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Caste Reservation in the Scientific Field

By Justice Markandey Katju
Delhi, India

 

In India reservations on caste basis for backward castes and dalits is almost invariably done for admission of students in engineering and medical colleges and other scientific institutions, and for jobs in scientific and technological fields, and these have been upheld by our Courts. 

I submit that these Court decisions need to be reviewed.

Today our country is passing through an extremely painful patch in our 5,000-year-old known history. In my opinion it is only science which can save us from a total catastrophe in the future. Unless we now adopt the scientific path and scientific outlook foreign nations will totally dominate us and ruin us. Science therefore is the only means of solving our massive problems of widespread poverty, record and rising unemployment, appalling level of child malnutrition (every second child in India is malnourished, according to Global Hunger Index), almost total lack of proper healthcare, and good education for our masses, etc.

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 (see Will Durant's The Story of Civilization : Our Oriental Heritage). We had made outstanding scientific discoveries, e.g. decimal system in mathematics, plastic surgery in medicine, scientific planning of cities (as in Harappa Mohenjodaro Civilization), etc.

https://indicanews.com/indians-were-once-leaders-in-science/
https://indicanews.com/indians-and-science/

https://indicanews.com/the-great-hindu-intellectualism/

 However, we subsequently took to the unscientific path of superstitions and empty rituals, which 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, Ramanujam and Raman.

When we examine the validity of the reservation policy, we must keep the above considerations in mind. While the socially and educationally backward classes and scheduled castes 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 reservation and I draw the line at science. Science has no caste or religion. In my opinion, there can be no valid reservation in the field of Science and Technology.

For making an appointment of a person as a scientist in a scientific institute, or as a teacher in chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics or any other scientific subject, or in making admissions in scientific institutions or colleges (e.g. engineering or medical colleges) one has to choose the most meritorious candidate as caste and religion are wholly extraneous and illegal considerations. 

In my opinion, the caste reservation policy cannot be extended to the scientific field. For example, when a man goes to a doctor, he does not see the doctor's caste or religion, but he goes to the doctor who has the best reputation. In fact, an incompetent doctor can endanger public health just as an incompetent engineer can endanger public safety by constructing a defective bridge or building which may collapse. Similarly, when the Government wants to set up a nuclear reactor it seeks the most distinguished scientist and does not seek scientists of a particular caste or religion. When we recently launched a rocket to the moon surely the scientists involved in this great achievement were not chosen on the basis of their caste. 

In my opinion, India can only progress if the people change their casteist and communal mindsets, and adopt the scientific attitude and scientific thinking. Reservation of posts in scientific fields (including teaching posts in medicine, engineering, biology or mathematics), or admission in educational institutions in the scientific field (e.g. engineering and medical colleges) on the basis of religion or caste, is in my opinion wholly arbitrary and against the country's national interest of scientific development. In my opinion an appointment on a scientific or technological post (as a scientist or teacher of a scientific subject) can be made on the basis of merit alone, and cannot be validly reserved on the basis of caste or religion, and the same principle applies to admission in educational institutions in the scientific field.

The argument in support of the policy of reservation is that it aims at equality. The argument is that since the scheduled castes and other backward classes have been historically oppressed and down-trodden hence compensatory state action is required for the purpose of making people who are factually unequal in their wealth, education or social environment, equal in specified areas vide  Pradeep Jain v. Union  of India,

The point, however, remains that this desire to make unequals equal cannot go to the extent of subverting the national interest, and hence it cannot be extended to the field of science and technology. I have already mentioned that we are now standing at a crossroad in our nation's long history. We must now either adopt the scientific path or perish. It is a matter of life and death for us. 

Those who have read science know that it permits no compromise. It is a relentless pursuit of objective truth, and must maintain very high standards. To dilute science by the policy of reservation is permitting impermissible compromises in a field which is of paramount importance to our nation's destiny. 

Those who talk of reservation in the scientific field probably do not know of the advances in modern science achieved by Western nations. They would not be knowing the meaning of quantum mechanics and the difference between quantum mechanics (as propounded by De Broglie and Heisenberg) and the quantum theory (as propounded by Max Planck and as explained by Einstein) and the researches of Prof Stephen Hawkins on black holes, (see ‘A Brief History of Time’). They may not be knowing of the brilliant discovery by Ramanujam (before whom even the greatest mathematician of the world. Hardy, bowed his head) of the mock theta function, made when he was practically on his death bed at the age of 32 (see ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’). They may never have heard of the Raman effect or the Ckandrashekhar limit. They may never have heard of a tensor or the psi function. They possibly do not even know the great discovery of Rutherford who through his famous gold foil experiment propounded the modern atomic theory, which was subsequently modified by Neils Bohr, Heisenberg, and Schrodinger's equation. They may never have heard of the outstanding research in social science by Morgan, who studied the lives of the American Iroquois Indians whose Seneca tribe had adopted him (see Morgan's ‘Ancient Society’). It is distressing to note that while Western nations are advancing day by day in science and technology, and thus widening the gap between their level of advancement and ours, some of our people are insisting on caste-based reservations in the scientific field which can only keep us backward. One can understand political compulsions, but then everything has a limit, and the limit is crossed when caste- or religion-based reservations are sought to be made in the field of science or technology.

In my opinion, the reasonability test under  Article 14 of the Constitution of India  has to be taken from the point of view of the national interest, and national progress requires encouragement and development of science and technology. Whatever comes in the path of national progress, and hence of science and technology, has to be declared as arbitrary and unreasonable and hence violative of  Article 14 of the Constitution of India .

It may be mentioned that the aim of the reservation policy is to do social good. However, reservation on caste basis in the field of science (including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and engineering) will not do social good but just the contrary. After all, it is science alone which can enable us to eliminate poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, lack of proper healthcare and ignorance, which are the main social evils in our country today. Reservation on caste basis in the field of science will defeat the very object of the reservation policy, viz., to do social good. Such reservation can no doubt benefit about 0.1% of the socially and educationally backward classes and scheduled castes, but it will do immense harm to the remaining 99.9% by damaging the cause of science. It is only by the massive application of science and technology that the country, including 99.9% of the socially and educationally backward classes and scheduled castes, can escape from poverty, unemployment, hunger and ignorance. I am of the opinion, that all caste based reservations in the scientific field, whether for admission in educational institutions (including medical and engineering colleges) or appointments on jobs in the scientific field are arbitrary and violative of  Article 14 of the Constitution of India .

As such, I respectfully submit that the Hon'ble Supreme Court should revisit and review the caste reservation policy in the light of what has been stated above, and declare all caste-based reservations in the scientific field unconstitutional.

(Markandey Katju is an Indian jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court of India who served as chairman of the Press Council of India from 2011 to 2014)