The Myth of Meritocracy: busting the false claims
The Reservation Policy was never taken in a good taste by the Upper Castes and it was tagged as
retrograde and casteist by them. This blind opposition was because of the constant thinking that
it encroaches upon ‘their’ jobs and education as certain seats will be beyond their approach. But
the supporters of this policy had labelled this opposition by the Upper Castes as the alleged fear
of curtailment of the social and economical privileges which had kept them at a higher social
status than the lower castes. Reservation should be based on financial conditions, it is vote bank
politics, the self victimisation, death of merit, not causing any benefit to dalits etc. are some of
the claims used by Upper Castes to call for its abolition. However, these are just old claims
which have been proven wrong time and again but the obsession which the Upper castes have
with this policy never dies and therefore they find ways to oppose it and call for its abolition.
One such argument is that the reservation leads to the ‘death of merit’ since less meritorious
candidates(lower cutoffs) are selected based on a competitive exam. There is also a claim that it
is against the Nation as it causes selection of less efficient candidates in jobs which in turn
affects productivity and causes harm to the nation to the extent that it ceases the growth and
development of a nation. But are these claims really true? Or are they just another method of
looking down on the lower castes? In this article, the meaning of ‘merit’ and ‘efficiency’ has
been explored by relying upon interpretation given by the Supreme Court in its judgements and
by Scholars in their works. Further the question on efficiency of reserved candidates has also
been discussed upon by relying on prior research done.
The dynamic meaning of terms ‘efficiency’ and ‘merit’ -
‘Merit’ and ‘Efficiency’ are two terms with relative meanings which have always been used in
arguments for opposing Reservation Policy, therefore it is important to consider what these terms
actually mean. Merit is a term which has been defined by the Courts while dealing with the
questions on reservation. Since Article 3351 of Indian Constitution requires that the efficiency in
administration has to be looked upon while granting reservation. The Courts have sometimes
held the meaning of the term slightly indifferent from what the common perception is regarding
its definition. Merit in common words would mean those who score the highest in a competitive
exam are the deserving candidate but can this comparison be legitimate when the circumstances
of candidates are highly different such that the starting stage and opportunities available are
highly apart?
The Supreme Court in Indira Sawhney v. Union of India (1993) had placed reliance on the
judgment given by Justice Krishna Iyer in State of Kerala v. N.M. Thomas, (1976), for defining
efficiency. The learned Judge had then stated: "efficiency means, in terms of good government,
not marks in examinations only, but responsible and responsive service to the people. A chaotic
genius is a grave danger to public administration. The inputs of efficiency rule include a sense of
belonging and of accountability if its composition takes in also the weaker segments of "We, the
people of India". No other understanding can reconcile the claim of a radical present and the
hangover of the unjust past."
Likewise, Justice Chinnappa Reddy in K.C.Vasanth Kumar and Anr. v. State of Karnataka,
(1985) had also expressed a similar view on efficiency. Accordingly he had remarked then, "the
mere securing of high marks at an examination may not necessarily mark out a good
administrator. An efficient administrator, one takes it, must be one who possesses among other
qualities the capacity to understand with sympathy and, therefore, to tackle bravely the problems
of a large segment of population constituting the weaker sections of the people. And, who better
than the ones belonging to those very sections?Why not ask ourselves why 35 years after
Independence, the position of the Scheduled Castes etc. has not greatly improved? Is it not a
legitimate question to ask whether things might have been different, had the district
administrators and the State and Central Bureaucrats been drawn in larger numbers from these
classes?"
The Supreme Court in M. Nagaraj v. Union of India (2006) had held that reservation in
promotion can be provided subject to the condition that they have to take into consideration that
overall efficiency of the administration is not affected which is in compliance with Article 335.
The Court had also tried to define merit and efficiency, it had stated that, “efficiency, competence
and merit are not synonymous concepts; Maybe, it is wrong to treat merit as synonymous with
efficiency in administration and that merit is but a component of the efficiency of an
administrator. Even so, the relevance and significance of merit at the stage of initial recruitment
cannot be ignored. It cannot also be ignored that the very idea of reservation implies selection of
a less meritorious person. At the same time, we recognise that this much cost has to be paid, if
the constitutional promise of social justice is to be redeemed. We also firmly believe that given
an opportunity, members of these classes are bound to overcome their initial disadvantages and
would compete with and may, in some cases, excel members of open competitor candidates. It is
undeniable that nature has endowed merit upon members of backward classes as much as it has
endowed upon members of other classes and that what is required is an opportunity to prove it.”
Then the Supreme Court in B.K. Pavitra and Ors. vs. The Union of India and Ors (2019), came
up with a definition of a “meritorious candidate”. According to the Court, “a meritorious
candidate is not merely one who is "talented" or "successful" but also one whose appointment
fulfils the constitutional goals of uplifting members of the SCs and STs and ensuring a diverse
and representative administration.”
The Court had taken note of Amartya Sen’s chapter on "Merit and Justice". According to Sen
“...the idea of merit in this instrumental perspective relates to the motivation of producing better
results. In this view, actions are meritorious in a derivative and contingent way, depending on the
good they do, and more particularly, the good that can be brought about by rewarding them....”
The changing meaning of the term ‘merit’ has also been explored by the Scholars who have tried
to define it.
J. Laxminarasima Rao (1992) had tried to show that the “merit” is a relative term and the tests to
measure it are biased and it results in advantage to one section of society. The author had tried to
examine the principle of merit and efficiency on the lenses of Indian Bureaucracy and came to
the conclusion that the “recruitment policy emphasis on the intellectual abilities and pays little
attention to recruit's personnel traits such as commitment, ability to cooperate, and sociability
which are required for the tasks to be performed.” The exam being highly academic, emphasis on
intelligence, bypassing the values and personal traits which in turn results ``in the entry of rich
and upper classes and castes due to the inbuilt social and economic inequalities and easy
accessibility to a good schooling and university education for the privileged.” While commenting
on the inefficiency of the bureaucracy, the author had remarked that “poor performance of the
Indian bureaucracy is due to the gap between governmental policies and objectives and elite
values of the administrators. The values and norms of Indian administrators centre around
security, social status and power.” Thus, they remain aloof from common man. So, calling
recruitments made under affirmative action inefficient will be a flawed idea since “merit test” is
a principle which favours only a particular section. It was also suggested by the author that what
is needed is a “need criteria” which lays a minimum qualification for selection and does not act
as an arbitrary test for others.
Vivek Kumar (2005), had argued that “the rewards in the educational and economic system are
not based on merit” and “the educational and occupational attainments are related to the family
background rather than talent and ability. Thus, the children of the wealthy and powerful tend to
obtain high qualifications and then highly rewarded jobs irrespective of their ability.” He had
suggested that “the government should have prepared a concept paper on the issue of 'merit' in
general and 'merit and efficiency' in the private sector in particular. This is necessary because
whenever the issue of reservation crops up, it is certain that the whole dalit community is
portrayed as devoid of any merit.” Millions of dalits who survive without reservation are taken
for granted.
Thus, the Courts have defined ‘merit’ as not only being limited by the capacity to obtain good
marks but having the accountability, responsibility to tackle and sympathize the problems of the
large segment as well as taking the weaker sections forward with them. ‘Efficiency’ was
characterised by not only being talented but also to understand the norms of society so that
effective administration can take place and this includes the growth of the weaker sections by
providing them equal opportunities at the same time. Scholars have argued that ‘merit’ is an
inappropriate way of comparing the ‘efficiency’ since the way it is measured in a system, it
favours a particular section because of their closeness to obtaining education and gaining
academic superiority rather than personal traits. The Bell Curve experiment by Richard J.
Herrnstein and Charles Murray had measured the IQ of Blacks and Whites by keeping the
criterias favourable to Whites which showed them superior when the results were reported. Thus,
it can be said that merit criteria also operates in a similar manner which has parameters tilted in
favour of Upper Class/Castes. So, a better way will be to look for alternate standards.
Does Reservation Policy create inefficiency?
There are popular claims that reservations lead to inefficiency because less meritorious
candidates are selected. However these claims seem to be flawed on the basis of researches
conducted.
KANCHA ILAIAH (2006) had argued that there is no evidence to show that the people entering
through reservation are affecting the efficiency of the National Institutions and contrary to the
popular claim of meritocracy there is no evidence to prove that these Institutions under Efficient
Upper Caste are producing quality output. On the other hand these institutions have also not been
able to deliver the due goals set or the distributive justice needed. The Author had also
commented that “brahminical theory of merit is like Adi Shankara’s theory of ‘maya’” which
does not concern the improvement of the living conditions of people. This sort of merit is just
based on imported books and mugged up reproduction which in present time can be attributed to
learning of English language and coaching centres both of which have remained far off from
SC/ST and OBC.
SUKHADEO THORAT (2005), had tried to examine the theoretical and empirical basis of
arguments about the alleged linkages between reservation and economic efficiency. It was
argued “that recruitment under reservation in the public sector in India and elsewhere rarely
involves the alteration of minimum norms of eligibility. Therefore, the question of compromising
on productive efficiency does not arise.” Moreover there seem to be no studies available on the
relative efficiency of workers recruited under affirmative action and other workers, whether in
India or elsewhere. Clearly showing that the efficiency getting affected by reserved category
workers is just a myth in the absence of data and it should also be noted that Private agencies
hire only after proper screening and sometimes interview therefore the question of inefficiency
does not even arise. But an important issue which arises is that there are a number of studies that
have brought out evidence on the influence of caste status on occupations in Indian urban
centres, and the discriminatory working of the private sector labour market in India.
Thus, the concept of meritocracy is a myth used by anti-reservationists to show that by
reservation efficiency is affected which in turn harms nation building as this argument is flawed
to the extent that there is no evidence to prove the contention, no empirical evidence and none of
research.
On the contrary, there has been evidence which shows that not only are the reserved candidates
equally good in maintaining efficiency but also they are more efficient than their counterparts. In
their research paper, Ashwini Deshpande and Thomas Weisskopf (2011), had shown that there is
no evidence to suggest the higher proportion of SCs and STs in Indian Railways under
recruitment through Affirmative Action had reduced productivity. The authors even suggested
there might be a case to believe greater labour diversity increases efficiency of the administration
because when people from marginalised groups reach the decision making and managerial
positions on the face of claims that they are incompetent for the job, they might work even
harder to prove their critics wrong and also to show that they are just good as their peers.
Important thing to consider is that the reservation applies only at the entry point so the cut-off is
lower for SC/ST candidates as compared to open category candidates. The rest of the academic
term exams have equal passing marks for all the category people. Thus, these students have to
work hard to maintain academic results and there is no relaxation for them. Recently, a study has
indicated that SC/ST engineering students learn at a greater rate than those from the general
category.(Hindustan Times 2020) Thus, measuring the merit of a person only at a starting point
seems unjustified. Further, these evidences prove that reservations does not lead to inefficiency
or compromising the productivity and therefore proving the claims of all the critics wrong whose
belief is based on false assumptions.
Self concern in the name of National interest-
There are two main arguments against reservations — one, they bypass merit and two, they
should be given on the basis of economic status alone because otherwise “rich Dalits are taking
undue advantage of the policy”. The broad logical observation here is that one can’t offer both
these arguments together. If we are okay with poverty-based reservations then merit is not a
genuine concern. That means we hate its bypassing only when a ‘lower-caste’ person gets ahead
and not when a poor from our own caste does.(Varun grover 2020) Thus, the claim of merit or
the merit tag that the Upper Caste carry is not because they are concerned for the nation’s
welfare, it is just for their selfish concern, just another way of establishing their superiority and
humiliating the Lower castes.
Important thing to note here is that these Upper Castes never protested regarding the betterment
of healthcare in rural or urban India, neither have they protested against the selling of merit by
private universities where only the rich can get educational degrees by throwing money. They
view this policy as retrograde only because it can displace the status quo and privilege enjoyed
by them. They remain supportive for women’s reservation but this support does not exist for
SC/ST/OBC reservation which totally shows the total selfish concern behind these agitations.
When the EWS quota came into force then also there was no opposition and no claim of the
‘death of meritocracy’ by the Upper Castes even when the Cut-offs for this category was lower
than that of SC’s and OBC’s.(The Wire 2019) Thus, their actions seem to be limited only for the
concern of their own family and caste and not in the interest of the nation as a nation will only
grow when all the communities progress and that is possible only when they are given better
opportunities and equal share.
Conclusion-
Reservation Policy was introduced so that the Dalits and Adivasis can have a better
representation so that the injustices that they have faced can be ended and practise of
discrimination is eliminated. But this policy also has faced constant opposition by Upper castes.
Questions of merit and efficiency is just another way of calling for its abolition as well as a way
of looking down on dalits and adivasis.
There are plenty of measures required for the upliftment of SC/ST and the Reservation Policy is
just one of them but the fact is that it is also not implemented in a proper manner and yet it
invites wrath by the Upper Castes. According to a RTI filed by Indian Express (2019), SC, ST
and OBC were highly under-represented in Group A and Group B government jobs, including
Central Universities. According to the data OBC’s out of all the three were the most under-
represented in Central University jobs including those of Assistant Professors, Associate
Professors and Professors. The pattern was the same for other institutions also and in most cases
half of the reserved seats were left unfilled. According to a Rajya Sabha Committee on Personnel
and Public Grievances, there is nearly 60 per cent vacancy in positions reserved for the
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs in the six central government ministries and
departments which are the ministries of Home, Defence, Railways, Department of Posts, Urban
and Housing and Atomic Energy.( The New Indian Express 2020) This indicate that contrary to
popular belief, the percentage of members from weaker sections employed in government
services is abysmally low and if attention is paid then one would be shocked by the fact that even
the stipulated 15 and 7.5 per cent of the reservation quota fixed for these communities is not
filled.( Prakash Louis 2003) One of the reasons for these seats to remain unfilled may be
attributed to the fact that this arrangement benefit the others as the left out seats are sometimes
filled by dominant caste in the name of merit and efficiency.
Caste discrimination which was to be eliminated is still in existence and it has taken various
forms. There are various instances of it, the major reason is the attitude in most work
organisations towards scheduled castes, that they enjoy their present positions because of their
caste status and the policy of reservation. There are various instances of caste atrocities being
committed against the SC/ST and even in the COVID-19 Pandemic there are instances where
food being cooked by Dalits in a quarantine centre is refused by Non-Dalits ( Mirror Now 2020)
or the denial of cremation grounds to Dalits(Indian Express 2020). This shows that Caste
discrimination is deep rooted phenomenon in India and it is difficult to handle and therefore
policies of affirmative action are here to stay and more of them are required for the
empowerment of backward castes.
Notes-
Article 335: Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to services and posts- The claims
of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into
consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in the making of
appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.
Cases Cited-
Indira Sawhney v. Union of India (1993) Supp (3) SCC p 217
State of Kerala v. N.M. Thomas, (1976) 2 SCC p 310
K.C.Vasanth Kumar and Anr. v. State of Karnataka, (1985) Suppl. 1 S.C.R. p 352
M. Nagaraj v. Union of India (2006) 8 SCC p 212
B.K. Pavitra and Ors. vs. Union of India and Ors, 2019 SCC OnLine SC p 694
References-
J. Laxminarasima Rao (1992) : “RESERVATION POLICY AND THE PRINCIPLE OF MERIT:
A STUDY OF INDIAN BUREAUCRACY”, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 53,
No. 4, pp. 478-492
Vivek Kumar (2005): “Understanding the Politics of Reservation: A Perspective from Below”,
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 40, No. 9, pp. 803-806
Kancha llaiah (2006): “Merit of Reservations,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 41, No.24,
pp. 2447-2449
Sukhadeo Thorat (2005): “Reservation and Efficiency”,Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
40, No. 09, pp. 808-810
Ashwini Deshpande and Thomas Weisskopf (2011): “Does Affirmative Action Reduce
Productivity? A Case Study of Indian Railways”, World Development, Vol. 64, pp. 169–180
Hindustan Times(2018): “SC/ST engineering students learn at faster rate: Study”, 6th April,
https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/sc-st-engineering-students-learn-at-faster-rate-
study/story-IwYLKGJ7bULtLJmQQE3qbO.html#:~:text=Engineering%20students%20from
%20the%20Scheduled,AICTE)%20and%20the%20World%20Bank.
Varun Grover(2020): “Vinod Kambli was reduced to his assumed (‘lowest’) caste identity”,
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The Wire(2019): “SBI Exam Leaves OBCs, SCs, STs Struggling To Figure Out EWS Quota
Trick”, 2nd August,
https://thewire.in/caste/sbi-exam-results-10-percent-ews-quota-obc-scs
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represented-in-govts-upper-rungs-5540310/
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Mirror Now (2020): “Jharkhand: Five Brahmins lodged at quarantine facility refuse to eat food
prepared by SC cooks”, 25 May,
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quarantine-facility-refuse-to-eat-food-prepared-by-sc-cooks/596825
Indian Express (2020): ‘Agra: Police probe ‘barring of Dalit’s cremation’, 29 July,
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