India’s diversity only on paper? asks NALSAR VC

HYDERABAD: Though the Constitution was enacted to preserve the country’s diversity, it does not reflect in the various institutions of the country, said NALSAR University Vice Chancellor Faizan Mustafa at a panel discussion on the Constitution in the ongoing Hyderabad Literary Festival.

Mustafa said, “Both in government jobs and educational institutions, both Muslims and Scheduled Tribes, Schedule Castes and OBCs are grossly under-represented.” In the 41 central universities, out of 1,125 professors, we have just 3 SC professors and 8 ST professors. When it comes to associate professors, you have just 130 SC professors and 34 ST professors out of 2,620.”

He informed that under the current scheme, 15 per cent seats were reserved in all State government jobs for SC candidates and 7.5 per cent for ST candidates. “So, ideally, in any university, we should have 22.5 per cent reservation,” he said.

As for Muslims, he pointed out that in IAS, against a total population of 14.2 per cent Muslims, there is just 3 per cent representation from the community. “In IFS the Muslim representation is 1.8 per cent, in police 4 per cent and in railways 4.5 per cent,”  he added.

“But where are they over represented,” he asked. “I say it with shame that when it comes to death row, death sentence, Dalits and Muslims are over-represented. When it comes to jails and prisons the case is the same. This is not in accordance with the vision of the Constitution,” he said.

He also slammed the Supreme Court’s decision that faculty quota would be decided department-wise and not for a university as a whole.

“Having studied in a university myself, in my opinion what the Supreme Court ruled two days ago  -- that for reservation in a university the department will be taken as an unit -- will drastically bring down the already low number of SC/ST representation in our universities,” he said.