Local Insertion

THE HISTORY OF independent India has more or less shown that once the box of reservations is opened it can only get bigger, until it swal­lows everything in the room that it is located in. Is there anyone who believes that the vicious caste discrimination prevalent in Indian society in 1947 is worse now, 75 years later? The increase in reservation in education and govern­ment employment has however moved steeply in the other direction. Despite the judiciary putting a cap on it, politi­cians still can’t help trying to fit even more into that box and eventually they succeed by sheer persistence. Karna­taka is now bringing something else into the mix—reservation for locals. Its Chief Minister Siddaramaiah posted on social media this week that all jobs in ‘C’ and ‘D’ categories in private industries would be reserved for local Kannadigas. He then backtracked and deleted it. But it was clear the direction this was going to take. After all, which politician can be seen as giving a reser­vation and taking it back? The policy will resurface and even if they put a spin to make it look more palatable, every politician in every other state will be taking a cue and fitting it into their reservation matrix.

The Karnakata government is also contemplating enforcing reservations for locals in private businesses, by as much as 50 per cent in management and 75 per cent in the non-management workforce. This is equally fraught with trouble. When such populist measures are unleashed, they initially get votes but then devolve into the minimum a party must do in order to not lose votes. From then on, as has happened with OBC reservations across Indian states, every group stakes their claim. The premise of reservations, of an equalisation, is turned on its head. The more powerful a group is, the better their chance of getting on the list. Reservations for locals is going to be a path paved with many slippery slopes. It is being instituted at a state level, but what then prevents districts demand­ing that jobs in their territory must have reservation for locals? Then it would be taluks, and then villages.

Meanwhile, there is the fallout from those who find themselves affected. Unlike governments that don’t have an option to change headquarters, private companies do. If they feel having half of their workforce by quota is not great for productivity, then they will just move elsewhere. If there are any states left where sensible governments under­stand that free enterprise works best when left free, then those places will get the rewards of industry and employ­ment. Local Kannadigas, whom such reservations are supposed to benefit, won’t be getting much if there are no jobs to farm out. There is an irony here of Bengaluru becoming an information technology success story on the back of tapping into globalisation. Consider if a policy of private-sector reservation had been instituted at the start of that journey. Not many companies would have set up shop there. None will in future if populist instincts are let loose to a breaking point.

About The Author

Madhavankutty Pillai

Madhavankutty Pillai has no specialisations whatsoever. He is among the last of the generalists. And also Open chief of bureau, Mumbai  

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