Why this SC/ST umbrella group wants to 'burn' the general category quota

Violent protests broke out across India on April 2 last year when dalit groups protested against a Supreme Court judgement that struck down provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 that governed the arrest of suspects. On the same day, the Ambedkar Mahasabha was formed as a national conglomeration of various organisations representing SC and ST and social and educationally backward groups.

After its agitation over the SC/ST Act, the Ambedkar Mahasabha has set its sights on opposing the Narendra Mod government's recent decision to grant quotas to economically backward sections in the general category.

“Ambedkar Mahasabha was formed for those people whose constitutional values have to be preserved and upheld,” says Ashok Bharti, president of the Ambedkar Mahasabha. “There is a huge dissatisfaction because of what has been happening for the last four years. There are attacks and attacks, not only physical attacks, assaults and violence on dalits and Adivasis, but also on their constitutional rights. There was only one thing left on our side—the law. Nobody opposed the Supreme Court judgement on the SC/ST Act, no major dalit leaders or parties. Everybody kept quiet,” Bharti declared.

Referring to the 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections in the general category, Bharti said, “We have no issue if the government wanted to do something good for economically weaker sections, if they are not represented in the government, bureaucracy or anywhere else. We want them to be given preference.”

However, Bharti argued that the quota for the general category is not aimed at people below the poverty line, noting that it was applicable to people earning less than Rs 8 lakh per annum. “The government has not commissioned any study to find out if these weaker sections are represented in the public or private sector. It is cutting our rights also,” Bharti added.

The Ambedkar Mahasabha, along with other organisations, has called for a ‘burn the bill’ protest on January 31, where they will burn the copies of the 124^th amendment of the Constitution, which paved the way for granting quota along economic lines.

The 'burn the bill' protest will take place across the country, including states such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab and Bihar. The main motive of the Ambedkar Mahasabha is to make it clear that the Narendra Modi government “cannot deceive people in the name of economic backward classes”.

Bharti affirmed that the protest against the general category quota will be carried out “in a decent way”. The Ambedkar Mahasabha has planned to approach all political parties including RJD, Samajwadi party and Congress to gain support.

Bharti called the 124^th amendment a “violation of the Constitution itself”. “We are disrespecting what has disrespected the Constitution. Nowhere in the Constitution is reservation provided on economic basis,” Bharti argued.

He also added that the same form of protest would be repeated by the Ambedkar Mahasabha on April 2, if the Modi government did not take necessary steps.

The Ambedkar Mahasabha is not the only SC/ST umbrella group protesting against the general category quota. Last week, the All India Backward Classes Federation (AIBCF) announced that dharnas would be organised during the budget session of Parliament against the general category quota. Another umbrella organisation of SCs and STs, Samvidhan Bachao Samiti, has called for a Bharat bandh on March 5 against the general category quota.