DRAFTEWS: Concurring and Dissenting Judgments use Ambedkar's ideologies, dreams in contrast

Article 16(4) [and Article 15(4)] provision is rooted as historical reasons of exclusion from service. The provision was thus fulcrummed on the Constituent Assembly’s clear intent (expressed through Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s speech) to redress the specific wrong.

Baba Saheb Ambedkar recognised fraternity as a necessary principle for the survival of Indian democracy. He defined fraternity as the ‘common brotherhood of all Indians’. In his revolutionary, yet undelivered speech titled 116 ‘Annihilation of Caste’, he described fraternity as the ‘essential attitude of respect and reverence towards fellowmen’.

The idea of Baba Saheb Ambedkar was to bring social harmony by introducing reservation for only ten years. However, it has continued past seven decades. Reservation should not continue for an indefinite period of time so as to become a vested interest.

debate dealing with “backward classes” in draft Article 10(1)- in the Constituent Assembly Debates, Dr. Ambedkar spoke about the three points of view which recommended reconciliation to a workable proposition: firstly, that every individual qualified for a particular post should be free to apply and compete for it; secondly, that the fullest operation of the first rule would mean that there ought to be no reservation for any class or community at all; and the third significant point that though theoretically, equality of opportunity should be available to all, at the same time, some provision should be made for entry of certain community “which have so far been outside the administration.

“At the same time, as I said, we had to reconcile this formula with the demand made by certain communities that the administration which has now—for historical reasons—been controlled by one community or a few communities, that situation should disappear and that the others also must have an opportunity of getting into the public services.” Dr. Ambedkar then went on to say that reservation should operate ideally for a minority of posts and that the identifying principle for positive discrimination would be use of a “qualifying phrase such as backward” in whose favour an exception could be made without which the exception could ultimately eat up the rule.

Dr. Ambedkar put the issue very poignantly, saying that systematic caste discrimination was akin to slavery, since such subjugation “means a state of society in which some men are forced to accept from others the purposes which control their conduct” 

The last reason why I find myself unpersuaded to agree with the opinion that the impugned amendments by creating a different kind of criteria, have to be viewed separately and that Indra Sawhney was confined to reservations in Articles 15(4) and 16 (4) is because permitting the breach of the 50% rule as it were through this reasoning, becomes a gateway for further infractions whereby which in fact would result in compartmentalization; the rule of reservation could dealt well become rule of equality or the right to equality, could then easily be reduced to right to reservation - leading us back to the days of Champakam Dorairajan. In this regard, the observations of Ambedkar have to be kept in mind that the reservations are to be seen temporary and exceptional or else they would “eat up the rule of equality”