What is Mandal Commission?

What is Mandal Commission?

1. Historical necessity for setting up Mandal Commission

Article 340 of the Indian Constitution:

It is obligatory for the government to promote the welfare of the Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Talk of implementing welfare measures to this section (OBC) has ignited resentment especially among the high castes.

This Article 340 provided the constitutional legitimacy for setting up Mandal Commission.

Article 340(1) 
The President may by order 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 they 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.

Article 340(2)

A 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.

2. First Backward Classes Commission

(Kaka Kalelkar Commisson)

Adhering to Article 340, the First Backward Classes Commission was set up by a presidential order on January 29, 1953 under the chairmanship of Kaka Kalelkar,

1. Determine the criteria to be adopted in considering whether any sections of the people in Its terms of references were to:

the territory of India in addition to the SC and ST as socially and educationally backward classes, using such criteria it was to prepare a list of such classes setting out also their approximate members and their territorial distribution.

2. Investigate the conditions of all such socially and educationally backward classes and the differences under which they labour and make recommendations

1. as to the steps that should be taken by the union or any state to remove such difficulties or to improve their economic condition, and

2. as to the grants that should be made for the purpose by the union or any state and the conditions subject to which such grants should be made;

3. Investigate such other matters as the president may hereafter refer to them and

4. Present to the president a report setting out the facts as found by them and making such recommendations as they think proper.

For identifying socially and educationally backward classes, the commission adopted the following criteria:

1. Low social position in the traditional caste hierarchy of Hindu society.

2. Lack of general educational advancement among the major section of a caste or

community.

3. Inadequate or no representation in government services.

4. Inadequate representation in the field of trade, commerce and industry

The commission submitted its report on March 30, ‘1955. It had prepared a list of 2,399 backward castes or communities for the entire country and of which 837 had been classified as the ‘most backward’.

 Some of the most noteworthy recommendations of the commission were:

1. Undertaking caste-wise enumeration of population in the census of 1961.

2. Relating social backwardness of a class to its low position in the traditional caste

hierarchy of Hindu society,

3. Treating all women as a class as ‘backward’;

4. Reservation of 70 per cent seats in all technical and professional institutions for qualified students of backward classes.

5. minimum reservation of vacancies in all government services and local bodies for other backward classes on the following scale: class I = 25 per cent; class II = 33½ per cent; class III and IV = 40 per cent.

Shri. Kaka Kalelkar, the Chairman, took a rather equivocal stand on the issue, though he did not record a formal minutes of dissent, in his forwarding letter to the President he opposed the important recommendations made by the commission. But this report was not accepted by the Central government on the ground that it had not applied any objective tests for identifying the Backward Class. Thus, there was a need of

second backward classes of commission.

3. Second Backward Classes Commission -

MANDAL Commission

The decision of the Janata Party Government with Mr. Morarji Desai as PM to set up a second backward classes commission was made official by the President on January 1, 1979. The commission popularly known as the Mandal Commission, its chairman being B. P. Mandal. It submitted the report in December 1980.

3.1 Members of Mandal Commission

- Shri. B. P. Mandal - Chairman

- Shri. R. R. Bhole - Member

- Shri. Dewan Mohan Lal - Member

- Shri. L. R. Naik - Member

- Shri. K. Subramaniam - Member

3.2 Terms Of Mandal Commission

1. To determine the criteria for defining the socially and educationally backward classes

2. To recommend the steps to be taken for their advancement.

3. To examine the desirability or otherwise for making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in their favour.

4. To present a report setting out the facts found by the commission.

3.3 Methodology of Mandal Commission

The Mandal Commission adopted various methods and techniques to collect the necessary data and evidence to fulfill the above objectives.

One serious defect noticed by the Government in the report of the first backward classed commission was that it had not formulated any objective criteria for classifying the other backward classes.

In view of this, the commission has taken special care to tap a number of independent sources for the collection of primary data.

Some of the important measures taken in this connection were

1. Seminar of sociologists on social backwardness

2. Issue of three sets of questionnaires to State Government and the public

3. Extensive touring of the country by the Commission, taking evidence of legislators,

eminent public men, sociologist

4. Undertaking country wide socio-educational survey (A socio-educational field survey was organized under the panel of experts with M. N. Srinivas as chairman)

5. Preparation of reports on some important issues by specialized agencies.

6. Caste Study, village monographs and study of legal and constitutional issues, Analysis of the census data etc.

By adopting this multilateral approach the commission was able to cast its net far and wide and prepared a very firma and dependable database for report.

To identify the socially and educationally backward classes, the commission adopted 11 criteria which could be grouped under three major headings: social, educational and economic. Of these three groups, different weight-ages were given to indicators of each group.  applied to all the castes covered by the survey for a particular state.

All castes, which had a score of 50 per cent (i.e., 11 points) or above by applying the 11 criteria were listed as socially and educationally backward and the rest were treated as ‘advanced’. It should be noted that economic criteria were also included in the tests.

3.4 The 11 criteria are

The 11 criteria are as follows:

3.4.1 Social Criteria (4 * 3 = 12 points)

- Castes/classes considered as socially backward by others.

- Castes/classes which mainly depend on manual labour for their livelihood.

- 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.

- Castes/classes where participation of females in work is at least 2 per cent above the

state average.

3.4.2 Educational Criteria ( 2 points each, total 6 point)

- 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.

- Castes/classes where the rate of student drop-out in the age group of 5-15 years is at

least 25 per cent above the state average.

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

3.4.3 Economic Criteria (1 point each, total 4 point)

- Castes/classes where the average value of family assets is at least 25 per cent below the state average.

- Castes/classes where the number of families living in kuccha houses is at least 25 per

cent above the state average.

- Castes/classes where the source of drinking water is beyond half a kilometer for more

than 50 per cent of the households.

- Castes/classes where the number of households having taken consumption loans is at

least 25 per cent above the state average.

3.5 How 52%?

Figures of caste-wise population are not available beyond 1931. So the commission requested states/union territories to use 1931 census data, analyze the trends and estimate by using

statistical methods for extrapolating the current population. These are well-established scientific methods and the best possible options at that time to calculate the number of OBCs. The population of Hindu OBCs was derive by subtracting from the total population of Hindus, the population of SC and ST and that of forward Hindu castes and communities, and it worked out to be 52 per cent. Assuming that roughly the proportion of OBCs amongst non-Hindus was of the same order as amongst the Hindus, population of non-Hindu OBCs was also consider as 52 per cent of actual proportion of their population of 16.16 per cent or 8.40 per cent. The total

population of Hindu and non-Hindu OBC therefore naturally added up to nearly 52 per cent of the country’s population.

3.6 Recommendations of the Mandal Commission

1. Major recommendation of Mandal Commission

Reservation for SCs and STs is in proportion to their population i.e. 22%.

But as there is a legal obligation to keep the reservation under Articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the constitution below 50%, the commission recommends a reservation of 27% for OBCs.

Article 15(4)

Nothing in this article or in clause 2 of Article 29 (protection of minorities) shall prevent the state from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes.

Article 16(4)

Nothing in this ‘article shall prevent the state from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class citizens which, in the opinion of the state, is not adequately represented in the services under the state.
2. Other recommendations of Mandal Commission

- Candidates belonging to OBC recruited based on merit in an open competition should not be adjusted against their reservation quota of 27 per cent.

- The above reservation should also be made applicable to promotion quota at all levels.

- Reserved quota remaining unfilled should be carried forward for a period of three years and de-reserved thereafter.

- Relaxation in the upper age limit for direct recruitment should be extended to the

candidates of OBC in the same manner as done in the case of SCs and STs.

- A roster system for each category of posts should be adopted by the concerned

authorities in the same manner as presently done in respect of SC and ST candidates
.

3. These recommendations in total are applicable to all recruitment to public sector undertakings both under the central and state governments, as also to nationalized banks.

4. All private sector undertakings which have received financial assistance from the government in one form or other should also be obliged to recruit personnel on the aforesaid basis.

5. All universities and affiliated colleges should also be covered by the above scheme of reservation.

6. To implement the above recommendations, the government should create the rules and regulations in the law

Educational Facilities:

Special educational facilities designed at upgrading the cultural environment of the students should be created in a phased manner on selected areas containing high concentration of OBCs. students to enable them to catch up with students from open quota.

To promote literacy the following measures were suggested:

7. An intensive time-bound programmed for adult education should be launched in selected pockets with high concentration of OBC population

8. Residential schools should be set up in these areas for backward class students to provide a climate especially conducive to serious studies.

9. Government should implement Adult education and Residential School seriously throughout India.

10. It was recommended that seats should be reserved for OBC students in all scientific, technical and professional institutions run by the central as well as state governments.

Financial Facility:

11. It also suggested that a part of surplus land as a result of the operation of ceiling laws should be allotted not only to SC and ST but also to OBC landless laborers.

12. Members of village vocational communities who want to set up small-scale industries on their own should be given suitable institutional finance and technical assistance. In addition, similar assistance should be extended to those promising OSC candidates who have undergone special vocational training.

In this regard, separate financial institutions should also be established.

13. It was also considered imperative that all state governments should create a separate network of

financial and technical institutions to foster business and industrial enterprise among OBC as a part of its overall strategy to uplift them.

14. To implement all these recommendations, Central and state governments should form separate ministry.

The commission suggested that the entire operations of its recommendations should be

implemented for 20 years.On 30th April 1981, Mandal Commission was submitted to both the houses of parliament but former prime minister Indira Gandhi and after that Rajiv Gandhi cleverly ignored it.On 7th August 1990, Mr.V.P.Singh issued an order in 1990, as Prime Minister, to implement a part of the recommendations of the Mandal Report. 27% of the jobs were reserved for the OBCs who constitute about 52% of the total population. Article 16(4) of the Constitution makes provision for job reservation and Article 15(4) for reservation in educational institutions. But this latter part of the recommendations was not implemented. Even in the case of jobs, reservations were denied in certain "specialized" spheres. Again, this order that sought to implement the recommendations in a truncated form was fiercely opposed.The opponents succeeded in obtaining the stay of the operation of the order by filing a writ in the Supreme Court.In the elections that followed, Mr. P.V.Narasimha Rao came to power.

He realized that his Congress Government could no more ignore the popular upheaval in favour of Social Justice. The Supreme Court gave its verdict in favour of the implementation of 1990 order of the Union Government, providing reservation in jobs. So from 1992, a part of the recommendations of the Commission is being implemented.

(courtesy-http://obcreservation.net/ver2/reservation-mainmenu-9/mandal-mainmenu-102/what-is-mandal--mainmenu-90.html)