Introduction

The services sector in India has developed considerably over the last few years. The sector has had an annual growth rate of about 28 per cent during the last five years. Its high growth and development has been globally recognised. Strong and consistent emphasis on self-reliance in its economic development programmes over the years by the Government of India has helped build a huge and versatile cadre of professionals with expertise and skills across wide-ranging spectrum of disciplines such as health care, tourism, education, engineering, communications, transportation, information technology, banking, finance and management. These disciplines have all, however, excluded the Scheduled Castes (SCs). More inclusive growth is needed to provide the SCs justice. This article will examine the employment situation of SCs in public sector banks in India, the reasons, the extent and how they have been excluded from the sector. 

The precise meaning of social exclusion is ‘the inability of an individual to participate in the basic political, economic and social functioning of society’. It involves “the denial of equal access to opportunities imposed by certain groups in society upon others.” (Buvinic, Mayra, 2005, ‘Social Inclusion in Latin America’, Social Exclusion and Economic Development, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp 3-32.) This definition captures three distinguishing features of social exclusion: it affects culturally defined groups; it is embedded in the social relations between them; and it results in deprivation or low income for those excluded (Haan, De. Arjan, 1997, ‘Poverty and Social Exclusion: A Comparison of Debates on Deprivation’, Working Paper No. 2, Poverty Research Unit at Sussex, Brighton: University of Sussex; Sen, A., 2000, ‘Social Exclusion: Concept, Application, and Scrutiny’, Social Development Papers No. 1, Asian Development Bank).  It is critical to take note of the particular form of exclusion in the Indian context, in which prescribed rather than achieved characteristics are the bases of social exclusion in the form of the caste system.

Within the caste system, the SCs are the most oppressed and backward section of Indian society and face exclusion in each and every sphere of life. Indian society is characterised by a high degree of structural inequality based on the institutions of caste. The caste system is based on the principle of purity and pollution and involves the division of people into castes with unequal and hierarchical assignment of economic and civil rights, pre-determined by birth. Social exclusion between the castes is ensured through endogamy and social separation. Exclusion is thus internal to the system and a necessary outcome of its basic features. Every caste suffers from unequal and hierarchical assignment of rights to various degrees. The SCs are located at the bottom of the hierarchy, and, thus, suffer the most—being denied historically almost all rights such as those to property, business (except those considered impure and polluting), education and civil, cultural and religious rights, with the exception of a ‘right to work’ as menial labour and in service to castes above them. Untouchables suffer from residential segregation and social isolation as well. Due to this segregation, the representation of SCs in service sector employment is meagre. 

The Indian government’s approach to SCs has been primarily shaped by the provisions of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law, and empowers the state to make special provisions to promote the educational and economic interests of the SCs, to protect them from discrimination and include them in the mainstream through (a) legal safeguards against discrimination (b) pro-active measures in the form of a reservation policy for state sectors and state-supported sectors and (c) policy in the nature of informal affirmative action for the private sector (namely, agriculture and private industry, in which more than 90 per cent of SC workers are engaged) as part of the general developmental or empowering measures.

Status of Employment in Public Sector Banks

Public sector bank employment is categorised into three classes: officer, clerical and sub-staff (all positions below the officer and clerk grades, including that of the sweepers). In the last few decades, there has been a marked increase in the number of SCs employed in banks. In nationalised banks, their numbers increased from 55,000 in 1978 to 1,43,000 in 2004.

The percentage of SCs from 1978 to 2004, employed in public sector banks, as officers, clerks and sub-staff, is lesser than the percentage of their total population (17%, Census 2001). Although, in terms of percentage, the representation of SCs has improved over the years in all these categories, in 2004, the representation of SCs was 14.98 per cent, below or equivalent to the prescribed government reservation limit of 15 per cent in the category of officers, and, as mentioned earlier, below the percentage of SCs population.

There were 1,09,652 officers in all the  public sector banks in 1978; of them, 22,38 were SCs and 1,07,232 were non-SC/STs. The total number of officers increased to 2,46,471 in 2004 with 14.98 per cent SCs and 79.14 per cent non-SC/STs. The number of SC officers employed during the periods 1978-80, 1980-88, 1990-99 and 2000-04 increased the most between 1980 and 1988 (14,525), fell drastically to 5,105 between 1990 and 1999 (economic reform period and bank privatisation), and declined further to 5,043 between 2000 and 2004. For both SCs and non-SC/STs taken together, the number of officers is increasing. However, the rate at which the number of SC officers is increasing is lower than that of non-SC/STs.

In 2004, of the total clerical jobs in banks in India, SCs held 16.16 per cent and non-SC/STs 78.76 per cent. A majority of SC employees had clerical jobs in 2004. In a sample of SCs employed in 100 public sector banks, 43.70 per cent were employed in clerical jobs, 27.61 per cent in officer-level jobs and 28.69 per cent were sub-staff.

The share of SCs in sub-staff employment was 25.38 per cent and non-SC/STs was 67.60 per cent in 2004. The percentage of SC employees at the sub-staff level is higher than for any other category whereas the percentage of non-SC/ST employees at this level is lower than for any other category. Non-SC/STs make up 79.14 per cent of the officers and 78.76 per cent of the clerks. In 1978, 41.02 per cent of the total employed SCs were employed as sub-staff. Since then, there has been a declining trend—38.23 per cent in 1980 and 28.69 per cent in 2004. In 1990 and 2000, however, the percentage was constant at 30.4 per cent. For non-SC/STs, the trend from 1978 (23.81%) to 2004 (17.55%) also shows a decline.

Impact of Reservation Policies

What has been the impact of reservation policies? In spite of all the loud rhetoric on the empowerment of SCs, not much has been achieved in actual terms in the banking sector. Whereas a few continue to question the need for reservations, it is to be kept in mind that the policy has never been fully implemented since its conception. The central question is not whether reservation should continue or not but whether reservation alone will lead to the empowerment of SCs. There is no doubt that reservation has helped individuals and these individuals have contributed to the overall progress of their communities—especially in terms of the sense of self-esteem and the sense of pride they have given to their brethren. These individuals have created hope where there was despair. Although there is an improvement in SC representation in bank services, there is still a gap of more than 3 per cent between the population percentage and the percentage at the officers grade and 1 per cent at the clerical grade in 2003.

The government should update the percentage of SC population and make provisions to fill this gap. Though all-round development is visible among SCs, they are yet to reach the level of non-SC/STs in the private sector. Recently, the government has attempted to include this excluded group in private sector employment.

Private Sector Employment and Reservation

The unequal and hierarchical assignment of economic and property rights affects the low castes in the form of exclusion from access to all economic rights, except manual labour. The consequent restrictions on labour mobility result in high unemployment among the untouchables. So the economic and social implications for low caste untouchables are more devastating than any other social group in Hindu society (Ambedkar, B.R. (1936), ‘Annihilation of Caste’, also included in, Vasant Moon (ed.) (1979) Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches, Vol. I, Education Dept., Govt. of Maharashtra, Bombay).

The reservation policy is confined to state-run and state-supported sectors, which constitute only 10 per cent of the total employment in India. More than 90 per cent of the available jobs are found in the private sector, in which SCs remain unprotected from possible discrimination. The privatisation of banks has further marginalised the weaker sections by reducing the opportunities for employment. There is no objectivity or transparency in the recruitment system for the private sector. With employment opportunities in the government and public sectors shrinking in the era of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation, there is need to introduce reservations for SCs in the private sector. It was only after the introduction of the policy in government employment, in the early 1990s, that the demand for reservation in the private sector has picked up. The present government has set up a Group of Ministers to develop an affirmative action policy for the private sector.

Since the government provides free land, tax exemption, credit from government-owned banks and many other infrastructure facilities to private industries and service sectors, it has the moral right to stipulate reservations for socially backward people in the private sector in return. Tax concessions may be offered to companies that diversify the social composition of their employees. It will be in the long-term interest of the companies, and not just in the public interest, to adopt active measures to seek out, stimulate and nourish the vast reservoir of unutilised talent that exists in the socially and educationally backward communities. There should be far greater private investment in education and training. Again, the government should encourage private companies to stimulate and foster talent among members of socially disadvantaged groups.

The basic principle should be that this section of society will be given the ability to compete. Reservation in the private sector must be seen as a policy that will definitely not affect the ‘efficiency’ of the private sector but will go a small part of the way to correct historically entrenched and still persistent social discrimination (Ghosh, S.K., 1996, Reservation in Services: A Manual for Government and Public Sector, Akshar Publications, New Delhi).

The captains of the services sector should meet the aspirations of the SC/STs and provide them assured avenues of employment. This has become necessary because disinvestment of the public sector will result in declining employment opportunities. Reservation in the private sector is not a charity but a social necessity.