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India, Inc. sings reservation tune
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 01, 2005 12:17:01 AM]
NEW DELHI: The Centre is hailing it as a �historic breakthrough� in government-private sector partnership on social justice. For the first time in the post-Mandal era, a group of 22 �like-minded captains of industry� have issued a joint statement supporting affirmative action on reservation for SC/ST youth in the private sector.
But there�s a mammoth catch buried in the small print: The statement makes no commitment to blocking off a percentage of jobs in the mainstream to SC/ST youth, but only to empower them through educational and vocational and occupational training programmes and institutions.
The industry is banking on the fact that reservation for the disadvantaged in the private sector has never had a statutory backing.
The joint statement says: �We are assured to learn from the government that it has no intention of resorting to legislative action to impose a statutory obligation of reservations on industry.�
The biggest names in Corporate India are signatories to the joint statement. So far, the private sector has been unilaterally opposed to reservations.
Hence, the most positive part of the statement is the acknowledgement that �merit is not a natural phenomenon, but shaped by social circumstances.� Although a competitive environment places a premium on merit, the captains have committed to a social responsibility towards disadvantaged youth.
�We must, therefore, create an environment where youth from SCs and STs can become as meritorious as any other youth when they enter their economically productive years. The need is not just to provide jobs, but also to incubate the emergence of a robust entrepreneurial class of youth from the SCs and STs,� the statement said.
The UPA�s National Common Minimum Programme itself states on the highly sensitive subject: �The UPA government is very sensitive to the issue of affirmative action, including reservations, in the private sector. It will immediately initiate a national dialogue with all political parties, industry and other organisations to see how best the private sector can fulfil the aspirations of SC and ST youth.�
