Youth for Equality, Jawaharlal Nehru University: January 2008

YOUTH FOR EQUALITY

To,

Prof. B.B. Bhattacharya

Vice-Chancellor

Jawaharlal Nehru University

New Delhi – 110067

(Request to stop OBC Reservation at the Post-Graduation level as it is Contempt of the Supreme Court Order)

Dear Sir,

Keeping aside all the formalities we the students of this university sit down to write and request you to interfere in an important policy matter recently imposed by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry on our university. The Resolution No. 1-1/ 2005-U.1A/846 dated 20th April, 2008 of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education asking for the implementation of the OBC reservation in our university, especially at the Master Degree level and beyond, is a blatant transgression of the Hon’ble Supreme Court Order delivered on 10^th of April 2008.

The Supreme Court Order is categorical on the above subject. The majority judgment as Justice Bhandari said “once a candidate graduates from a university, the said candidate is educationally forward and is ineligible for special benefits under Article 15(5) of the Constitution for post graduate and any further studies thereafter.” Subsequently Justice Pasayat and Justice Thackker said “While determining backwardness, graduation (not technical graduation) or professional shall be the standard test yardstick for measuring backwardness.”

The bench further said which applied to us and we quote from Justice Pasayat and Justice Thackker’s judgment “the Central Government shall examine as to the desirability of fixing a cut off marks in respect of the candidates belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). By way of illustration it can be indicated that five marks grace can be extended to such candidates below the minimum eligibility marks fixed for general categories of students. This would ensure quality and merit would not suffer. The philosophy and pragmatism of universal excellence through equality of opportunity for education and advancement across the nation is part of the constitutional creed. It is, therefore, the best and most meritorious students that must be selected for admission to technical institutions and medical colleges and no citizen can be regarded as outsider in the constitutional set-up without serious detriment to the `unity and integrity' of the nation. The Supreme Court has laid down that so far as admissions to post graduate course such as MS, MD and the like are concerned, it would be imminently desirable not to provide for any reservation based on residence or institutional preference. The need of a region or institution cannot prevail at the highest scale of specialty where the best skill or talent must be hand-picked by selecting them according to capability. At the level of Ph.D., M.D. or levels of higher proficiency where international measure of talent is made, where losing one great scientist or technologist in the making is a national loss, the considerations we have expanded upon as important, lose their potency.” Justice Bhandari said “In the case of higher education, the universities that admit the best will likely churn out the best. The point is that universities alone cannot produce qualified job candidates. Forced to admit students with lower marks, the university's final product will not be as strong. I urge the Government to set OBC cut off marks no lower than 10 marks below that of the general category.”

We consider the highly qualified Professors handling the administration of this university are enlightened soul and need no guidance to apply their own intelligence. Through this letter we like to inform you that the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Order is one parameter/direction (to which the whole nation, including our university is bound to obey) and the HRD Ministry’s order is another parameter/direction comes out of political/executive connivance. The HRD Ministry’s order is meant to accommodate political interest of the party at the helms of affairs and is subject to challenge of the court.

Sir, in our final submission we like to make it clear that the slightest violation of the Supreme Court Order may attract series of “Contempt Petition” in the name of the university as well as administrators. This situation is avoidable through the application of our intelligence. This is what precisely the student community of the university and the country expected from JNU.

Sincerely yours,

Copy to: 1) Saroj Rath, Ph.D., SIS

Prof. Yashpal, Chancellor, JNU 2) Manpreet Kaur, Ph.D., SBT

3) Brundaban Mishra, Ph.D, SSS

Prof. Rajendra Prasad, Rector, JNU 4) Vikram Singh, Ph.D., SIT

5) Deepika Singh, Ph.D., SIS

6) Gagan Jhingan, Ph.D, SES

Enclosure:

1) Supreme Court Order

(delivered on 10^th April 2008)

http://www.judis.nic.in/supremecourt/qrydisp.aspx?filename=31230

http://www.judis.nic.in/supremecourt/qrydisp.aspx?filename=31231