notes
Formulation of Inclusive
Policies in Parliament
Narender Kumar
Recognising the discriminatory
character of Indian society,
the role played by legislators
in influencing the policies for
scheduled castes and tribes
constitutes the subject matter of
this article. The initiative to get
recommendations implemented,
the participation in debates and
discussions and intervention of
members of Parliament during
question hour in the Lok Sabha
(1985-95) have been analysed in
the light of the fact that many of
the legislators are representatives
of the dalit masses.
This paper is based on sections of a doctoral
thesis completed at the Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi at the Centre for
Political Studies.
Email: narenderanju@rediffmail.com
80
S
ocial exclusion of scheduled castes
(SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) from
the mainstream social process has
been an age-old phenomenon of Indian
society. In social science literature the
concept of social exclusion is defined as
“the process through which individuals
belonging to some groups are wholly or
partially excluded from full participation
in the society in which they live” [Hann
1997]. Exclusion revolves around two
forms, namely, the multiple aspects of dis-
crimination and the societal processes and
the institutions that are implicated in
depri­vation. Thus recognition of the diverse
societal processes and institutions which
can cause social exclusion, discrim­ination
and deprivation for the excluded and
discriminated groups becomes important.
The consequences of exclusion, thus,
depend crucially on how the institutions
function, and how exclusionary and dis-
criminatory they are in their outcome.
Social exclusion, though a social pheno­
menon, is not restricted to purely social
processes and institutions and that is why
Silver (1994) argues that the approaches of
social exclusion are grounded in different
paradigms of citizenship and social inte-
gration. Clearly bringing out the concept
of social exclusion from social-centric to
broader paradigms Bhalla and Laperye
(1994) opine that “the concept of social
exclusion goes beyond economic and
social aspects of poverty and embraces
the political aspects such as political
rights and citizenship which outline a
relationship between individuals and the
state as well as between the society and
the individual”. Thus, there are various
societal processes and institutions which
can cause social exclusion discrim­ination
and deprivation for the excluded and dis-
criminated groups.
Amartya Sen (2000) draws the distinc-
tion between the situation, where some
are being kept out (at least left out), and
where some people are being included
(may even be forced to be included) in
deeply unfavourable terms, and described
the two situations as “unfavourable exclu-
sion” and “unfavourable inclu­sion”. The
unfavourable inclusion, with unequal
treatment, may carry the same adverse
effects as unfavourable exclusion.
Recognising the discriminatory character
of Indian society, various initiatives for
inclusion of SC/STs into the mainstream
body politic had started during the British
rule itself. The efforts to provide them with
education and employment in the public
sphere in various provinces like Baroda,
Travancore and Cochin need special
mention. While formulating the Govern-
ment of India Acts of 1919, 1935 and finally
during the Constituent Assembly debates,
the role played by Ambedkar had a daunt-
ing impact on the formulation of inclusive
policies for these marginalised communi-
ties. However, Parliament has been enact-
ing legislations to enlarge the safeguards
for these sections.
Legislators’ Intervention
In this paper, taking the functional view
of representation, the legislators’ interven-
tions to formulate policies for inclusion of
socially excluded SC/ST masses has been
analysed in the lower house of the union
legislature, i e, the Lok Sabha. The period
that has been selected is 1985-95. It was a
time when two significant developments
were taking place. At one level there was an
upsurge in the consciousness among de-
prived sections as well as their increased
participation in the electoral politics.
Two, the period witnessed the state with-
drawing from the public arena in terms of
mass welfare programmes and the liberali-
sation of the economy, that finally led to
increasing privatisation and globalisation.
The 1990s in particular saw an expanding
base of electoral democracy, that was a
fallout of the greater participation and
more intense politicisation than before,
among the marginalised social groups
[Yadav 1999:2393-99]. The liberalisation
of the economy “was a conscious decision
to substantially reduce the role of the state
in the process of economic development
july 19, 2008 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
 notes

and rely far more on the market”, where influencing decision-making, the latter is back-bencher can use parliamentary ques-
“long-term development objectives such a more direct way of taking decisions. tion to extract much information or to
as education, human resource deve­ Here we are concerned with both. Regard- conduct a campaign in favour of or against
lopment, or the acquisition of technological ing the former, we examine the questions a particular policy” [Rush 1976: 91].
and managerial capabilities, are simply – oral and written but the focus will be on To ascertain the information on the
neglected” [Nayyar 1998: 3127-28]. This the starred questions which lead to discus- kind of questions raised by the MPs, we have
reflects the unfolding of the contradiction sions. Included in the latter are discussion selected four years – 1985, 1990, 1991 and
between the logic of political equality and on various bills passed, reports, Rule 193, 1995, representing the three Lok Sabha
that of social inequality that was warned calling attention motion, etc, all related to sessions; the ninth, tenth and eleventh. In
by Ambedkar in his concluding speech in the problems of SC/STs. We also look into the following, both the starred and the
the Constituent Assembly. Policy func- the reports of the Parliamentary Commit- unstarred questions have been included.
tions as a response to physical and social tee on the Welfare of SC/STs which have The concerns raised during the ques-
environment, and a change in policy is an influence on the policies. tion hour (see the table) show that the
both causal and purposive, as it is not In this paper we argue that though the main emphasis is on issues concerning
only caused by environmental stimuli but MPs have various mechanisms to influence economic development, particularly on
also directed towards a goal and shaped government policies they hardly become jobs in the public sector, and the welfare
by a purpose [Eulau 1978:179]. Thus, this instrumental in forcing the regime in schemes for SC/STs. The issue of land
paper becomes more relevant when we power to come out with substantive poli- distribution, which has a major impact on
examine and develop a relationship cies. Even if the government comes out a sizeable dalit population, did not attract
among special representations, politico- with new legislations for SC/STs, these are any concern by the MPs. The issue of
socio-economic environment in the late mere extension of the existing policies and social upliftment of the SC/STs did find
1980s and early 1990s on the one hand, the areas untouched by the present poli- some mention but atrocities against them
and the role of Parliament on the other, cies find no place in spite of MPs raising attracted more attention than other basic
vis-à-vis the SC/STs. such concerns. issues concerning housing, health facilities,
The role played by the legislators them- scholarships, admission, etc.
selves in influencing/changing/rejecting/ Question Hour and the SC/ST: The MPs As regards the questions asked, a com-
modifying/accepting policies for SC/STs, can make use of the Question Hour to scru- parison between dalit and non-dalit MPs
constitutes the subject matter of the present tinise the policies and programmes of the reveals more inquiries by the former.
paper. Their responses towards the reports regime in power. The questions may or may Similar is the case with the pre- and post-
of the National Commission for Scheduled not relate to pure policy concerns, but: “these Mandal periods wherein 173 questions were
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (NCSCT) and (questions) are the manifestations from asked in the former and 213 questions in
their initiative to get its recommendations which the nature and direction of policy is the latter period. So far as party-wise ques-
implemented and translated into policy inferred” [Eulau 1978: 179]. Hence, Question tions are concerned, the opposition had been
through bills, participation in debates Hour becomes an indirect instrument of more active. Opposition members asked
and discussions, and their performance policy development in the hands of 210 questions as against the 176 questions
during question hour in the Lok Sabha have the members. “A skilful and determined put forth by the ruling party members.
been analysed in the light of the fact that
they are representatives of dalit masses. Table: Question Hour: Concerns, Social Background of Concerned MPs, Political Position and Period
Whether various parliamentary proce- Questions Social Status Political Position Period
Starred Un- Total Dalit Non- Ruling Opposite Pre- Post-
dures like question hour, no confidence starred Dalit Parties Parties Mandal Mandal
motion, calling attention notice, etc, are I Economic development
1) Job sector 12 154 166 107 59 84 82 74 92
utilised or not by these members
2) Welfare schemes aid/grants/funds 04 62 66 40 26 26 40 31 35
deserve special attention for such analysis.
3) Allotment of agencies 03 24 27 20 07 07 20 10 17
4) Land distribution 00 01 01 00 01 01 00 00 01
Involvement in Decision-making
Total 19 241 260 167 93 118 142 115 145
There are two levels of involvement in II Social upliftment
Parliament, where members can influence 1) Atrocities 04 16 20 11 09 10 10 07 13
the decision-making of the government: 2) Housing 03 09 12 07 05 05 07 03 09
(1) by asking questions during Question 3) Health 00 05 5 01 04 02 03 01 04

Hour, either to elicit the required informa- 4) Scholarship 05 13 18 12 06 07 11 10 08

5) Hostel facilities 00 09 9 03 06 02 07 03 06
tion or to prepare ground for influencing the
6) Training/coaching for education 00 09 9 04 05 06 03 04 05
decisions; (2) by participating in debates
7) Admissions 01 17 18 11 09 11 07 09 09
where important resolutions are moved,
Total 13 78 91 49 44 43 48 37 54
bills passed and statements made on the III Miscellaneous 05 30 35 22 13 15 20 21 14
floor of the House. The former constitute Grand Total 37 349 386 238 150 176 210 173 213
the indirect or the preparatory phase of Source: Lok Sabha Questions 1985, 1990, 1991 and 1995.

Economic & Political Weekly EPW july 19, 2008 81

notes
Though the number of unstarred ques-
tions was more than the starred questions,
the emphasis of starred questions was
mainly on social upliftment, in comparison
to unstarred questions whose emphasis
lay on aspects of economic development.
However, there was no question on health,
hostel facilities, and training and coach-
ing for education under social develop-
ment concerns.
Although 37 starred questions were
asked during the four years, only eight
questions were debated in the House and
the rest did not evoke the legislators’ reac-
tions, in response to the minister’s reply.
Majority of the starred questions
reflected the prevalence of “phenomenal
representation”1 and not “enduring repre­
sentation”.2 It sought information on the
number of SC/STs being given as scholar-
ship in education, the number of persons
allotted LPG agencies/petrol pumps, the
number of atrocities committed on SC/STs,
etc. Such questions failed to elicit specific
information except the one contained in
the various reports of the NCSCT. They
mentioned no harsh facts of the matter
except showing how marginal improve-
ments were made as compared to the
previous years. Moreover, the reply of the
government to these questions remained,
at best, stereotypical.
No supplementary questions were asked
on most of the starred questions. Out of
the 37 starred questions, only eight ques-
tions could evoke debate, the rest passed
off unnoticed by the MPs after the minis-
ter’s response. Generating a discussion
and turning it into a meaningful debate
remained a distant reality. Thus, MPs were
overwhelmingly satisfied with the replies,
showing a sense of satisfaction for having
raised the concerns of the masses merely
by asking a few questions.
Even during supplementary questions,
MPs did not pursue the schemes that had
benefited SC/STs and had seen a consider-
able success rate as was in the case of
“Kutir Yojna” in Orissa. Regarding the mis-
utilisation of funds particularly in the
tribal areas, and the need to constitute
committees at the central level, the minister
referred to the non-availability of resources
to monitor each and everything. None of
the members thought it proper to raise the
issue through supplementary questions.
82
On the displacement of tribes the govern-
ment once again tried to satisfy the House
by saying that they were formulating a
new forest policy to check the exploitation
of tribes.
Questions to review reservation policy
and reservations in promotions [LSD April
10, 1985: 8-12; LSD May 4, 1995: 18-21]
were the major policy questions asked
and debated by the members. Replying to
the former, the minister categorically
mentioned that there was no question of
reviewing the reservation policy but at
the same time he did not commit to
increase the quota with the rise in the
SC/STs population. The same was the
case with regard to promotions in reserva-
tions, the minister reiterated that the
government is committed to the welfare of
SC/STs without divulging any information
about the steps being taken.
Two Policy Inquiries
Two policy inquiries were made under the
starred questions about (a) reservation in
admission in public schools [LSD April 25,
1985: 37], and (b) representation of SC/STs
as judges in Supreme Court and high
courts [LSD February 22, 1991: 26]. Once
again no discussion was initiated by the
MPs on the reply of the minister who
admitted to the poor representation of
SC/STs in the Supreme Court and the high
courts as judges and the non-existence of
reservation in public schools.
The substantive concerns of the legislators
during question hour largely show the
importance attached to phenomenal
representation, where the implementation
of safeguards remains of paramount
importance. Demands are seldom in the
direction of strengthening the implement­
ation mechanism or formulating new
policies in this regard. Even rarely if there
are demands to strengthen the implemen-
tation agencies and clamour for new policies
to uplift the SC/STs, these are not pursued
vigorously. The government’s response
on the enquiries remains stereotypical.
The replies of the ministers regarding
whether or not to make new proposals
were not an issue discussed and debated
further. Thus legislators seem to have
been generally seen content with the
replies and even if sometimes they remain
unsatisfied they did not pursue their
dissatisfaction to force the minister to take
proactive policy measures.
Reports of National Commission for
SC/STs and Parliamentary Response: In
1985, the 3rd and the 4th reports of the
NCSCT for 1980-81 and 1981-82 were dis-
cussed. Likewise, the 28th and 29th reports
of the erstwhile Commission for Scheduled
Castes and Tribes (CSCT) for 1986-87 and
1987-88, and the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th reports
of the same body for 1982-86, were debated
in 1994. The newly constituted NCSCT’s
reports from 1992 onwards were not de-
liberated upon by the Lok Sabha till 1995.
On the basis of these reports, a frame-
work of policy inputs emerges that broadly
includes the following issues: (i) to provide
constitutional status to the commission
for SC/STs, (ii) special recruitment drive
for the backlog, (iii) to rationalise land
distribution mechanisms and setting up of
land tribunals for checking the land alien-
ation, (iv) making Protection of Civil
Rights Act (PCRA) more stringent to check
atrocities, (v) ministry of welfare to become
nodal agency for the welfare of SC/STs,
(vi) policy of positive discrimination in
government-funded NGOs and other govern-
ment aided private institutions, (vii) special
policies for tribals, (viii) comprehensive
changes in overall system, (ix) scaven-
gers to be promoted to group ‘D’ jobs, and
(x) to legislate new Acts to embody main
principles of reservations.
Deliberations by the legislators reveal
that there was both phenomenal as well
as an enduring representation. Their
articulations for increasing (i) the funds
for welfare activities, (ii) vacancies in
various departments and fulfilling them,
(iii) scholarships for students, etc, were
relatively low because only 17 out of 73
legislators intervened in these aspects.
Interestingly, a majority of them belonged
to reserved constituencies. Another sig-
nificant aspect of the deliberations was
that in 1985 if the concern was for raising
scholarships, funds and reserved vacancies,
in 1994 it was against the delay in scholar-
ship3 and non-fulfilment of existing re-
served vacancies. It is surprising to note
that constituency concerns even with regard
to short-term objectives were ambiguously
absent. Neither did the legislators bother
about the lack of funds for developmental
july 19, 2008 EPW Economic & Political Weekly

activities concerning SC/STs in their
constituencies, nor did they raise the issue
of atrocities in their areas.4
Though some of the members’ articula-
tions exhibited phenomenal representa-
tion, most of them gave equal treatment to
long-term policy objectives as well. Before
the conferment of constitutional status to
the commission they kept raising this issue
throughout the 1985 discussion. With regard
to containing atrocities against SC/STs, the
legislators were not happy with the PCRA.
They wanted (i) a more stringent act to
punish the guilty, (ii) establishment of
more special courts, and (iii) appointment
of dalit personnel in atrocity-prone areas
etc. Another concern of the MPs was to
amend the laws on land reforms for a
proper distribution of land to the landless
SC/STs. Yet another aspect for the proper
implementation of safeguards was related
to the constitution of a separate ministry
for SC/STs or to bring dalit subject under
the ministry of home affairs.
Compensatory Discrimination
With regard to the compensatory discrim-
ination, they argued for a special recruit-
ment drive to fulfil the backlog. In 1992,
the Mandal Commission judgment on the
withdrawal of SC/ST reservations in pro-
motions attracted the attention of the par-
liamentarians and they took up the matter
during the 1994 discussion on the reports.
The MPs seem to have been aware of the
adverse impact of the liberalisation proc-
ess and asked the government to come out
with necessary legislation to safeguard
the dalit interests.
One major policy question on the con-
stitution of a commission to report on the
administration of the scheduled areas and
the welfare of STs under Article 339, was
missing during the debates both in 1985
and 1994. Though some questions on edu-
cation (particularly for scholarships) were
asked, the issue of providing the SC/STs
with better educational facilities and mak-
ing them self-reliant was not addressed
adequately during the debates.
While replying to both the motions in
1985 and 1994, the government seems to
have been able to satisfy the members that
it was following a coherent policy towards
the dalit problem. In the 1985 reply to a
motion, the minister of welfare, Rajendra
Economic & Political Weekly EPW july 19, 2008
Kumari Bajpai admitted that “everything
is not fine and everything is not right at
every level but the responsibility lies on
the state governments, as the policies are
basically implemented by them”. She,
however, “assured to look into that, the
guidelines of the central government are
followed” [LSD November 28, 1985: 261-69].
It is rightly pointed out that public account-
ability remains a serious problem for en-
suring proper choice of beneficiaries and
proper use of funds. In spite of the availa-
bility of information there are no proper
and efficient institutional mechanisms for
lodging complaints or seeking redressal of
grievances [Vaidyanathan 2001: 1819].
The members alleged that the ministry
of welfare does not have any power to look
into the law and order problem so it had to
be shifted to the ministry of home affairs.
Majority of the MPs emphasised the need to
harden punishment of the officers respon-
sible for non-implementation of policies.
The ministers neither stated what is being
done nor promised to come out with meas-
ures on both the issues. The responsibility
was put on the state governments. It was
stated by the minister that at the most what
the central government could do was send
orders to the state governments, if specific
cases of policy violations came to light.
Discussion on Reports
The discussion on the reports shows that
though with delay dalit policies were indeed
deliberated upon by the Lok Sabha. The
legislators’ emphasis was more on policy
aspects, i e, on the enduring representation;
the enduring representation was more
towards strengthening the mechanism of
policy implementation than pursuing
representation of SC/STs in “untouched
areas” such as private sector institutions,
Supreme Court, and high courts, etc.
Simultaneously stray demands were made
for such provisions but they were not pur-
sued in the reply of the ministers.
In 1994, interventions on the reply of
the minister were greater as compared
to 1985. It shows that the dalit issue had
become quite heated in the post-Mandal
period. Though the MPs may not have
been able to change the policy perceptions
of the government during the debates on
the reports, several policy issues, whether
to alter the implementation strategies or
notes
to demand new policies or at least to make
the government realise the need for policy
change with regard to SC/STs, was put
forward by the MPs.
The Lok Sabha deliberates on various
bills/legislations, where the MPs partici-
pate and influence policies of the govern-
ment. Here, we try to examine the impact
of the perspectives adopted by the mem-
bers and the subsequent policy formulation
by the government. The issue of policy out-
puts of the perspectives taken during
policy­making is the major concern here.
Policy outputs indicate the actual decisions
taken by the government, as distinct from
what is regarded as given assurances.
Policy outputs constitute a body of specific
inducements for the members of a political
system to support it [Easton 1957]. The
government may come out with an alter-
native legislation that may not be entirely
a voluntary initiative but may be the result
of outside pressure, i e, of interest groups,
of concerned individuals, or of representa-
tives in legislatures etc. We examined the
impact of perspectives adopted by the MPs,
as policy output is influenced by the policy
responsiveness of the representatives that
relates to their decision-making conduct in
a given field of policy [Eulau and Wahlke
1978:63]. Not only can policy initiative be
influenced by the representatives in legis-
latures, the policy content may also be al-
tered through the addition or deletion of
some clauses on the floor of the House.
We shall see how legislators participate
in discussion with response to policy
proposals in terms of legislations by the
government. We need to examine whether
legislators respond to government propos-
als and finally become instrumental in
formulating policies for SC/STs.
The amendments or changes proposed
by the legislators may or may not be accom-
modated by the government. Proposals may
be passed without incorporating the sug-
gestions made by the legislature, thus
reducing it to insignificance. These in turn
would reflect upon the consequences of
the legislative interventions on the policy
outputs which finally go to become policies.
There has been a consistent rise in the
scale of atrocities during 1985-95 and the
legislators were not satisfied with the
results produced by PCRA (1976) so they
demanded a more stringent legislation to
83
notes
deal with the atrocities. The government
came with a legislation called the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention
of Atrocities) Bill, 1989.
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Bill
1989: Overall 35 members participated in
a two-day (August 14 and 16, 1989) debate
on the bill. It is interesting to note that out
of 35 members, eight did not speak much
about the bill and only made indirect and
the usual suggestions, viz, to punish those
not implementing the laws and misutilis-
ing the funds [LSD August 14, 1989: 103
and August 16, 1989: 25,52].
The debate on the bill shows that both
dalit and non-dalit MPs not only partici-
pated but also raised issues on the pro-
posed legislation. Apart from discussing
issues like lodging of FIRs, strict action
against culprits, special courts, etc, the
MPs also raised those issues which were
not part of the bill, e g, rehabilitation of the
victim of atrocity, appointment of SC/ST
officials in atrocity-prone areas, to fix
collective fine on the panchayat or the
block prone to atrocities, etc. At the same
time, some crucial aspects of implementa-
tion and spreading awareness among the
people regarding the provisions of the Act
have been ignored by both dalit and non-
dalit MPs. The maintenance of law and
order is subject of the states. How to deal
with the states defying the provisions by not
implementing them was largely neglected
by the MPs. The non-implementation of
programmes and schemes, the major aspect
of dalit policies, should have been put
more emphatically, rather than being
ignored. Secondly, sensitisation of the
people, and informing society about the
prevalence of such legislation was com-
pletely ignored by the MPs. The MPs could
have asked to use the government and the
private media to spread awareness about
such an important legislation.
Missing Issues
The pursuance of issues raised during the
debate while passing the bill was com-
pletely absent among the dalit MPs, where-
as a non-dalit MP of the Janta Party moved
eight amendments. It shows that the non-
SC/STs from the Opposition were more
active in legislature as compared to dalit
84
MPs either from the ruling party or from
the Opposition in pre-Mandal period.
Most of the issues uncovered in the bill
have been taken care of while framing the
rules. It is a different matter that these
rules were framed under the Janata Dal
and not the Congress government.
The Constitution (65th Amendment)
Bill 1990 or National Commission for
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes:
During the discussion on the bill, 19 mem-
bers participated in the debate in the
house. One of the eldest members of the
house N G Ranga (Guntur) stated that
there was no need to be very optimistic
about the capacity of the bill to provide
the services and protection to the con-
cerned people, but he did not object to
passing of the bill [LSD May 28, 1990: 124].
Yet another member called the exercise
another “small step” to boost the down-
trodden (ibid:129). However, the MPs
brought in other issues related to SC/STs,
like economic measures to make the com-
mission successful. It was suggested that
misutilisation of funds should be looked
into by the commission [LSD May 28, 1990:
132], and the central government should
be made accountable for the implementa-
tion of the Special Component Plan and
Tribal Sub-Plan, which are premier pro-
grammes to uplift SC/STs. The fact that
land reforms implementation needs spe-
cial legislation to ensure effective inter-
vention of the commission was argued by
Matilal Handra (Jhargram) [LSD May 28,
1990: 140]. Arvind Netam (Kankar) want-
ed a separate tribunal for SC/ST employees
on the lines of the central administrative
tribunal [LSD May 23, 1990: 138]. All said
and done, a majority of the dalit members
were apprehensive about the success of the
commission and reiterated their demand
to look into the implementation of the
rules and regulations formulated under
the bill (K D Sultanpuri, Kusuma, Krishna
Murthi, Arvind Netam, Kumari Mayawati,
Ramlal Rahi, etc) [LSD May 29, 1990].
It is interesting to note that the three
amendments suggested by Ramdhan, the
then chairperson of the commission and
member of the Lok Sabha from Lalganj,
were introduced as the government
amendments and incorporated in the bill.
The government amendments included:
(i) the appointment of some more mem-
bers in the commission, apart from the
chairperson and vice-chairperson, (ii) the
substitution of “examine” with “inquire
into” regarding the complaints against the
government functionaries vis-à-vis the pro-
grammes for the positive discrimination
for SC/STs, and (iii) to participate and
advise in the planning process of the
socio-economic development of SC/STs
and to evaluate the progress of their
development under the union and any
state. The most important function that
was absent in the provisions of the erst-
while commissioner and the commission
related to the powers of the body to
function as a civil court.
These provisions were not part of the
original bill but were introduced while it
was passed. These are indicative of the
legislators’ impact on the policy output be-
cause they demanded to confer on it the
status of the Commission of Inquiry, 1962.
The powers of the NCSCT have not only
been confined to the participation in the
planning process but it has also been made
obligatory on the part of the state and cen-
tral governments to consult the NCSCT on
all major policy matters that have direct or
indirect impact on the concerned collec-
tives of the Indian society.
65th Amendment
The discussion on the 65th Amendment
Bill reflects the prevalance of both endur-
ing representation, where not only sugges-
tions are made but also amendments
moved to incorporate those in the original
bill. The major issues raised during the
debate had been to bring the commission
under the ministry of home affairs or to
create a special ministry, to look into the
implementation of the rules and regula-
tions of the bill, misutilisation of funds,
etc, which were directly concerned with
the bill. Some of the members raised
issues which were indirectly related such
as special tribunal for SC/STs on the lines of
the central administrative tribunal, attention
towards land reforms, asking the commis-
sion to implement welfare programmes as
well as monitoring them, etc.
Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders
(Amendment) Bill 1990: The Constitution
has been amended several times to
july 19, 2008 EPW Economic & Political Weekly

include new communities in the SC/ST list.
Though the Constitution does not allow
any kind of discrimination on the basis of
religion, but the SCs, other than “Hindus”
have not been allowed to get the benefits
of reservations. Among such groups, have
been the neo-Buddhists who converted
from amongst the SCs to Buddhism.
Though the government of Maharashtra
had provided them the facilities long back
it was denied by the central government
till 1990.5
On May 24, 1990, the minister of labour
and welfare, Ram Vilas Paswan intro-
duced a bill in the Lok Sabha to provide
the facilities available to those SCs who
adopted Buddhism. The bill was already
passed by the Rajya Sabha. There were 28
MPs who participated during the discus-
sion on May 28-29, 1990 on the bill. The
bill was supported by 27 MPs and only one
MP, Eduardo Faleiro (Mormugaon) opposed
the bill but abstained from voting, and it
was passed with a consensus.
The MPs may have argued in favour of
inclusion of the other communities in the
SC list but they did not pursue increasing
the proportion of reservations due to addi-
tion of Buddhists. Replying to the debate
the minister himself gave assurance on
various issues, viz, increasing the percent-
age of reservation, inclusion of land reforms
in the 9th Schedule, a policy for proper
rehabilitation of the persons involved in
manual scavenging, and continuation of
special recruitment drives.
National Commission for Safai Karam-
charis Bill: There were 25 members of
Parliament who participated in the debate
on the National Commission for Safai
Karamchari (NCSK) bill. Most of the
members emphasised providing alter­
native employment to the scavengers [LSD
August 13, 1993: 279, 289; and August 16,
1993: 296, 306, 311, 315, 326 and 331]. The
members suggested that due to the lack of
alternative arrangements for the scavengers’
employment, there would be no change in
the basic status of this reality. Without
alternative employment, they will have no
other means to get their bread and butter.
In spite of the filthiness of the occupation,
they continue to do the job as their survival
depends on it. It was pointed out that the
success of eliminating scavenging as an
Economic & Political Weekly EPW july 19, 2008
employment depends on the provision of
an alternative mechanism of employment
for their survival.
The second important aspect addressed
by the members was that the state should
provide free education to the children of
the scavengers [LSD August 16, 1993: 286,
290, 303, 314, 316, 320 and 323]. It was
argued during the discussion that even if
the present scavengers get an alternative
means of livelihood, it may not ensure the
abolition of the system, in the absence of
proper and free education to their children.
The need was felt not only for education
but also for uniform education so that the
hierarchical system of education does not
become a hindrance in getting employ-
ment opportunities to these children who
would only be admitted in government-
run schools.
A careful observation of the legislative
responses to the NCSK bill points out that
the MPs were more concerned with the im-
plementation part of the functions of the
commission and not for strengthening the
body itself. They did not even ask obvious
questions on how the commission will
deal with the state governments or the in-
dividuals found guilty of manual scaveng-
ing. They could have argued for the status
of a civil court to the commission to han-
dle the cases of violation of the law on
manual scavenging, for which precedence
existed under the NCSCT that functions as
a civil court. As the legislative interven-
tions were not specifically for the commis-
sion so amendments were not moved by
the members on the bill and the bill was
passed in its original form.
Constitution (86th) Amendment Bill:
The demand for reservation in promotion
was raised several times during the Question
Hour and debates on dalit policy aspects.
These demands were the product of the
Supreme Court judgment in the Indira
Sahni vs Union of India case, popularly
known as Mandal verdict, wherein the
court decided against the promotional
reservation for BCs prospectively. For the
continuation of the provision of reserva-
tion in promotions for SC/STs, a constitu-
tional amendment bill was introduced by
the government on June 2, 1995. A total
of 22 legislators participated during the
discussion on the bill.
notes
The deliberations during the discussion
on the bill show a concern for policy issues.
These concerns were basically related
with OBCs but was not absent in favour
of SC/STs. Whether it was a question of
punishing officials who indulged in non-
implementation of reservation policy or
putting a check on adverse remarks in the
confidential reports (CRs) of SC/ST officials
or even for that matter the fear of some-
body going to the court against the bill, all
these related primarily to the SC/STs.
However, these demands for amendments
in the bill in favour of SC/STs, while pass-
ing it were, almost completely absent. One
solitary example in favour of SC/STs was
the amendment proposed by Ram Vilas
Paswan for promotions in the organisa-
tions taking assistance from the govern-
ment. This could have had a major impact
on the dalit policy paradigm.
Welfare of SC/STs
Since Parliament is pressed for time, it
does not and cannot debate and discuss
each and every matter that comes before
it. To save time, several committees are
constituted by the House to look deeper
into the questions as well as recommend
to the executive, measures to be taken
under the given circumstances.
Accordingly, to save time and the re-
sources of Parliament, a committee on the
welfare of SC/STs (PCWSCST) was set up in
1968 to consider: (i) the reports of the
commissioner for SC/ST (now NCSCT),
(ii) to report to both the Houses the action
taken by the government, (iii) to examine
measures taken by the union government,
(iv) to secure due representation and
matters referred by the house, and (v) to
report to both the Houses on the working
of the welfare measure regarding SC/STs.
During the period 1985-95, the com-
mittee produced 93 reports, where all but
four were primarily concerned with the
implementation aspects. Among the four,
two were Action Taken Reports on the
previous two. These were: (1) Reservation
for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes in Private Sector (4th Report, 10th
Lok Sabha 1991-92), and (2) Formulation,
Implement­ation and Monitoring of
Reservation Policy (24th Report, 10th Lok
Sabha 1993-94). The 53rd and 43rd
reports of the committee respectively
85
notes
discussed the action taken by the govern-
ment on the above two reports.
The demand for reservations in private
sector by the committee was not new, as
the matter was also examined previously in
the 41st report by the fifth and 18th report
by sixth Lok Sabhas. It was emphasised in
the reports that proportional representation
should be provided to the SCs and STs in the
private sector. These reports, in particular,
recommended to make it compulsory in
case of private institution who received
any kind of assistance such as loans, land,
and licences from the government.
The 18th report specifically asked for en-
actment of a new legislation in this regard
but the ministry of law report said that, “it
was not possible under the law to impose
such a condition” and that Article 16 (4)
permits reservation in jobs only with
respect to services under the state and
not under the private sector. There has been
no impact of the committee’s recommenda-
tions on the dalit policy paradigm. The gov-
ernment accepted only the observations of
the committee and not the recommenda-
tions for reservations in the private sector.
All this reveals the government’s con-
cern to safeguard the interests of the SC/
STs in the emerging economic scenario,
where the private sector is to play a more
important role as compared to earlier
times. Thus, the legislators raised the policy
matters vis-à-vis SC/STs but the govern-
ment’s stand remains indifferent and even
the assurances are not given.
Representation
Yet, another question that emerges on the
dalit policy paradigm is, whether it would
be extra-constitutional or against the
Constitution to provide dalit representa-
tion in the private sector. Here it needs to
be reaffirmed as stated by the minister of
welfare in the 53rd Action Taken Report
that reservations could be made in private
sector under Article 46 read in conjunction
with the Article 15(4) of the Constitution.
If the 73rd Amendment Act to give powers
to panchayats can be implemented on the
basis of the sole Article 40 of the Consti­
tution under the Directive Principles of
State Policy, then the question arises
why   it cannot happen with regard to the
representation of SC/STs in the private
sector with the help of Articles 15(4) and
86
46 in which the former is part of the fun-
damental rights, which are mandatory to
be implemented on behalf of the state.
Another report on Formulation, Imple-
mentation and Monitoring of Reservation
Policy was prepared by the PCWSCST in
1993-94. So far as formulation of reserva-
tion policy was concerned, the committee
was informed that six departments/minis-
tries were involved in the process. The
committee made various important
re­commendations, viz: (i) relaxation in the
period of qualifying service for SC/STs in
case of promotions, (ii) reservation in
ad hoc appointments, (iii) reservation
according to population as per the 1991
Census, and (iv) fulfil huge reserved
quota in various departments.
A few recommendations of the com-
mittee were accepted by the government.
These included: (i) reservation in ad hoc
appointments, (ii) maintaining and fur-
nishing statistical information relating to
SC/STs to the committee, (iii) special re-
cruitment drive to fill up backlog under
consideration, (iv) legislation on reserva-
tion for SC/STs under active consideration,
and (v) ban on dereservation.
In some of the cases such as opening
pre-examination centres, keeping infor-
mation about the number of SC/STs, back-
log in departments, etc, the government
maintained that the concerned depart-
ment has been requested to take necessary
action, and the committee asked to be
apprised of the result.
The committee seems to have been suc-
cessful in bridging some gaps left by the
Lok Sabha on the floor of the House regard-
ing the onslaught on reservation policy due
to privatisation and liberalisation of the
economy, and the need for relaxation to
fulfil the reserved vacancies. The reports
prepared by the committee did not touch
issues concerning the major chunk of dalit
population, viz, educational development,
socio-economic upliftment, such as provid-
ing them lands or enhancing their capa-
bilities through financial assistance.
Reservation in public sector does have
the potential to have a major impact on the
socio-economic and political development
of SC/STs. But it is argued that this is an
aspect that does not touch the majority of
the dalit population, i e, all the SC/STs or
the major chunk of the dalit population
cannot be accommodated in the public sec-
tor because even if all the jobs are reserved
for them, only a small proportion of dalit
populace will be able to develop, and the
rest will be left without any benefit [Man-
delsohn et al 1998]. Reservation is more
relevant in the present circumstances,
where the private sector is controlling the
economy. The SC/STs suffer from discrimi-
nation in multiple ways in various markets
and therefore, reservation policy should
cover all the spheres [Thorat et al 2005: 51].
Conclusions
We may conclude by saying that though
Parliament deliberates upon social exclu-
sion and inclusive policies for SC/STs, it
does so both poorly and inadequately. And
the response of the government remains
negligible and muted. And even if some
policies are initiated by the government,
these remain routine and a mere extension
or modification of the existing ones. All
this indicates that there has been no major
shift in the dalit policy paradigm and the
focus was on strengthening mechanisms
for implementing existing inclusive policies
and no efforts were made to address
emerging social exclusion in the liberalised,
privatised and globalised worlds.
Parliament seems to have been able to
bring various dalit issues on the agenda of
the government. This could be observed
with regard to the perspectives adopted
by the MPs on the reports of the CSCT and
the bills introduced by the government.
Neverthe­less, in spite of deliberations and
proposed amendments on the bills, the
MPs failed to alter the themes contained in
the legislations introduced by the regimes
in power.
Neither the perspectives on CSCT reports,
nor the deliberations on the bills and even
the PCWSCT would make the government
realise the need to provide representation
to SC/STs in the areas not covered by the
present dalit policy paradigm.
Our analysis reveals that the MPs are
neither committed to their dalit constitu-
ents nor do they play a role in policy shifts
for the broader dalit interests. They remain
confined to the issues of implementation
and thus there is no policy change in the
dalit policy paradigm due to Parliament’s
involvement. The impact of recommenda-
tions of the NCSCT and MPs’ deliberations
july 19, 2008 EPW Economic & Political Weekly

is limited to development and minor
modifications of existing policies.
During deliberations on almost all the
five bills, apprehensions were expressed
on the implementation part of the legisla-
tions. The second observation relates to
drifting away from the subject matter of
the bills, whether it is a debate on NCSCT or
NCSK, the interventions seldom attempted
to strengthen these mechanisms as insti-
tutions, rather these deliberated upon
what functions they should perform and
how the functions could be performed
adequately and efficiently. Thirdly, while
debating on legislation, ancillary/related
aspects were focused on more than the
main/prime themes in the bills. For in-
stance, asking for a special tribunal for
SC/ST employees on the lines of the central
administrative tribunal, while discussing
NCSCT bill, representation of SC/STs in
judiciary, while deliberating upon the NCSK
bill, providing reservation in the private
sector and emphasis on OBC reservation
during the discussion on the 77th Amend-
ment bill that was only for continuation of
job reservations in promotions in govern-
ment sector, etc, are relevant examples.
Thus phenomenal representation indicates
a lack of pin-pointed discussion on a parti­
cular bill and this applies both to dalit and
non-dalit MPs discussing dalit policies.
A look at the policy proposals of the
government in terms of bills makes it
abundantly clear that the government was
more responsive during the 9th and 10th
Lok Sabha as compared to 8th Lok Sabha.
There had been only one bill that was
passed in the 8th Lok Sabha; it concerned
the prevention of atrocities. Hence, the
view that the Lok Sabha has become more
active towards SC/STs in the post-Mandal
period stands substantiated. This is further
supplemented by the fact that all the four
PCWSCsT reports on policies were prepared
in the post-Mandal period. In the light of
the above analysis, it is being recommended
that Parliament and especially the dalit
representatives in it need to impress upon
the government to formulate inclusive
policies in the areas, where they have no
legal claims, such as public schools, judges
in Supreme Court and high courts, and
above all in the private sector, and proper
implementation of land reforms. A regular
discussion on the reports of NCSCT should
Economic & Political Weekly EPW july 19, 2008
notes
ensue so that the MPs are aware of the References
present dalit conditions and are able to Primary Sources
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