The bumpy road of reservations: The 7 August 1990 announcement on the Mandal Commission’s recommendations by V.P. Singh
This essay is part of a series by Prof. V. Krishna Ananth where he recalls the events that determined the course of politics in post-colonial India, sometimes reinforcing the “idea of India” and otherwise distorting that. The essays revolve around specific events and their consequences and the facts are placed in context and perspective to comprehend the times in which they are being recalled and re-presented. The series recalls the events on their anniversary, they do not follow a chronological order and are seen as moments in history.
On 7 August 1990, Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh (V.P. Singh) informed the Lok Sabha of the decision to implement part of the Report of the Second Backward Classes Commission (Mandal Commission). The Report’s recommendations involved the reservations in central government jobs to Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs). The announcement did not cause any stir and there was no sign of the violence it would provoke in north Indian towns and cities in the following weeks. There was also no sign of the tectonic shift it would bring in political discourse and electoral politics as all eyes were on the internecine battle within the Janata Dal and the uncertain future of the National Front Government that Singh headed. A couple of days later, on 9 August 1990, Singh made the same announcement in the Rajya Sabha saying: “[T]his is the realization of the dream of Bharat Ratna Dr. B.R….
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