'Reservations have united India better'

Despite the bill to allow promotions based on caste dividing opinion and political parties, JNU professor Vivek Kumar has welcomed the government’s decision and said it will not divide the workplace, as its opponents claimed.

“The reservations have not divided (workplaces), it is the political promotions and appointments,” Kumar told CNN-IBN.

Kumar also shot down the argument that from hereon now on the merit of a person would not matter when it came to promotion, since according to him, promotions in government jobs were always linked to political support.

“Merit is a construct used by the upper caste against the SCs, STs. One doesn’t become cabinet secretary because of seniority(or merit), but because of political choice,” he said.

Kumar said that reservations would not only benefit the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees but would also strengthen democracy.

“I think reservation has united India much better. It has given representation to people. It has brought a mass of people, who did not have any representation in any institutions nearer to democracy and therefore it has strengthened Indian society and democracy,” he said.