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Jayalalithaa - 1948-2016

The woman behind the 69% quota

T. Ramakrishnan
DECEMBER 06, 2016 03:10 IST
UPDATED: DECEMBER 06, 2016 03:12 IST

In the mid 1990s Jayalalithaa took the lead in providing legislative support to the
scheme of 69% reservation.

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In a State where the political class has always been protective of reservation in education and
employment, it was left to Jayalalithaa in the mid-1990s to take the lead in providing
legislative support to the scheme of 69 per cent reservation. Till then, the quota scheme was in
operation only through executive orders.
The 69 per cent quota is meant for Backward Classes (26.5 per cent), Most Backward
Classes/Denotified Communities (20 per cent), BC Muslims (3.5 per cent), Scheduled Castes
(18 per cent) and Scheduled Tribes (one per cent). In the mid-1990s, BC Muslims were part of
the BCs, and a separate quota for them was implemented in 2007 during the DMK regime.

A court order
Jayalalithaa had barely completed two years as Chief Minister in her first term (1991-96) when
she faced a major problem. The Madras High Court, in the light of the Supreme Courts ruling
in 1992 that the quantum of reservation should not exceed 50 per cent, directed the State to
bring it down to 50 per cent from academic year 1994-1995.
This led to demands for Constitutional protection for the scheme. In November 1993, the
Assembly adopted the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
(Reservation of seats in educational Institutions and of appointments or posts in the services
under the State) Bill, 1993 [now known as Tamil Nadu Act of 1994].

Meetings in Delhi
In June 1994, Jayalalithaa led a delegation of parties and impressed upon then Prime Minister
P.V. Narasimha Rao to refer the Bill to President Shankar Dayal Sharma.
A month later, the Presidential assent came. She also stepped up pressure on the Centre to
bring in a Constitutional amendment to include the Tamil Nadu Act in the Ninth Schedule so
that its validity could not be challenged. By the end of August 1994, the Act became a part of
the Ninth Schedule. The development fetched her the title of Samooga Neethi Kaatha
Veeranganai (The leader who upheld social justice).

Creamy layer included

Jayalalithaa, on returning to power in May 2011, took one more decision. Two months later,
her Cabinet accepted the recommendation of the State Backward Classes Commission for
continuing the 69 per cent quota without excluding the creamy layer. However, with the
matter in the Supreme Court, the final word is yet to be said on the 1994 Act.
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Printable version | Dec 6, 2016 7:09:05 PM | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamilnadu/The-woman-behind-the-69-quota/article16762726.ece

The Hindu

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