Quota row

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Context - The Supreme Court strikes down the Vanniyars quota in Tamil Nadu.

Details

The Supreme Court stated that the grant of 10.5% reservation to the Vanniyars community by the Tamil Nadu State Government has violated the fundamental rights of equality, non-discrimination and equal opportunity.
In 2021, the Tamil Nadu government in consultation with the state Backward Classes Commission has enacted ‘The Special Reservation Act’.
- The State Government announced 10.5% of the Most Backward Communities (MBC) quota for Vanniyars, quoting them as “extreme backwardness”.
The Supreme Court upheld Madras High Court’s judgment that the quota for the Vanniyars community under the 2021 Act was based on “Obsolete data”.
The judgment highlights the need for a caste survey in the State to estimate backwardness.

Vanniyars community

The Vanniyars community are found in the northern part of Tamil Nadu.
They are mostly engaged in agricultural activities and are generally classified under the Shudra caste.
There are several mythical claims that their ancestors were born from a fire sacrifice.
Vanniyars were shifted from the Backward Class category to Most Backward Caste after mass agitations by them during the 1980s.
Vanniyars are considered a lower caste; they have been using the process of Sanskritisation to move upward in the social structure.
Vanniyars constituted around 10% of the population of Tamil Nadu, in some northern districts of Tamil Nadu they formed around 25% of the population.
Most of them are either marginal farmers cultivating small areas of land or landless labourers.

Reservation System in India

The Reservation system is an arrangement of affirmative action where a certain percentage of seats are reserved in Public employment and educational institutions.
In India, the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and socially and economically backward communities who were earlier poorly represented in the Public sector and educational institutions are now covered under the reservation facility.

In India, about 60% of seats are reserved for various sections like ST, SC, OBC, and EWS in Government jobs and Higher Education Institutions.
- 3% of seats are also reserved for differently-abled persons across all categories.
The reservation policy is also enforced for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for representation in the Indian Parliament.
The reservation issue has also remained a cause of conflict between the reserved and the non-reserved sections of society.

Arguments in the favour of Reservation System

It ensures equality, by providing opportunities to people from backward classes.
It promotes justice and human rights.
Decreasing inequality by promoting economic opportunities for the lower section of Society.
Correcting historical injustice
Reservation provides a level playing field as it is challenging for people from backward sections that were historically deprived of education, skills, and wealth to all of a sudden start competing with those who had access to those resources for years.

Arguments against Reservation System

It Promotes Casteism and creates division in our society, and also encourages caste-based Politics.
Beneficiaries of reservation are mostly from the dominant class in backward castes. Thus, the marginalized section still remains marginalized.
Affects the productivity of an organisation if unfit candidates get the opportunities.
A reservation only provides a limited and short-term solution to historical injustice issues.
Many deserving people from the upper castes are also affected by poverty and illiteracy.
Reservation demands by various groups may cause social turmoil, such as during the Mandal Commission (1990).