In a measure that could expand India's affirmative action programs, the government introduced a bill Wednesday that would make it easier to grant promotions to members of India's lowest castes and tribal people in government jobs.
The bill, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, was waylaid Wednesday by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which has repeatedly disrupted Parliament's “monsoon session†over the recent coal concessions scandal.  But the legislation is expected to be addressed again as soon as Parliament gets back to work.
Ultimately, the bill is expected to pass both houses of Parliament. But  questions are already being raised about whet her it will withstand the scrutiny of the courts. It represents the latest volley in a series of battles between lawmakers who have pushed for broader quotas, in part to garner votes, and the courts, which have regarded many such measures as violating the constitutional right to equal treatment.
The bill “may be liable to be challenged on constitutional grounds,†said P.P. Rao, an expert in constitutional law and a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court. The main concern, he said, is whether the bill violates what is called the “basic structure†of the Constitution, most prominently the “right to equality,†by guaranteeing some citizens preferred treatment without demonstrating “compelling reasons†for such measures.
The central government, not surprisingly, has said the bill is sound. “We have brought this bill after understanding every aspect of this matter,†Law Minister Salman Khurshid said in a televised intervie w on Wednesday.
Since independence, India has introduced a large and often controversial system of quotas or “reservations,†aimed at creating a level playing field for disadvantaged groups by guaranteeing spots for them in state universities and government agencies. “It is because of reservations that the weaker sections of society have been able to make some progress in this country,†Kumari Mayawati, a proponent of the bill and a leader of the Dalits, once known as the untouchables, said in Parliament in April.
India's so-called scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, which make up 16 and 8 percent of the population, respectively, are entitled to 15 percent and 7.5 percent (again, respectively) of jobs and university seats administered by the central government.
The bill introduced this week, which if it passes would amend the Constitution, would go a step further by making it easier to establish quotas for promotions in government, a particularly divisive issue.
In 1992, the Supreme Court forbade quotas in promotions. But Parliament amended the Constitution three years later, making that ruling null and void.
Another blow to the reservations system came from the country's highest court in 2006, when it set three criteria for quotas in government jobs: the groups in question must be truly “backward,†or disadvantaged; data must show that they are underrepresented in government jobs; and the proposed quota mustn't make the government less efficient.
Following those criteria, the Supreme Court in April struck down as unconstitutional a law passed by the government of Uttar Pradesh setting quotas in promotions. The state failed to provide data, the court said, to show that scheduled castes and tribes were not adequately represented in state jobs.
The new bill would essentially remove the requirement that states collect and present such data. A note attached to the bill reads, “It has been o bserved that there is difficulty in collection of quantifiable data showing backwardness of the class and inadequacy of representation of that class in public employment. Moreover, there is uncertainty on the methodology of this exercise.â€
The bill would also let central and state governments reserve the same ratio for promotions in state jobs for a given group as is reserved for the jobs themselves. States in India have the power to set their own quotas for government jobs, and they vary widely. Tamil Nadu, for instance, reserved 69 percent of seats in educational institutions and public sector jobs for disadvantaged groups, while most other states have reserved close to 50 percent.
A broad range of parties have declared their support for the bill, most prominently the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents Dalits. It is opposed, however, by the Samajwadi Party, which represents another group of socially and economically disadvantaged, known as the “other bac kward classes.†“This bill makes juniors senior and seniors junior,†Mulayam Singh Yadav, head of the Samajwadi Party, told reporters outside Parliament House. “Who will tolerate this?â€
