With the Tamil Nadu government having announced that it will consult legal experts to get the special reservation for Vanniyars restored, administrators who handled the subject of reservation in the past say a couple of options are available to the State in taking the matter forward.
The government can either constitute a fresh commission to collect caste-wise quantifiable data or entrust the existing Backward Classes Commission with the work. One of the terms of reference for the Backward Classes Commission is to examine and recommend upon the demand for internal reservation within the quota for Most Backward Classes/De-notified Communities.
The data can be compiled by seeking details initially from the government departments/agencies and the government-run educational institutions to ascertain how the scheme of reservation has been implemented in employment and education, the officials say.
If a caste-based census is to be held, one of the officials feels that respondents can be asked to provide their Aadhaar numbers, along with other details including their communities. A hybrid model can be adopted for conducting the census under which those who have access to technology can be asked to provide information online and the others by the conventional method.
Another official says that for the purpose of determining the relative weakness of different communities falling under the category of Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes and De-notified Communities, the data on employment and education over 30 years — say, from 1990 to 2020 — can be compiled, given that the category of Most Backward Classes and De-notified Communities was created in 1989.
There is also a view in the bureaucracy that any census or survey should not be held with a preconceived notion of providing special treatment to any particular community or any group of communities. Steps should be taken to ensure that there is no overlapping of communities among the categories of Backward Classes and De-notified Communities, an administrator adds.
