Reservations; Compulsions & Contradictions

Four Traditions The Constitution of India is a magnificent document. It reflects the several traditions from which the independence movement benefited. There is the Western Liberal tradition of democracy--universal adult franchise, competing political parties vying for majority after free and frequent elections, and human rights--which puts the individual citizen at the centre of the stage. There is also the Social Democratic tradition--Fabian Socialism, Marxism and its many variants. While the Social Democratic emphasis is on class rather than an individual, the aim is ultimately to liberate all individuals of all classes from inequality and oppression. There are two more native traditions which also informed the founding fathers. One was, of course, the Gandhian philosophy of consensual change in Hindu society and the emphasis is on the poorest. Gandhi wished to avoid class conflict as well as caste conflict. He was specifically concerned to include the dalits (harijans as he called them) within the Hindu fold. There is another century old tradition of fighting for the lower orders of Hindu society--Jotirao Phule to Babasaheb Ambedkar and the anti-Brahmin movement in Madras Presidency call it the Subaltern Movement.