With State Assembly elections due soon, political parties are at it again doing what they do best—wooing the electorate. The latest off course is the current spell of quota politics and competitive populism being bandied about—the reported decision of the State Cabinet agreeing to 25 % reservation in government jobs for people from the erstwhile Tuensang and Mon region clearly a case of populism at its best. The decision to accept this 25% reservation demand has come as a bit of a surprise though it is not so much about the intent—which no political party can ignore especially with elections just round the corner—but the hasty manner in which such an important policy decision was taken. With K. Therie now raising the stakes by publicly demanding a similar 25% quota for the remaining other backward tribes, the DAN Cabinet may just be tempted to raise the quota ceiling to the 50% mark all with an eye to add to the vote bank. Interestingly, the Congress has kept quiet on this issue because if it opposes the move, it may upset its own applecart especially in eastern Nagaland which is seen to be strategically important for the Congress to have any chance of returning to power. It should therefore come as no surprise that as far as the political class in the State is concerned; it is highly unlikely that there will be any relenting on the quota issue.
Interestingly around the same time of the Cabinet decision, the term for the Banuo Committee earlier constituted to look into the quota issue was given an extension, which also clearly indicates that the committee was yet to complete its work. The Cabinet should have waited for the full report to be submitted before taking any final decision. Further, there appears to be certain ambiguity about the direction in which the quota issue is headed. According to a leading national daily, the panel has recommended a 25 per cent employment quota for ‘residents’ of the four backward districts of Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire and Longleng. So does this mean that those from other tribes ‘residing’ in the four districts can also avail of the job quota? There is also strong affirmation that the Sumi Nagas of Kiphire district will also enjoy the benefits of reservation. If this is so, will the quota be likewise extended to other tribes inhabiting the aforementioned backward regions? Now that it has taken the plunge, the DAN government should spell out more clearly on how it proposes to implement its quota formula.
As it is expected of the political class, giving away quota has become a mere populist exercise and the fact that the vehicle of reservation has been driven for political ends and in the process has lost its direction. The social and economic objective that it was meant to address in the first place remains unfulfilled. This aspect was well highlighted in the Morung Express feature titled “25% Job Reservation Reassessed” (published in the Saturday, September 8 issue of Impressions). As a matter of public policy, the DAN government should have instead made a serious effort to make the present Backward Tribe (BT) reservation system more rational, scientific and effective for it to become a viable tool of social change. But given the hasty decision of the DAN Cabinet, it is almost convincing that the latest policy decision will only accentuate the loopholes and the noble purpose of having reservation will get enmeshed in the rough and tumble of electoral politics. And with elections looming; it is going to be a melee for all and sundry to extract as much of a bargain from our desperate politicians.
