How upper castes become SCs

When I was a lawyer in the Allahabad High Court, I filed a case in Court in which my client's grievance was that he had applied for admission in B.Sc. Agriculture course in Kulbhaskar Ashram College, Allahabad but he was not granted admission although those who got less marks in Intermediate Agriculture exams were granted admission.

The same College also had Intermediate Agriculture course, and admissions to B.Sc. agriculture course were on the bas...is of marks obtained in Intermediate Agriculture exams.

The reply from the opposite parties was that those students with lesser marks who were admitted belonged to the scheduled castes, and they got admissions because of reservation for SCs.

I submitted before the Court that in fact these students who got admission were not SCs but belonged to the upper castes. And to prove this I filed photocopies of their applications for admission in Intermediate Agriculture course, which also had their photographs, and these clearly showed that they belonged to upper castes.

The fraud these students committed was that they dropped their surnames ( which they had mentioned in their applications for admission to Intermediate Agriculture course ) in their applications for admission to B.Sc. Agriculture, and obtained fake caste certificates ( obviously by paying some money, which is the common practice in many places ).

Thus, for instance, Ram Kumar Shukla, who wrote this name when applying for admission to Intermediate Agriculture course, and thus clearly disclosed that he was a Brahmin, wrote his name only Ram Kumar when applying for admission to B.Sc. Agriculture. Similarly, Satya Prasad Agarwal, who wrote this name when applying for admission to Intermediate Agriculture course, which clearly disclosed that he was a Vaishya, wrote only Satya Prasad when applying for admission to B.Sc. Agriculture, and so forth. The photocopies of photographs in the applications for admission to Intermediate Agriculture and B.Sc. Agriculture courses clearly showed that they were the same persons.

The case was adjourned, and I do not know what happened to it because soon thereafter I was elevated as a Judge of the High Court.

Probably it was not listed thereafter for many years, and in the meantime the admitted studemts may have completed their course and got their degrees. So the case may have been dismissed as infructuous.

Such is the state of our judiciary

Rajasthan Government surrenders to Gujars

Rajasthan Government surrenders to Gujars and agrees to give them 5% reservation.

 I have 2 comments to make about this :

(1) I am opposed to caste or communal reservations. In fact such reservations are doing great harm to the country by perpetuating casteism and casteist hatred. Politicians, however, benefit as they rely on such vote banks in the elections

 And how many SCs or OBCs benefit from such reservations ? Hardly .01%, and these too, of the 'creamy layer'. Most SCs and OBCs are still living in miserable conditions. The persons who are really benefited by such reservations are our crooked politicians

 What should be done is to give facilities and financial help to the poor of all castes and communities ( and there are many poor among the 'upper castes' too ).

Boys and girls of the 'upper castes' getting over 90% marks are often denied admission or jobs, while SCs and OBCs having 40% or even less get them. This naturally causes a lot of heart burning in the former. In fact it is 'reverse discrimination', which was declared unconstitutional, being violative of the equality provision, by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bakke's case in USA.

 I was told by a Principal of a Government Medical College in U.P. that he was pressurized by the Minister concerned to give pass marks to some SC students who repeatedly failed in their exams. What kind of doctors are we inflicting on society ? Will they heal the patients or harm them ? I am not saying that all SC doctors are incompetent, but those who pass their exams in Medical Colleges in this manner certainly are.

(2) I never go to vote, because my vote is meaningless. Most people in India vote in 'vote banks' on the basis of caste and religion like sheep and cattle. What value does my single vote have when we see most people in most states voting in droves and herds for their caste candidate or caste party ? Most people do not see the merit of a candidate, whether he is a good man or bad man, whether he is educated or not, etc but only the candidate's caste or religion. That is why a large section of our M.P.s and MLAs have criminal antecedents. Phoolan Devi who was alleged to have committed many murders, was elected an M.P. only because she was of a backward caste. Democracy was never meant to be run in this manner

 So thank you very much, you may have your democracy as much as you want, but please do not ask me to be a party to it

http://www.hindustantimes.com/jaipur/govt-agrees-to-introduce-a-bill-ensuring-5-reservation-outside-50-limit/article1-1352416.aspx

Reservations

In India reservations for scheduled castes and backward castes in educational institutions and in government jobs have acquired the character of a holy cow which no one dare challenge. In particular, no politician dare object to it for fear that this would destroy his political career.

Not being in politics, I can take a more detached and objective view. My view is that whatever may have been its utility earlier, today such reservations are doing great harm to the nation.

 I have in my blog on the caste system ( see justicekatju.blogspot.in ) expressed my strong opposition to the caste system, and I fully sympathise with the depressed castes who were treated as inferior and oppressed for centuries. I have said that the caste system is a curse on our nation, and the sooner it is destroyed the better.

However, in my opinion reservations, which have benefited only a miniscule number of such castes ( and that too the richer section, which did not need any help ), has done great damage to the rest, and ensured that they remain as wretched and poor as they were before.

 In my opinion financial help and facilities should be given to  poor people of all castes,  There are poor people in all castes, not merely among SCs and OBCs, and they should all be helped.

 Caste based reservations are like permanent crutches. Unless they are removed SCs and OBCs cannot walk erect. These categories should certainly be helped by giving them all facilitties, but thereafter they must work hard and make it on their own merit.

 I spoke to the Principal of a Government Medical College in U.P. He told me that if an SC boy fails in a test, oral orders come from above to pass him, otherwise the Principal will get into trouble. In this way we produce some ( not all ) incompetent SC doctors, without thinking of the risk to patients.

 No doubt reservations have helped many politicians by creating vote banks for them, but they have made casteism more deeply entrenched in our society, and have further divided our people at a time when we must be united to solve the country's massive problems

How I was almost sacked

I was appointed a permanent Judge of the Allahabad High Court in November 1991, and was almost sacked a few months thereafter. This is an untold story which you may find interesting.

 A few months after I was appointed a Judge a case came before me, Naresh Chand vs. District Inspector of Schools, Ghaziabad ( see 1992 Labour and Industrial Cases where the judgment is reported  ) which I heard and decided.

 The facts of the case were that a young man, Naresh Chand, had been appointed a biology teacher on ad hoc basis by the management of an obscure High School in District Ghaziabad in the State of U.P. in India.. Under the relevant rules, his appointment had to be approved by the District Inspector of Schools.

 The D.I.O.S. refused to approve the appointment on the ground that Naresh Chand belonged to an O.B.C. ( Other Backward Castes, which are the intermediate castes in India in the social ladder, below the so called ' upper castes ', but above the Scheduled Castes or dalits ), while the post had been reserved for a Scheduled Caste candidate.. Consequently his appointment was cancelled by the management of the school and his service was terminated. Naresh Chand challenged this before the Allahabad High Court, and the case came before me.

 I have always been passionate about science, and have always believed that science is the means of solving India's huge problems. This case gave me an opportunity of putting forward my philosophy in a judgment.

 The view I took was that though reservation on caste basis may be acceptable in other fields, they were not acceptable in the fields of science and technology because these fields were vital for India's progress, and hence no compromises were permissible in these fields. Consequently there could be no valid reservation in these fields, either for admission  in educational institutions or on jobs pertaining to these fields.  I remember a few passages of my judgment :

" The policy of reservations is basically a compromise between the need for excellence on the one hand, and the need to help the historically socially and economically disadvantaged classes on the other. However, in my opinion there can be no compromise in the fields of science and technology.

 When our country was on the scientific path it prospered. With the aid of science we had built mighty civilizations thousands of years ago when most people in Europe, except in Greece and Rome, were living in forests. We had made outstanding scientific discoveries, e.g. decimal system in mathematics, plastic surgery in medicine, etc. However subsequently we took to the unscientific path of superstitions and empty rituals, which has led us to disaster. The way out therefore is to go back again to the scientific path shown by our ancestors, the path of Aryabhatta and Brahmagupta, Sushrut and Charak, Panini and Patanjali, Ramanujan and Raman.

 While the socially and economically depressed classes should certainly be helped, the interest of the nation cannot be overlooked. As is said ' Interest Republicae Suprema Lex ' ( the interest of the republic is the supreme law ). A line has to be drawn somewhere to the policy of caste based reservations, and I draw the line at Science. Hence there can be no valid reservations in the field of science and technology."

  Consequently I quashed the order cancelling the appointment of Naresh Chand, and ordered his reinstatement.

 This judgment, delivered in 1992  (shortly after I had been appointed a Judge ), created a furore all over India. While huge rallies, particularly of students, were held in support of my judgment in many parts of India, there were counter rallies elsewhere. The media commented on it widely for several days, a large section supporting me, but another section attacking me.

 In Allahabad the ' Social Justice Movement '  publicly burnt my effigy and copies of my judgment. They resolved to place a lock on the gates of the Allahabad High Court, but were prevented by the police from doing so. A large contingent of policemen had to be placed around the premises of the Allahabad High Court. I started receiving threats by anonymous letters and on telephone.

 From the newspapers I learnt that the members of Parliament belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Tribes held a meeting in Delhi and decided to bring a bill in Parliament for my impeachment..

  My wife and other family members were scared. I had just been appointed a High Court Judge, and here I was , on the verge of being sacked ! For a long time I could not go for walks ( which I am fond of ), and except for going to the High Court had to remain confined to my house.

 Fortunately, the storm blew over and I survived.