POLITICAL GRIEVANCES 415
- What is the provision which this resolution makes to safeguard the position of the Scheduled Castes ? I give below the two relevant provisions of the Resolution. In paragraph 3 the Resolution states that:—
“No useful purpose will be served by reserving for them (Depressed Classes) a definite percentage of vacancies out of the number available for Hindus as a whole, but they hope to ensure that duly qualified candidates from the Depressed Classes are not deprived of fair opportunities of appointment.
The way in which Government hoped to ensure to the Scheduled Castes a fair share of representation in the Public Services is specified in para 7(1)(vi) of the Resolution, which reads as follows :—
“In order to secure fair representation for the Depressed Classes duly qualified members of these classes may be nominated to a Public Service even though recruitment to that service is being made by competition”.
A persual of these proposals brings out two facts :—
(i) The Resolution does not declare the Scheduled Castes to be a minority.
(ii) The Resolution does not allot to the Scheduled Castes any fixed proportion of the annual vacancies.
It goes without saying that there is a striking contrast between the provisions made by the Government of India for securing the recruitment of the Scheduled Castes and for the other minor communities to the Public Services. This contrast can be expressed in one sentence. The recruitment of the other communities is owing to the Resolution, not left to be a matter of discretion. It has been made a matter of obligation. The recruiting authority must fill in vacancy by recruiting a person, belonging to the community for which the vacancy is reserved. The recruitment of the Scheduled Castes on the other hand has been made a mere matter of discretion. The recruiting authority may fill an unreserved vacancy by appointing a person from the Scheduled Castes.
- It is owing to this difference between must and may that the Muslims and other communities have been so well represented in the Public Services and the Scheduled castes so completely excluded. No belter result is possible so long as the Government of India leaves