NEW DELHI: Those who knew R.K. Hegde will vouch for the fact that his concern was ‘reservation within reservation’. Hegde’s worry was that all communities, whether well to do, upwardly mobile, having resources or not, would now vie for the ‘other backward classes’ tag only to get benefits through the reservation policy.
The ship goes east, the ship goes west
Whatever the gale that blows
It is the set of the sail, but not the gale that determines where she goes….
I was thinking what the peg of my story on Ramakrishna Hegde could be when I heard a ludicrous excerpt of Rahul Gandhi’s speech which in essence said that he was looking into the reservation system and wondering why there was no reservation in Miss India pageants for Dalits, OBCs etc. One would like to believe it was a joke but coming from the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, it was both irresponsible and problematic. I immediately wondered what Hegde would have thought of it, had he lived.
It took me back to 1990 and the events that unfolded in front of my eyes when the then Prime Minister V.P.. Singh hastily announced the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, without taking his cabinet into confidence.
R.K.. (as I called him) and I were in our Delhi home one evening and suddenly all the phones were ringing and there was a scurrying of politicians, journalists and sundry who landed in and outside our modest apartment. The Prime Minister had announced the implementation of Mandal Commission report, which gave 27% reservation to OBCs. Reservation for STs, SCs and BCs existed but “Other Backward Classes” (OBCs) was the new category to get a “reservation quota” that would soon become a Frankenstein’s monster.
It turned out that the then Deputy Prime Minister, Devi Lal had planned a huge farmers’ rally and not knowing what was in store for him and his position, the insecure PM V.P.. Singh hurriedly announced the implementation of the Mandal Commission report. All hell broke loose. There were rallies, protests, hartals, vandalism all over North India and it finally led to BJP withdrawing support and the fall of V.P.. Singh’s minority government.
Although BJP technically withdrew support to the National Front Government for stopping L.K. Advani’s Rath Yatra, V.P.. Singh’s short tenure as Prime Minister was full of mishandled events. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s daughter’s kidnapping in the Kashmir valley and the release of many terrorists in exchange, Mandal Commission announcement, the terrorising and killing of Hindus, followed by the Hindu exodus from Kashmir, accepting Justice Kuldip Singh’s report against Ramakrishna Hegde, which was flawed in many aspects, and stopping BJP leader’s Rath Yatra, all self-servingly addressed, without taking any senior leader’s counsel. Karma came calling against V.P. Singh, who had become Prime Minister because of Mr Hegde’s persistence, perseverance, pursuance and passion to finding an alternative to the Congress Party, and his government fell.
In the light of this huge furore due to the Mandal Commission, I learnt from Hegde that Karnataka already had a larger percentage of reservation for ST, SC and Backward Classes as did some other South Indian states. None had seen riots.
What saddened R.K. Hegde in 1990 was not the Mandal Commission report in itself, but the unilateral manner in which it was implemented. Something that was enshrined in our Constitution to benefit the weaker sections had become a political tool that caused further divisions in our society for political gain. Those who knew R.K. Hegde will vouch for the fact that his concern was “reservation within reservation”. While the purpose was to provide reservation for the advancement of Scheduled Castes (SC) and the Scheduled Tribes (ST) or to any socially or educationally backward classes or economically weaker sections (EWS) of our country, Hegde’s worry was that all communities, whether well to do, upwardly mobile, having resources or not, would now vie for the “other backward classes” tag only to get benefits through the reservation policy. He knew what was to come because in Karnataka, the demands for reservation had already begun by the state’s two dominant communities.
30 years later, we are suffering from this extreme politicisation and repercussions of the “reservation within reservation” policy in every field in our country. Recently, we heard of a woman IAS officer, who got selected because she had produced a “caste certificate” and a “handicapped certificate”, both dubiously acquired. Politics for personal gain has become so deeply entrenched in our system that those who are actually economically marginalised and need state support are still left to fend for themselves. “Reservation within reservation” has brought in the socially powerful Vokkaligas, Lingayats also into the reservation category. A problem that goes even deeper is that some parties are promising reservation for the “backwards” among Muslims, Christians etc. Caste was a powerful cultural underpinning of Hindu society as was understood by all, not Islam or Christianity (that had negated the existence of caste hierarchy in their religions), and had to be course corrected.
It has now become a capitulation of identity politics and has fallen into the hands of unscrupulous political parties, all of who vie with each other to further divide our society.
In the same light, Rahul Gandhi’s repeated call for caste census and the need to have increased reservations in every sphere, every field, be it public or private enterprises does not have its origin in his concern and empathy, but in gaining political mileage. This is precisely where the Congress Party fails now as it has failed our nation earlier. Congress Party as Mr Hegde said again and again, always played politics of divide, which is commonly known as “vote bank politics”. Pandering to Muslims, and other minority religions, splintering our polity into several castes and sub-castes and promising quotas for every section of society, except economically weak upper caste Hindus, is what brought about its ruination. Congress wants to further divide our society by demanding quotas in private sector too, the most recent instance being Siddaramiah government’s hurried order to implement reservations in private corporations, which had to be kept on hold because of a huge backlash.
The danger of this kind of politics is more or less what Yogi Adityanath mentioned recently, “Batenge toh Katenge”, meaning if we are divided, we will split into tiny groups and can remain strong only if we stand united. This is what R.K. Hegde believed and so did the founding fathers of our Constitution. The starting point of this dangerous octopus which has crept into our society at every level was the announcement of the Mandal Commission report, without dialogue, discussions with senior members of the NF government or Opposition leaders, by the wilful and impulsive PM V.P. Singh.
What place will meritocracy have in all of this and how will our country develop and prosper if brilliant minds leave our country and go overseas, was Ramakrishna Hegde’s angst in the 1990s. Today, when we see Indians heading huge corporations in the US, our joy is coupled with a tinge of remorse that we lost these exceptionally talented professionals to the West, due to our short sighted policies—the huge “brain-drain” as it was called then.
Ramakrishna Hegde was a humanitarian and a nationalist with a deep and enduring love for our country and wanted to see it prosper and thrive among the comity of nations. His contention was that all economically weaker sections of society should be given reservation in education, administration/government jobs and legislature (policymaking). He was responsible for making the Panchayati Raj Act a reality, because he believed that decentralisation of power would increase the interface between officials and politicians, at the village, block and district levels. He said and I quote, “If the fruits of development have not been shared by all, and have gone to only certain sections of society, the responsibility has to be shared by both the politicians and the bureaucrats; the politicians for lack of conviction and the bureaucrats for lack of courage. There has been a failure on the part of both to realise that in the great enterprise of transforming a backward society into a progressive and a modern society, they are partners. Job security and career prospects are the Achilles’ heel of the officialdom in India. In no other country is there such a craze for government jobs as there are in India. If job security works to the detriment of efficiency in administration, the weakness of the politician is elections. In their anxiety to be successful at the hustings, politicians seek compromises and short-cuts. This combination of an indifferent official and a short-sighted politician has paralysed Indian administration…” So many lessons to learn and imbibe from a wise and unselfish statesman.
It is important for politicians and others to remember that “It is not the circumstances that you see in life, but the way you approach them that determines how you can go forward.”
As far as our lives away from politics went, Ramakrishna Hegde and my relationship was marked by a unique personal connection and mutual respect, bridging the worlds of politics and art in an unconventional yet harmonious manner. Though our relationship evinced huge curiosity and material for gossip at the time, both of us were committed to enhancing and enriching each other’s lives. Hegde had a deep love for the arts and his tenure saw several nationally famous artistes congregate in Bangalore with his patronage, a spate of heritage tourism festivals, construction of several cultural spaces and promotion of cultural initiatives. He was determined to make Bangalore the “Cultural Capital” of India. His tenure as Chief Minister was the golden age for art and culture in Karnataka.
My only regret is that our sons Chirantan and Chirayu did not have enough time to get know their father, his innate decency, his goodness, his greatness, yet his simplicity.
My mind still talks to you
My heart still looks for you
My soul knows you are at peace.
Happy 98th birthday, dear R.K..
Padmashri awardee Prathibha Prahlad is a renowned Bharatanatyam danseuse, Guru, choreographer, author, speaker and a cultural visionary. Her initiatives in the cultural sector, most notably the Hampi Festival, internationally awarded documentaries on Belur and Halebid for the UNESCO and India’s largest cultural equity Delhi International Arts Festival have had a deep impact on the promotion and propagation of heritage, culture and tourism internationally. She was the long term partner of the late Ramakrishna Hegde and lives in Delhi with their two sons.