‘Not Found Suitable’ and ‘Transferring it to General’
In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court of India, in a majority judgement, passed its verdict in favour of the creamy layer within the quota of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) reservation in employment and education. It is on the premises that the benefits of affirmative action are concentrated among the relatively better-off within this citatory, and therefore, it must reach the most disadvantaged members of these communities. The judgment is going to significantly impact the landscape of reservation for SC and STs in India. However, is the creamy layer categorisation within SC and ST will serve its purpose? What has been the experience of the creamy layer with the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation so far?
Issues with Creamy Layer within OBC Reservation
The creamy layer categorisation is already applied within OBCs, which excludes the economic affluents availing reservation benefits, yet we have witnessed posts reserved for OBCs not being filled. The reason for laying vacant or not fulfilling the 27% reservation cap is sometimes ‘not finding suitable candidates.
The Sukhdeo Thorat-led committee on the charges of harassment to SC and ST students in AIIMS, New Delhi in the pretext of the anti-quota movement reveals horrifying harassment and discrimination against the SC, ST, and OBC students in teaching, paper evaluation, practical and viva voce examination, hostel allotment, and mess. There was also discrimination in appointments at the faculty level.
They found that only eight candidates were selected against 46 vacancies for OBCs, even though there were enough OBC candidates who appeared in the interviews. More astonishingly, many of the SC, ST, and OBC candidates who were not selected had graduated, post-graduated, and completed senior residency from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). This means the authority did not fill the position, although there were enough qualified candidates from OBC backgrounds. The concern is that even after graduating from AIIMS, OBC candidates were not selected. Therefore, it is a contradiction that if someone is not qualified, how can they complete their education at AIIMS? If they had completed their education at AIIMS, how could they not have been suitable for the position despite its remaining vacant? This shows the ugly caste dynamics in the appointment and selection process.
In a similar case, the National Commission of Backward Classes (NCBC) sought the report from GB Panth Social Science Institute, Allahabad/Prayagraj, in 2021 after the complaint of discrimination against OBC candidates for the Assistant Professor positions. Unfortunately, here also, the institute stated “not found suitable candidates” for OBC and did not fill the post despite the available OBC candidates. The matter came into the limelight after the applicant complained to the NCBC and got social media backlash and criticism. Receiving the notice from NCBC, the institute administration readvertised the vacant positions in the name of a special drive for SC, ST and OBC.
OBC Reservation in Faculty Positions in AIIMS
The Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes 2023-24 flacks the similar violation of reservation policy for the OBC category in all the AIIMS. Its submitted report on “Measures undertaken to secure the representation of OBCs in employment and for their welfare in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)” reveals that not a single AIIMS have filled the reservation cap of 27 per cent in its appointment of faculty positions.
There are a total of 2961 sanctioned positions in all seven AIIMS (New Delhi, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh) while 2097 positions have been filled, of which 378 were OBC faculties (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Situation of OBC Faculty Positions in AIIMS
Source: Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes (2023-24)
Similarly, an average of 17.44 per cent of OBC faculties are recruited in AIIMS, which is around 10 per cent less than the mandated 27 per cent reservation (Figure 2). Surprisingly, not even a single AIIMS have filled the 27 per cent quota of OBC in faculty recruitment. The highest OBC faculties are there in AIIMS Bihar, followed by Bhopal and the lowest is recruited in AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. AIIMS, Raipur and Rishikesh have also filled around 14 per cent, which is half the mark.
Figure 2 Percentage-wise distribution of OBC Faculties in AIIMS
Source: Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes (2023-24)
OBC Reservation in Non-Faculty Positions in AIIMS
The Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes 2023-24 also reveals the non-compliance of the OBC quota mandate in non-faculty positions in AIIMS. It is comparably better than the faculty position but does not fully comply with the reservation. It found that out of a total of 36,179 sanctioned positions, 22,010 have been filled and of which, 5651 are OBC candidates (Figure 3).
Figure 3 Situation of OBC Non-Faculty Positions in AIIMS
Source: Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes (2023-24)
The average OBC non-faculty positions in AIIMS are 25.47, which is 1.5 per cent less than the mandated 27 per cent quota for OBC. The AIIMS Raipur has the highest 27 per cent of non-faculty persons, followed by Bhopal and New Delhi. AIIMS Jodhpur has the lowest 24 per cent among all the AIIMS in India (Figure 4).
Figure 4 Percentage-wise distribution of OBC Non-Faculty staff in AIIMS
Source: Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes (2023-24)
Conclusion
It is found that both the faculty and non-faculty positions have not been filled as per the 27 per cent reservation mandated for the OBC. If the candidates are “not found suitable”, as AIIMS and GB Panth Social Science Institute mentioned for OBC, how come it serves the purpose of reservations? The purpose is to give representation and not to lay vacant. The non-fulfilment of non-faculty positions also proves that the creamy layer within OBC is not working and, thus, not serving the purpose of reservation. Not finding suitable candidates and transferring them to general positions are the two facets of the creamy layer in OBC reservation. Therefore, the creamy layer category within the SC and ST will lead to more ‘not found suitable candidates’ for various positions than the OBC. Thus, it will be a significant loss to the community and against the spirit of reservation enshrined in the Indian Constitution. It will be the gateway for various institutions to claim “not found suitable candidates” and transfer the same to a general position as there will be fewer applications post creamy layer in SC and ST reservation.
About the Author
Dr Deepak Kumar Nanda is a development researcher and public policy analyst. He is the founding Editor of the Democracy and Development Insights.
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