 government employees belong to lowest rung of bureaucracy. Only 7 persons comprising of 3 doctors and 3 bank managers and one engineer can be said to be of high echelons in bureaucracy. The distribution of these different kinds of jobs is shown in Table 5.19.

Table 5.19 Kinds of Jobs Availed Under RBA Scheme Kinds of Job Number Percent

Teacher 13 35.15 Doctor 3 8.1 Engineer 1 2.7 Class IV Employee 10 27.02 Bank Management 3 8.1 Police 7 18.91 Total 37 100.0 Source: Primary Data

The table shows that the people from the RBA’s are appointed in lesser numbers to those jobs which require high skill and have greater competitions like doctors, engineers and bank managers etc.It can be seen these three job profiles together constitute only 18.8% of the jobs availed via reservation. However, there are significant numbers from these areas in the jobs like teaching, defence and the class

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IV (80 percent) which require comparatively lesser skills. However it is pertinent to note that the all the three women employed in the government sector have availed the jobs through reservation.

(b) Beneficiaries in Admissions in Government Educational Institutions

Out of 130 persons only seventeen beneficiaries were found from amongst the sample households who have got admissions in any of the government educational institution in colleges and universities. In professional courses 8 out of 13 have been selected on RBA reservation whereas in non-professional post graduate courses like M.A/M.Sc./M.Com, only 7 out of 42 students secured their seats through reservation. In terms of total percentage, out of these17 beneficiaries (i.e. about 7.1%), 3.7% in have secured their seats in non-professional courses such as B.A/B.Sc./B.Com/ M.A/M.Sc/M.Com with 0.8% in graduate courses, 2.9% in post graduate courses and 3.3% in undergraduate professional courses like MBBS and B.Tech.The distribution of the admissions sought across different tehsils is shown in Table 5.20.

Table 5.20 Admissions availed by RBA in educational institutions Name of Tehsil Admissions Sought Total University University Nowhere College (Academic) (Post (Professional) Graduate) Anantnag Number 17 0 0 3 20 Percentage 85.0% 0.0% 0.0% 15.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Bijbehara Number 17 0 2 1 20 Percentage 85.0% 0.0% 10.0% 5.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Dooru Number 18 2 0 0 20 Percentage 90.0% 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Kokernag Number 19 0 0 1 20 Percentage 95.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Larnoo Number 20 0 0 0 20 Percentage 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Mattan Number 17 0 2 1 20

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(Anantnag Percentage 85.0% 0.0% 10.0% 5.0% 100.0% Count in East) Tehsil Pahalgam Number 20 0 0 0 20 Percentage 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Qazigund Number 19 0 0 1 20 Percentage 95.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Sallar Number 19 0 1 0 20 Percentage 95.0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Shahabad Number 19 0 1 0 20 Percentage 95.0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Shangus Number 18 0 1 1 20 Percentage 90.0% 0.0% 5.0% 5.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Srigufwara Number 20 0 0 0 20 Percentage 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% Count in Tehsil Total Number 223 2 7 8 240

Total Parentage 92.9% 0.8% 2.9% 3.3% 100.0%

Source: Primary Data

The table shows that the 47.5% admissions have been availed in the professional graduate courses while as 41.1% and 11.6% admissions were sought in non-professional post graduate and undergraduate courses.

Moreover, tabledisplays a similar pattern of uneven distribution of beneficiaries across the tehsils as has been discussed in case of employments. The same three tehsils i.e. Anantnag, Bijbehara and Mattan, located closer to the district have equal but maximum representation (i.e. 17.6%) of beneficiaries in admissions in the government educational institutions.On the contrary Srigufwara, Pahalgam and Larnoo tehsils that have not, so far, seen any of their residents in these kinds of lists, neither academic nor professional. In professional educations Shangus, Kokernag and

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Qazigund have one each case of admission in professional graduate courses like MBBS and B.Tech. The remaining areas have no representation in these professional courses nonetheless Sallar, Shahabad and Shangus tehsils have secured one seat each in post graduate non-professionalcourses. Thus, the tehsils located at a distance from the district center have lesser avenues of guidance and counseling as are available to those located in and around the district. For example Kamad, located on the fringes of tehsil Anantnag, having highest representation in admissions has all the facilities available at a shorter distance. The villages was in the news few years back when a boy topped the Common Entrance Examination conducted for admissions to the professional degree courses.

5.13 Conclusion

The preceding data and analysis of 240 households of 24 villages reveal that the socio-economic and educational condition in the selected villages is not uniform nor it is very satisfactory. There are many indicators of developmenton which these villages are lagging behind. The summary of the entire discussion is presented below:

1. The literacy rate (65%) of the RBAs is lower than the state (68) and the national average (74). Moreover the under development in more in those villages which are located far away from the district or the tehsil headquarters.In the basic amenities, there are 40%houses which are semi-pucca, thatched or kachha houses and a similar percentage lacks water supply to their homes. Only about 38% have proper sanitation facilities while as wood is the only prime source of fuel for about 27% households.

2. Very few people i.e. 37 persons of these villages could success in availing the benefit of reservation in government jobs. The distribution of these 37 government jobs is not uniform across villages. In fact, the development of the villages determines their share in government jobs.

3. Similarly the benefits in admissions under RBA scheme can be said only symbolic as only 17 students are found to be admitted in different courses of government educational institutions.

4. It is important here to say that RBA scheme which can be said as parallel to OBC in rest of the country is different in many respects. One of the important

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differences is that the people of other backward classes in other states of India are entitled not only for reservation in education and employment but there are many other schemes of welfare for them (seeChapter 2) While these schemes are not available to RBA villages in Jammu and Kashmir.

5. There is no reservation for the RBAs in the local bodies.

6. None amongst the RBA people possess the advanced agricultural tools and about three-fourths of the households do not possess the modern household gadgets like television, refrigerator, washing machine etc.

7. These areas have 69.8% non-workers population whereas half of the workers population is casual labourers. Thus, two-third of the population belongs to the income group of Rs 0-10000 per month. The areas have lesser numbers of workers as compared to the state and the national average. The WPR of these sample households 28.33% is well behind the country’s WPR by 11.47 points while it lags the state WPR by 6.14 percentage points.

8. The people from these backward areas have lesser land assets. There are 11% landless families and majority of the families (42%) have their land assets from 0-2 Kanals. Thus, the agricultural produce in these areas is far lesser than the other areas and thus they have to rely on the government supplied ration.

Hence the data from both the sections reveal that the people from the central areas of the district get the lion’s share in reservations. All the facts and figures bear witness to the fact that all is not well with the present plying of the scheme. From, lacking proper selection mechanism to effective management and from intense nepotism to least delisting of the RBA villages, all add to the list of serious drawbacks, the study has found. Thus, an apparent chain of virtual discriminations has been created wherein those close to the district or tehsil centers are at the top of the system to oppress the ones at the bottom of the hierarchy. Thus, it can be concluded from the above two sections that the greater the access, exposure and access to the means of education, information and awareness more the benefits of reservation. These benefits are scaled down when one moves from the center to the peripheries.

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Conclusion

CONCLUSION

This is an exploratory study of the policy of protective discrimination in the state of Jammu and Kashmir particularly focusing on a reservation category known as Residents of Backward Areas (RBAs) - a sub category of socially and educationally backward sections of the state. The field work was conducted in district Anantnag of the valley. It comprised of 240 RBA households from all the twelve tehsils of the district (20 each from a tehsil) alnogwith a comparison between the adjacent RBA and non-RBA villages on few developmental indicators. To the best of my knowledge, no study has so far been conducted on this issue of high socio-political importance. Thus, an attempt was made to fill the gap in the sociological literature particularly with respect to that of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This section reiterates some of the major findings of based on the outcomes of the study.

Social justice, a substantial part of the broader concept of justice, is the central ideas on which the welfare state stands. It ensures the social and economic wellbeing of all the citizens of a state following the principles of liberty, equality of opportunity and recognizing the needs of the least advantaged sections in the society. India is one of such welfare states declaring itself as sovereign socialist secular socialist republic. The constitution of India had mentioned the board ideals of the state that it guarantees its citizens the liberty, equality, fraternity and more importantly justice (social, economic and political). Recognizing the needs of the least favoured section like scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, women, elderly people etc., and the country came up with a comprehensive policy of protective discrimination (affirmative action or compensatory action or positive discrimination) for their welfare and empowerment.

The policy of protective discrimination, popularly called as reservation scheme has likely incorporated many provisions of welfare for the marginalized and discriminated sections like Scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes of the society. It included the articles in the constitution, various legislative enactments and special welfare schemes for their welfare and protection besides the benefits of reservation in education, employment, local bodies and government for their empowerment. For example these Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other

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Backward Classes enjoy reservation of 15%, 7.5% and 27% respectively in admissions and jobs. However unlike SCs and STs, there is no reservation for OBCs in the decision-making bodies like Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, Municipalities or Panchayats.

Although the policy of protective discrimination has been a significant instrument for their empowerment in post-independent India but all sections of these categories have not been empowered equally or benefitted uniformly. Thus, the policy is debated on various issues such as the identification of caste/communities under the categories of SCs/STs and OBCs, criteria of identifying caste/communities for this policy, unequal benefits to different caste/communities under these categories, poor implementation of the policy and so on. In this way the policy of protective discrimination, though important for social transformation, has appeared to have many shortcomings in its design and implementation.

To meet the broad objective of actualizing social justice, the state of Jammu and Kashmir, like other states of India, has its own policy of protective discrimination in place according to its socio-cultural composition. The state has not thoroughly applied the policy of protective discrimination of the country unlike most of the other states. It instead has modified the policy by providing reservations according to the composition of these different categories. The thirteen Scheduled Castes in the state have been provided 8 per cent reservation, slightly more than their ratio in the state population (7.38%), in education, employment and in state legislative assembly. Similarly, the scheduled tribes have been provided 10% (near about 2% less than their proportion in the population of the state i.e. 11.91%) reservation in education and employment. But unlike scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes of the state have neither been provided any reservation in the state assembly nor are there any specific welfare schemes for them.

The focus of the study is on the identification and welfare of a category called as the “Residents of Backward Areas (RBAs)”, a third sub-category of the broader ‘socially and educationally backward sections’ of the state, apart from social castes (SOC) and areas adjoining the actual line of control(ALC). The RBAs category can rather be said as a modified form of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the country. Against 27 percent reservation provided to OBCs at the center, these

157 reserved areas in the state are provided with only 20 percent reservation in government employment and government educational institutions.

The origin of this category can be traced in the recommendation of Justice Janki Nath Wazir Committee (1969), which identified it as ‘bad pockets’ and replaced with ‘backward areas’ (1982). The identification process for these areas, kick starts with filling up a Performa available at the Jammu and Kashmir State Backward Class Commission, and culminates in the assessment of the socio-economic and educational indicators of the area. A decision is finally made on the qualification or rejection of the plea to be included in the list of backward areas of the state. There are many issues with the identification process. What should be the minimum scores on human development indicators or access to basic amenities for the identification of backward area is not known. The line to earmark the RBA and the non-RBA villages is missing in the reservation acts, rules and in the reports of the State Backward Class commission as well. Furthermore, there are many media reports that have discussed the active interference of the political parties in the working of the autonomous JK Backward Class commission.

The anomalies in the identification can be further consolidated by the fact that the comparison between RBA and their adjacent non-RBA villages on few developmental indicators were similar, as;

• In these reserved villages, located in the vicinity of tehsil boundaries, the literacy rate is 47.25% which is similar to that of the adjacent non-RBA villages i.e. 47.30%

• The ratio of priority and non-priority households in the public distribution system is 69:31 and 74:26 for the RBA and non-RBA villages respectively.

The trend of the availability of basic facilities like electricity, drainage, dispensary, healthcare centers is more or less identical in these two sets of areas. Thus, it can be stated that when there is no apparent difference in these adjacent RBA and non-RBA villages on the developmental indicators, then either the process of the inclusion of these notified RBA villages is faulty or the non-inclusion of the other set of villages is unjustified.

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The villages/areas of the district listed as RBAs have no doubt reaped the benefits of reservation. They have their representation in some high profile jobs and their children have secured their admissions in many prestigious professional courses. Nonetheless, the pace of empowerment and development in these areas is far from satisfactory. The socio-economic and educational conditions of the RBA villages don’t wear a gratified and uniform look.

• The average household size of the sample population (6.1) is higher than the both the national and the state average.

• In the basic amenities, it was found that these villages are lacking many of them. There are 40 per cent semi-pucca/thatched / kachha houses and a similar percentage lacks water supply to their homes. Only about 38% have proper sanitation facilities while as wood is the only prime source of fuel for about 27% households.

• The literacy rate (65%) is lower than the state (68%) and the national average (74%).

• The gender gap (31) is 15 percentage points more than the national average (16) while it is only 4 percentage points ahead than the state figures (20).

• From the 28.2% workers population, 45% are engaged in domestic work, 26.8% casual labourers and only about 10% in government jobs.

• The WPR of these sample households 30.2% is well behind the country’s WPR by 9.59 points while it lags the state WPR by 4.26 percentage points

• About two-third of the population belong to the income group of Rs 0-10000 per month which limits their expenditures on education.

• The people from these backward areas have lesser land assets. There are 11% landless families and majority of the families (42%) have their land assets

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from 0-2 Kanals. Thus, the agricultural produce in these areas is far lesser than the other areas and thus they have to rely on the government supplied ration.

• In the public distribution system, these areas have more 7% more priority households than the state.

Thus, the above socio-economic and educational indicators present a lucid picture of these RBA villages in the district. Most of them are found to be lagging the essential basic amenities. They have low literacy rate, work participation rate, lesser land assets and are managing their lives in low incomes. It culminated to increase in poverty when these areas have 7 per cent more priority households than the state.

Since, the reservation is provided in employment and admissions in government educational institutes only, only a handful people from these areas have availed the benefit.

• Similarly, in the admissions after the senior secondary levels in government educational institutions, out of 130 persons in 17 have secured their seats through reservation.

• Among the 240 households only 6 households were having more than one person who have availed the benefits of reservation either in admissions or employment.

Furthermore a non-uniform distribution of benefits has been observed through the study when the tehsils/villages closer to the district have greater share in the employment and admissions than the areas that are farther to the district. Even there is marked difference between the areas that are closer to the respective tehsils and those that are closer to it. Thus, the farther RBA villages are at double disadvantageous positions by being farther from the tehsils and from the district headquarters as well.

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The extent of benefits dies down to these areas when one moves from the center to the peripheries.

Recommendations

The study has extensively presented the structure of the RBA reservation, its impact and implementation in district Anantnag of J & K. Thoroughly assessing the process of identification of backward areas; it has also presented detailed socio- economic conditions of the RBAs. Having said this, there are many irregularities in its structure and implementation which has a direct bearing on the socio-economic conditions of these reserved sections. Thus from the outcomes of the study, following recommendations are made to amplify the life conditions of the RBAs and improve their representation in jobs and education particularly through reservation.

 At the central level, a uniform criteria should be designed based on which the under privileged and weaker sections of the society can be identified uniformly across the country.

 A caste based census must be carried out to restructure and reallocate the pro rata reservation to all categories under the policy of reservation.

 In order to erase the difference and ambiguities regarding many castes and classes as to which category they best fit in, the reservation of castes and classes must be replaced by the economic status of a household. The quantum of reservation can be allocated on the basis of economic levels a household/person belongs.

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 The J & K State Backward Class Commission must clearly state the minimum scores on human development indicators or access to basic amenities for the identification of backward areas.

 If an area is declared backward on the basic of development indicators, then the handicaps of underdevelopment are shared by all irrespective of their economic status. Thus, issues related to income, marriages of girls in and outside these areas must be resolved for the betterment of the people.

 The RBA women have marginal representation in education and employment as their literacy and WPR shows, thus they must be reserved their share in the 20 per cent RBA reservation of the state.

 The near similarities of the developmental indicators, between the nearest RBA villages and their adjacent non-RBA villages, clearly hints out to some gross irregularities in the application and implementation. Thus, an extensive study must be carried out to highlight these irregularities in the process of identifying areas to be included in the RBA list, like political intercession, producing fake details and their endorsement by the officials based on corruption.

 Hostels must be constructed especially for these RBAs in the colleges and universities who have drop out of education as the educational institutes are located far away.

 Scholarship schemes akin to those available to OBCs in other parts of the state must be framed for these RBAs so that they can the economic constraint may not hinder their education.

 In backward areas, there must be periodic delisting of the included areas that have reaped the benefits of reservation in any manner.

 There must be onetime benefit of reservation to any beneficiary under the scheme. Furthermore the successive generations of a household must not be allowed to claim for the benefit under the RBA category if at all any other member of the household has benefitted from the RBA scheme. This will ensure the percolation of the reservation benefits to the lower rungs of an area.

 ‘Backward areas’ as a category can be put to the administrative and official use only i.e.to develop the basic amenities of life like electricity, water supply,

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educational and healthcare system etc on priority. Alternatively, to improve the efficiency its percolation to the target groups in the state, ‘economic status of their households’ can be of better use instead of the areas, castes, classes and tribes.

Limitations of the Study

Despite best efforts the research has some limitations in it, enumerated below:

• No official data about the population of the RBAs was to be found.

• The recent rearrangement of the tehsil boundaries in the district created some problems as the data available with some departments was in accordance with the earlier frames of division. The facts and figures of most of the newly created tehsils were yet to be updated.

• Tehsil Pahalgam has no unreserved village, thus for comparison purpose one unreserved village ‘Kullar’ was selected from nearest tehsil ‘Saller’. Similarly tehsil Srigufwara has only one village in the RBA list, hence all the 20 household samples were taken from the same village.

• In the latter part of the study it was found that the status of the general welfare schemes applied to these backward areas of the state could have added to the value of the research.

Future Research

The study, being of the first kind to assess the policy of protective discrimination particularly that of backward areas has unveiled many more areas for future research. The development of the other reserved sections like social castes, people residing in the areas adjoining the line of control, besides the SCs and STs, accruing through reservation can be assessed. There are cases of ambiguous inclusion of some castes and tribes in the state list of SCs, STs and SOCs which demands further exploration. Assessing the pace of general welfare measures in the backward areas vis-à-vis other areas can also be an area of interest. Last but not least, the anomalies in the process of identification of the backward areas are in itself important research spaces, the study of which is still wanting.

163

Appendices

Appendix I (Bad Pockets- Wazir Committee Report) The permanent residents belonging to the following areas:

(i) Ladakh District (ii) Tehsil Uri (iii) Tehsil Karnah (iv) Niabat Gurez (of Tehsil Bandipur) comprising 31 villages. (v) Niabat Atholi (Paddar ilaqa of Tehsil Kishtawar) comprising 38 villages. (vi) Niabat Nowgam (Marwa-Warwan-Dachen ilaqa of Tehsil Kishtawar) comprising 26 villages. (vii) Illaqa Desa (of Tehsil Doda) comprising 2 villages of Doda and Dandal. (viii) Niabat Bhalesa (of Tehsil Bhaderwah) comprising 95 villages. (ix) Illaqa Dudu-Basabtgarh (of Tehsil Ramnagar) comprising 46 villages. (x) Tehsil Mahoer (Gool-Gulabgarh) (Wazir Commission Report, Page 42-57)

176

Appendix II

Cultivators (Wazir Committee Report) Cultivators (Permanent residents) of land, whether owners or tenants, whose holding does not exceed the limit indicated below:- Area Jammu Province except R.S. Kashmir Pora Tehsil &Canal and Tawi Valley,Tehsil R.S. irrigated areas of Jammu Tehsil Pora &Canal and Tawi irrigated areas of Jammu Tehsil Abi 15 Kanals 10 Kanals Maidani Khushki 22 Kanals 15 Kanals Kandi including Sarhadi, 30 Kanals 20 Kanals Barfani, Pahari, etc. (Wazir Commission Report, Page 62)

177

Annexure III

Social Castes (Wazir Committee Report) The Permanent residents belonging to the following social castes: 1. Srangarus (Gosal) 2. Gorkan 3. Acharjis 4. Gujratis 5. Kawaj 6. Said-makars or Dubduba 7. Tamburi 8. Baand 9. Mirasi 10. Madari & Bazigar 11. Dambali-faqirs 12. Kulfaqir 13. Jorabardar (Konsh-i-raach) 14. Hamami 15. Mashki (Sakka) 16. Doom 17. Darkagaru 18. Shupri-wattal 19. Sansi. (Wazir Commission Report, Page 64-65)

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Appendix IV

Occupational Classes (Wazir Committee Report) The permanent residents of the State belonging to the following occupational classes:- (a) Both Rural and Urban 1. Agricultural labourers 2. Allaqaband/Patoi 3. Bakers (Nanwai/Kandur) 4. Bearer, Boy, Waiter (Commonly known as Behra) including domestic servants and Jhiwars. 5. Boatmen (Hanji) (rowing class) excluding house-boat owners. 6. Book-binders. 7. Capmakers (Topigaru) 8. Charcoal burners 9. Carpet Makers and Carpet Designers (Kalbaf) 10. Cook (Waza/Sian) 11. Copper and Brass smith artisans (Misger/Thathiar) 12. Dyers (Rangrez/Lalari) 13. Embrioders and darners (Rafoogar) 14. Engraver Artisan (Moharkan) 15. Fishermen 16. Gabbamakers (artisans) 17. Gardeners 18. Ghrati/Ghratwol (Water-mill owner) 19. Grass sellers (Ghasi) 20. Hawkers, Pedlars and Street Vendors 21. Jalakdoz 22. Load Carriers (Hamal, Coolie) 23. Log fellers and Wood-cutters (Tabardaar) 24. Mason 25. Mat weavers (Wagiv-garoo/Dosali) 26. Moanjgaroo/Pakorawalla 27. Namda namufacturers (artisans) including ginners (Nadaf) 28. Old garment sellers (Jhandagaroo) 29. Plumbers and Welders 30. Pony and Mulemen (Markaban, Khacharban) 31. Potters (Kumar/Kral) 32. Quarrymen 33. Religious workers [Akhoon, Dogra Prohit(Jammu province only), Granthi/Reshi/Mujawir/Khadim, Mufti, Peer (Syed)] 34. Rope makers (Razagaru) 35. Sawyers (Arikash) 36. Sazandaar (Bhaat) 37. Shakhsaz and basket weavers 38. Shali pounder (Labourer) 39. Shoe maker (artisan) and Shoe repairer 40. Spinners 179

41. Stone Dresser (Sangtarash) 42. Sweepers (Bhangi, Khakrob, Wattal) 43. Taxidermist/artisan (Ganz) 44. Teli/Tilwani 45. Textile Printers (Chhintsaz) 46. Tinners (Kalaigar) 47. Watch Repairers excluding watch dealers 48. Washermen including laundrymen (Dhobi)

(b) Rural Only 49. Barber (Hajjam, Nai) 50. Grocers (Gomawani, Kiryanafarosh) 51. Mason-cum-carpenter 52. Milksellers 53. Rearers of cattle and buffaloes (Gujjar only) 54. Rearers of sheep and goats (Pohloo/Gaddi) 55. Religious workers (Imam, Pujari, Pandas of Mattan) 56. Tailors (Darzi/Sochi) 57. Vegetable sellers

(d) Rural and Urban areas excluding the cities of Srinagar and Jammu 61. Drivers of Tongas and other animal driven vehicles. (Wazir Commission Report, Page 66-104)

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Appendix V Social Castes (By J & K Reservation Rules 2005-Annexure D) 1.Bahach Hanjie and Shikara Wallas excluding house boat owners 2.Fishermen including Gada Hanz 3. Markabans whose sole livelihood depends on Markabani 4. Potters (Kumahars) 5.Shaksaz 6.Shoe repairers (working without the aid of machines) 7.Bangies Khakrobes (Sweepers) 8.Barbers 9.Washerman 10.Bhands 11.Mirasis 12.Madari/Bazigars 13.Kulfaqir 14.Dambali Faqir 15. Dooms 16. Shupri Wattal 17. Sansis 18. Sikligars 19. Jheewars 20. Grati (Rural only) Explanation: - Gharati shall mean a Gharati who runs a “Gharat on water” and shall not include the grinding machine running on electricity. 21.Teeli 22.Lohars 23.Tarkhans 24.Gilkar (Mason) 25. Labana Community.

181

Appendix VI

182

Appendix VI

183

Appendix VI

184

Appendix VI

185

Annexure VII

Field Survey for the study of the topic:

“Social Justice and Protective Discrimination: A Sociological study of identification and welfare of backward areas of district Anantnag, J & K”

Name of the Researcher: Sheikh Idrees Mujtaba, PhD, AMU Aligarh.

VILLAGE SCHEDULE

District: ______Serial No: ___

Tehsil: ______

Block: ______

Patwar Circle: ______

Village: ______

Date :______

Department of Sociology Aligarh Muslim University

186

1. Households population

No. of Population Sex- SC ST Literacy Name of the Pop Pop Village Households Males Females ratio Total Male Female

2. Electric Facilities

(i) Is the Village Electrified (Yes -1, No- 2) ______(ii) On average for how many hours per day electricity is available? ______

1. Whether village is connected by magdamized/Concrete road? Yes /No

2. Drinking Water Type Total No. Functioning(yes-1; no-2)

Hand-pump Tap water Common Stand post Tank Canal/Rivulet Fountain Other (Specify)

3. Toilet Facilities Type Yes /No Number

(i) Common Septic Tank (ii) Others (specify)

187

4. Education Type Yes- Number If No, Distance from Type of 1/ Centre of Village (Km.) 0- Approach No- Education 3=1, 3-6=2, 6-10=3, Road** 2 (Place)* >10=4 1. Primary School (Boys) 2. Primary School (Girls) 3. Primary School (Co-Ed) 4. Middle School (Boys) 5. Middle School (Girls) 6. Middle School (Co-Ed) 7. High/Higher Secondary (Boys) 8. High/Higher Secondary (Girls) 9. High/Higher Secondary (Co-Ed) 10. College 11. Religious School (Specify) 12. Technical Education 13. Other Educational Facilities (specify) *Adjacent Village-1; Within panchayat-3; within Block-4, Nearest Town-5, Within District-6 **Type of approach road: Pucca – (1); Semi-Pucca – (2); kutcha – (3)

5. Health Facilities

Type Yes-1No-2 Number

Primary Health Centre Sub-Centre Private Qualified Allopathic Doctor Private Nursing Home Number of ASHAs Chemist/Medicine shop Other (Specify)

188

6. Public Distribution System CAPD Total Annapurna (Destitute old age persons outside pension schemes) Antyodaya (Blue) BPL (Yellow) APL (Orange/Green) Honorary Ration cards *Very Active-1; Fairly Active-2; Not Very Active-3

7. People in the government jobs Nature of Job Total Males Females

Government

Private

Thank You

189

Appendix VIII

Field Survey for the study of the topic: “Social Justice and Protective Discrimination: A Sociological study of identification and welfare of backward areas of district Anantnag, J & K”

Name of the Researcher: Sheikh Idrees Mujtaba, Ph.D, AMU Aligarh.

HOUSEHOLD SCHEDULE Serial No:

I. GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. TEHSIL______2. VILLAGE______3. MOHALLA______4. HH. NO.______

5. RELIGION [Hindu –1, Muslim-2, Christian-3, Sikh-4, Buddhist-5, Parsi-6, Others-7]

6. CATEGORY [SC-1, ST-2, RBA-3, OBC-4, BC-5, Others (specify)-6]

Mother Tongue Any Other Language 7. Two main languages spoken in household Mother Tongue: Kashmiri-1, Urdu-2, Gojri-3, Pahari-4, Punjabi-5 Other Language: Urdu-1, English-2, Hindi-3

190

II. HOUSEHOLD DETAILS

Work Status 206.Relationship 210.Educational

to Head Status

1=Worker, 2=Non Worker 1. Self 1. Illiterate 2.Wife/Husband 2. Below primary or If 1 then , 203.Name of the 3. Son/Daughter informal education

4.Son/daughter In- 3. Primary Member a=Casual labourer, 40, 6= above 40 Law 4.Middle b=Govt Employee 5. Grandchild 5.High school 6. Parent 6. Higher secondary (1=permanent, 2=temporary),

25, 5=25 - 25,

7.Brother/Sister 7. Graduation* c=Private Employee

8.Brother/Sister-in- 8. Masters$** (1= permanent, 2= temp), law 9. Doctorate 6. Deserted 7. Other Deserted 6.

d=Self Employed 15, 4=15 - 9. Grandparent 10. Tech Professional 10. Uncle/Aunt If 2 then,

Degree Course 11.Niece/Nephew 11. TP Grad Course a=too young 12.Other(Specify) 12.TP PG b=too old (pensioner)

13. Madrassa

202. Member no. c=Student 14.Others d= Qualified but unemployed Marital Status Income( in thousands) . e=domestic work 1. Female 2. Male 1. Female Gender 204. 208. Age at marriage at Age 208. 209.Married 205.Age 207 Divorced 3. Married 2. 1. Unmarried Separated 5. Widowed 4. Village Outside 3. Forward Village 2.Outside Village Within 1. Backward f= no reason If 2b then, e=Bank, IV, d=Class c=Teacher b=Engineer, a=Doctor, Jobs g=Other f=administration, If 2c then, Other e= d=Banker, c=Teacher, b=Engineer, a=Doctor, If 2d then, c=painter, mason/carpenter, b= (specify?), business a= , h=tailor g=cobbler f=blacksmith, d=barber, 213. 3=10 - 10, 5 to 1=0 5, to 2= 1.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10

11 12

* a=management b= medical, c=engineering, d=law, e=management, f= B.Ed, g=general ** a=management b= medical, c=engineering, d=law, e=management, f=M.Ed, g=general

191

Housing status (a) Own house or rented Own-1, Indira Awas/Govt Provided -2; Rented-3

If rented, rent per month (Rs.) (b) Type of own house Thatched-1; Katcha -2; Semi pucca-3; Pucca-4; Others (specify)-5

(d) Details of homestead land*

(e) Whether house electrified [Y/N] Oil lamp/Lantern − 1; Candle − 2; Solar/Inverter − 3; Others − 4 (f) If not, then source of light in the house Own hand pump/tube well − 1; Public hand pump/tube well − 2; Public Tap/Stand-post − (g) Source of drinking water 3; Own registered Tap-4; Pond/River/Stream − 5; Others − 6

(h) Distance of the source of drinking water (i) Place of defecation Septic tank latrine – 1, Dry Latrine-2, Open-3 Wood − 1; Coal − 2; Kerosene Oil − 3; Hay/Leaves/Waste − 4; Cow dung Cake − 5; (j) Main source of fuel Gobar gas plant −6; LPG − 7; Others −8

III. EDUCATIONAL DROUPOUTS

Name Schooling Status@ Type of Distance of Medium of Reasons for Govt. assistance$$ school* school** instruction*** drop-out$

Code: @ Never enrolled-1; Left after enrollment-2; Enrolled but does not go to school-3; goes to informal institution-4; enrolled in govt. school and is regular-5; goes to private school-6; other (specify)-7 * Government -1, Private-2, Madarsa-3, Missonary-4, Non-formal-5, other(specify)-6. ** Within I km -1, 1 -2 km -2, 2-4 km -3, above 4km -4 $ Work at home -1, need of earn -2, far distance of school -3, lack facility in school -4, Teacher beat -5, Teacher do not teach -6, failed in examination -7, fees/expenditure not afford -8, not interest in reading -9, marriage -10, Others (specify) -11. $$ books-1; school uniform-2; scholarships-3; mid-day meal-4; cycle-5; other specify-6

192

IV. HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

1. Treatment of Family Members during the last one year

ID Name Illness* Duration Treated Cured-1/Uncured-2 No (days) by** Diarrhoea-1, Dysentery-2, Cough and cold-3, Fever-4, Malaria-5, . Typhoid-6, Kalazar-7, Pneumonia-8, Vomiting-9, Ear discharge-10, Diabetes-11, Eye Problems-12, Skin disease-13, Worms-15, Problems of teeth-14, Stomach Aches-15, Back Problems-16, Specially women related disease (e.g. Leucoria)-17, T.B.-18, Jaundice-19, Polio-20, Hypertension-21, Disability-22, Cancer-23, Others (specify)-24

**Govt Hospital-1, Pvt. Medical practitioner-2, Both-3, Traditional (Unani Hakim, Local Vaidya etc)-4, Homeopath-5, Home treatment-6

2. Immunization of children below 5 years

ID no. Name Age in Type of immunization Agency of immunization If not immunized, months Polio (No. of DPT/Diphtheria BCG Measles (Govt. Agency-1, Private reasons* dozes) (No. of dozes) Agency-2)

* Not aware-1, Facility for immunization is very far away -2, Others (specify)-3.

3. Does ASHA aid in the pregnancy related matters or not? V. LAND AND OWNERSHIP 1. Ownership and Cultivation of Land (in acres)

SN Details of Land Total land Irrigated Land Present Value (area in acres) (area in acre) (Rs.) 1. Own land 2. Own cultivated Land 3 Leased in land 4 Leased out land 5 Mortgaged in land 6 Mortgaged out land 7 Total cultivated land (2+3+5)

193

2. Ownership of Productive and Other Assets

Assets No. Present Assets No Present value (Rs.) Value (Rs.) Traditional Business 1-Plough 1-Jeep 2-Spade 2-Truck/Bus 3-Darati 3-Car 4-Daaji 4-Tractor

5-Other 5-Motor cycle/scooter 6-Other Modern Personal

1-Tractor 1-Jeep Transport Agricultural 2-Power tiller 2-Car 3- Fodder cutter 3-Motor cycle/scooter 4-Pump set 4-Cycle 5-Sprayer 5-Other` 6-Other

1-Flour/rice mill 1-Electric fan 2-Oil crusher machine 2- Mobile Phone

3-Sewing machine 3-TV 4-Electric Repair equipment 4-Refrigerator 5-Motor repair equipment assets 5-Washing Machine agricultural - 6-Other 6-LPG Stove 7. Other Non Modern household

V. FAMILY INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

1. What is the source of income?

1- Government Job, 2- Labour, 3-Business, 4-Handicraft, 5-Pension, 6- Agriculture Gross, 7-Other

194

2. Family Expenditure (last one year)

Items Expenditure (Rs.) Items Expenditure (Rs.)

a. Eatables h. Telephone b. Cloths, footwear, beddings i. House repairing/construction

c. Festival and social ceremonies j. Payment of loans and interest

d. Education k. Beedi, cigarette and intoxicants

e. Medical l. Recreation f. Electricity Fees m. Marriage and other social ceremonies

g. Water Fees n. Others

VI. INDEBTEDNESS

1. Are you presently indebted? (yes-1, no-2)

If no then go to question no. 6, otherwise ask the following questions. 2. Details of outstanding debt

Details of debt Debt 1 Debt 2 * Commercial banks –1; Grameen bank –2; SHG/NGO – 3; Traders-4; Money lenders-5; Friends/relatives-6; Others (specify)-7. 1. When took the loan (Year) 2. Principal amount of loan (Rs.) ** On interest-1, Labour service-2, Mortgage of land-3, Mortgage of property/Jewelry -4; others 3. Source of loan* (specify)-5. 4. Rate of interest (annual %) *** Home -1; Medical treatement-2; Purchase of land/house-3; Repayment of old debts-4, For 5. Conditions of loan** business-5, For agricultural works (machinery)-6, Others (specify)-7 6. Purpose of loan***

7. Cash or kind**** ****cash-1; kind-2; both-3

195

VII. PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

1. Do you have ration card? (Yes-1, No-2) 2. Do you avail ration from PDS? (Yes-1, No-2) 3. Which category ration card you have? (Colour) 4. If yes, then how much do you get per month (kgs.)? (a) Flour (d) Kerosene (liters) (b) Rice (e) Others (specify (c) Sugar . What kind of difficulties do you face regarding PDS? (Multiple answers) (Insufficient quanitity-1, Bad quality-2, dishonesty in measurement-3, Non availability in time-4, Irregular supply-5, others (specify))

VIII. RESERVATION AND WELFARE 1. What are the benefits availed? 1-Admissions; 2-Job; 3-Promotions, 4-All 2. What is nature of education in which admissions were sought? 1-School Education, 2-Higher Secondary, 3-College, 4-University (Academic), 5-University (Professional) 3. Which Job(s) has/have been availed under the RBA cover? 1-Teacher, 2-Doctor, 3-Engineer, 4-Class IV, 5-Clerk, 6-Manager, 7-Lecturer, 8-Police Force, 9-Other

THANK YOU

196

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