Quota unquota

With the specter of quota system looming once again over Sindh's urbanites, Nusrat Amin talks to various political luminaries and contemplates the effects its possible revival will have

The existence of the quota system in Sindh itself illustrates the miserable failure of successive rulers in the socio-economic development of rural areas. Its possible revival will further strengthen the continuing, excessive domination of the forces of status quo in the country's political system.

Quotas provide an opportunity for those who need to gain admissions and jobs on non-meritorious grounds. Historically, the quota system was imposed for an interim period in order to bridge the gap between the rural and urban communities, since the latter, with their access to education and job opportunities, were landing all the plum government positions. This in turn was adding to the sense of deprivation among those who, due to lack of opportunities, found themselves unable to improve their socio-economic status and break into the community of the more educated and comparably better established.

However, things didn't turn out as intended. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had introduced a quota system through a constitutional amendment in 1973 and promulgated it for 15 years.

The aim was to improve the quality of life in rural Sindh by limiting the number of jobs and admissions in professional colleges openly on meritorious grounds that a larger group of educated citizens in urban Sindh, especially in Karachi and Hyderabad were getting. The system could have worked for an interim period had Bhutto's government taken measures to industrialise and establish more and better education facilities in rural Sindh to create a socio-economic uniformity in the province. But neither he nor his successors ever initiated such development. After the lapse of 15 years, the quota system was extended for further 10 years under General Zia-ul-Haq. The military dictator followed the policy of the civilian prime minister he had ousted, and continued to impose the quota system without simultaneously developing the rural areas.

With the first extension having just expired, the national assembly has put up the question of further extending it for another 40 years -- demonstrating its utter lack of intention to industrialise and develop the areas where quota beneficiaries come from.

Political analysts believe that the system will be extended soon -- which for the people of Karachi spells doom.

The population of Karachi alone is over 12 million -- about 10 per cent of Pakistan's entire population. Yet the city has a job quota of only two per cent in the government organisations.

Moreover, the city's constituencies for national and provincial elections have remained similar to the set up designed years ago despite the horrific population explosion that has altered the country's demographic pattern since then. Thus, the city's representation in the national assembly is only six per cent, four per cent less than its population warrants.

Even going by the controversial figures of the 1998 census, Karachi has seen serious discrimination.

Leader of Jamaat-e-Islami and senior citizen of Karachi, Professor Ghafoor Ahmed says that reviving the quota system is simply an act of discrimination and an outcome of political manipulation. He notes that the benefit gained by the deprived and oppressed class of rural Sindh through the quota system has been almost negligible. "Our feudal class has always been the best beneficiary of this system. It is evident that the aim behind fixing quotas has never been attained. So why should it last any longer?" he asks.

He apprehends that the proposed extension has been manipulated by Nawaz Sharif "to create his vote bank in rural Sindh where he has yet not been recognized as a political leader. Just like past rulers imposed this system for political reasons and not for the sake of benefiting the lower classes."

A rural-urban divide on social, political, economic and psychological levels is the most disastrous outcome of the quota culture. Regarding this, Ghafoor says: "All we could get is this great divide among the people of this province. So far, we have done nothing to redress the situation. The flaws and disastrous outcome of this system are all too clear. Does the government need to encourage this divide?"

Despite the implication of its leaders and activists in criminal cases and its continuing clashes with the ruling parties, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) still politically dominates urban Sindh, enjoying an overwhelming vote bank and support. It sees itself as the sole representative of Sindh's urban population -- and the worst victim of the quota system.

"If this case is inevitable, we don't want to oppose it. All we need to do is to review the quota system and make some specific changes in its basic design," says Senator and eminent MQM leader Nasreen Jalil, regarding revival of quota system.

She proposes that this time, quotas should be fixed on the basis of a scientific analysis of the population in the context of their problems so that the system could benefit the masses rather than harming the peace, economy and culture of Sindh.

"The important aspect is the discrimination against urban Sindh which now has to be addressed. If quotas are required in Sindh, what about the other three provinces? All the provinces have rural-urban divide, their rural populations have been deprived of jobs and admissions compared to urban inhabitants. Why does the question of quota revolve around Sindh only?"

Thus, since the problems leading to the imposition of the quota system in Sindh also exist the other provinces, "it (the system) should be imposed in all provinces and not only in Sindh. I think it is very simple to understand that."

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and Senator Iqbal Haider observes the question in a different perspective -- with Karachi being the main issue. He comments that state intervention in the socio-economic evolution of the province has been one of the prime reasons for the degeneration of people in urban Sindh especially Karachi.

"Karachi must be given full fledged representation in all political fora in accordance with the ratio of its population." Referring to statistics, he says: "The city contributes over 70 per cent of Pakistan's revenue and gets almost nothing in return. The situation in other urban areas of the country is quite different. This is an example of open discrimination faced by Karachi. It should be granted 10 per cent quota in all the federal jobs. The citizens should also be given due share for provincial establishment both in terms of employment and admission in colleges and other educational institutions," he stresses.

All said and nothing done, that leads us to raise the most important question: Is the government serious about rural development and peace in Karachi? If so, it has to tread very carefully on the quota issue. Otherwise, the writing on the wall reads further chaos and deprivation which will only worsen the urban-rural divide.

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