Admission to Recruitments – Saffron Brigade’s Agenda to Wipe out the Marginalized Communities from Indian Universities!

Resist Anti-social justice, Anti-reservation Policies of BJP Government!

• Few days back, we came across the shocking development from G.B. Pant Social Science Institute, where for the selection of OBC category candidates for the post of Assistant Professor and Associate Professor – the institution declared, “NFS” – None Found Suitable!

• Just days back, when the JNU PhD entrance exam results were announced, we saw candidates from marginalized backgrounds denied admission because they got very low marks in viva, while scoring high marks in written!

• The Modi Government deprived more than 11,000 aspirants belonging to the OBC category from the admission process via NEET (National Eligibility and Entrance Test) within a span of four years across the country. All India Federation of Other Backward Classes Employees Welfare Association pointed out, 7,307 seats and 3,207 OBC category seats were scuttled respectively in post graduate and under graduate medical courses in a span of four years. Again, 262 seats and 251 seats for OBC categories were lost in PG dental and undergraduate dental courses, respectively.

• In a shocking judgment a year back, the Supreme Court has said that reservation for jobs and promotions is not a fundamental right. It is also important to note that Mukul Rohatgi and PS Narasimha, senior counsel appearing for the BJP ruled State of Uttrakhand in this case contended that there is no fundamental right to claim reservation in appointments or promotions in public posts, there is no constitutional duty on the part of the State Governments to provide reservations.

• We have also not forgotten years back, Central University of Tamil Nadu offered 2 posts for OBC category out of 65 total faculty positions advertised. The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University offered 1 post under OBC category out of total 52 posts advertised. In both the cases no SC/ST reservation were offered. And in Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hindi Vishwavidyalaya no reservation was provided for SC/ST or OBC out of 18 posts advertised.

But this is nothing new! Educational, job and other opportunities for the marginalized sections are systematically snatched away by decimating reservations; fighters of social justice are incriminated and institutionally murdered while perpetrators of casteist massacres roam free. The BJP Govt has systematically scuttled reservation in higher educational institutions. The UGC had issued a notification dated 5th May, 2016 regarding M. Phil/PhD admissions. In the name of maintaining student-teacher ratio, what the regulation effectively has resulted into is massive seat-cut and decimation of reservation in M. Phil/PhD admission. Reservations in faculty recruitments were scuttled by making departments (13 point roaster) rather than the entire institution (200 point roaster) as the basis of reservation roster system. After massive protests, the Government was forced to backtrack.

This continuous assault on the policies of social justice is also tandem with RSSs anti-reservation worldview. Golwalkar opposed reservation: “Dr. Ambedkar had envisaged the special privileges for Scheduled Castes for only 10 years from the day we became a Republic in 1950. But it is going on, being extended. Continued special privileges on the basis of caste only, is bound to create vested interests in them in remaining as a separate entity. That would harm their integration with the rest of the society.” (M. S. Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, 1966, p 271)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that his government had given the “maximum honour” to Ambedkar in the post – independence India. Maximum honour? So much for the respect for Babasaheb, one Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde had the gall to say, “We are here to change the constitution”!

But we must fight back the anti-reservation, anti-social justice policies of the ruling regime. On the behalf of AISA, we demand the scrapping of NFS category together, reduction of viva marks in entrance to 10% and the Government must ensure policies of reservation of educational institutions and employment opportunities. We must also remain united to resist any attempt the Saffron brigade to scuttle policies of reservation and destroy the core values of Indian Constitution.