Can Kapu agitation pass legal muster

There can be no substitute to reasoned argument that rests on concrete data and analysis, and this applies to the question of whether the Kapus of Andhra Pradesh are a backward caste (BC) or not. At any rate, arson and violence cannot help us arrive at a satisfactory answer.

On any count, last Sunday’s violence and arson by those pressing for the inclusion of the Kapu community in the Backward Class list within the meaning of the law that governs the issue, was regrettable. Violence can at times overwhelm a weak government and force it into submission, but the case of the agitators will be lost in the courts if the facts are not on their side. In the specific case of the Kapus, the Andhra Pradesh high court held in 1963 that they were not a BC, and this view was reinforced by the Supreme Court.

What material facts have changed on the ground to alter that position need to be established before the Kapus can officially be brought into the BC fold so that they may begin to enjoy reservation benefits in education and public employment. The state government should set up an appropriate commission for this purpose.

In the past, one-man judicial commissions have given their answer in the negative. Probably, it should be a wider body this time around that looks into the matter. But it is clear that the Chandrababu Naidu government merely passing a government order declaring a particular community as a Backward Class as demanded by those claiming Kapu leadership, cannot solve the problem. The GO will have to pass the test of legality as well. The CM should make this clear right away and should, indeed, have done so in the course of his election campaign before coming to power.

In the public perception, the Kapus — who have thrown up stalwarts in every field — are not a socially, educationally and economically deprived community in need of encouragement through affirmative action by the government, although they have enjoyed benefits of reservation from time to time, in British India and after independence. Kapu leaders allude to certain colonial era findings to claim BC status. It may in their own interest to establish this afresh with the aid of data now available.

They may continue to agitate in the meantime if they so wish, but they must not cause a breakdown of law and order. All agitation must be peaceful. It should be borne in mind that the Patidar Patel community, which also recently resorted to violence to press for inclusion in the Backward Class list, have not succeeded in their aims and are indeed being interrogated by the wider society. The cases of the Jats in Haryana and Marathas in Maharashtra are also instructive.