Miller Committee Report 1919 (Adequate Representation of Communities in Public Service)

[An anti-caste movement led by the backward communities under the banner Praja Mitra Mandali launched a focused movement to bring pressure on the king of Mysore for reservation in recruitment and education. The Miller Committee was constituted by Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore in the year 1919. This committee’s findings provided a fact based report on the actual situation of overrepresentation of brahmins in education and government positions and the non-representations of other communities. The report was based on the caste-wise demographic and English literacy data from the census 1911. Its recommendations included scholarships for backward classes, relaxation of age limit for public service appointments and changes in the merit-based examinations.

Wadiyar championed many progressive endeavors such as compulsory education for women, but the strong measures he took to ensure educational, employment and political representation of the backward communities was met with stiff resistance from his own Dewan, Visvesvaraya, who was strongly opposed to the idea of reservations. Visvesvaraya rejected the recommendations of the Miller report, Wadiyar overruled his objections, leading to the former’s resignation.

The Miller report laid the foundation for proportionate representation of all citizens of Mysore in education and government jobs. This report became the blueprint for subsequent policies and is one of the important documents referenced by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar while framing the policies for proportionate representation to depressed classes at the national level.~ Round Table India]

Miller Committee Report: Report of the Committee Appointed to Consider Steps Necessary for the Adequate Representation of Communities in the Public Service

1. Our committee was constituted under Government Order No. E. A. G. 308, dated 23rd August 1918, in which it was desired that a report should be submitted to the Government in two months from the date of the order. We held meetings on the 3rd September 1918, 11th and 12th March and 24th and 25th June 1919. At the first meeting it was due to the length of time required for their compilation that an extension of the period allotted to our deliberations had to be obtained. After the meetings in March at which some members of the Committee were absent, it became necessary to circulate a draft of the resolutions arrived at those meetings, and this produced some fresh suggestions and opinions, it then became necessary to hold another meeting and this could not be held before June owing to the absence of the President of the Committee from the State. Our best thanks are due to the Government for the information supplied to us. The tables containing the information are printed at the end of this report as appendices.

2. Terms of reference:- The Government Order states that there is at present a large preponderance of the Brahmin Community in the public service, and that it is the desire of the Government that the other communities in the State should be adequately represented therein. Our committee was appointed to investigate and report on the question as to what steps should be taken to encourage the members of the important communities other than the Brahmin Community to seek employment under the Government in larger numbers. The specific questions we are required to consider are the following.

(1) Changes needed, if any, in the existing rules of recruitment in the public service.

(2) Special Facilities to encourage higher and professional education among member of the backward communities.

(3) Any other special measures which may be taken to increase the representation of the backward communities in the public services, without materially affecting efficiency, due regard being paid also to the general good accruing to the State by a wider diffusion of education and a leading of increased status which, it is expected, will thereby be produced in the backward communities.

3. Definition of Backward communities:- By backward communities, we understand generally those castes or communities coming under a general head of caste or community as enumerated in the Census Report of 1911, which contain less than 5 percent of literates in English. The Indian Christian, Mudaliar and Pillay communities are also included for certain purposes in the backward communities by view of Government Order No-89-10-90-Edn. 96-1-1, dated 8th May 1917, and Government letter No. 3919-Edn. 42 17, dated 13th October 1917. It will thus be seen that the term backward classes is recognized to include all the communities in the State other than the Brahmin. The Europeans and Anglo-Indians who have English for their mother-tongue will of course be excluded by that fact.

We have in these circumstances dealt with the matters referred to us in accordance with this classification. The European and Anglo-Indian servants of the State are few in number and do not materially affect the questions under consideration. For practical purposes, therefore we divide the communities into two groups only Brahmins and Others, but in fixing the proportion of appointments between the Brahmin and the other castes, it seems to us that the appointments held by European and Anglo-Indians should be excluded from the total number of appointments, and that the remaining appointments alone should form the basis for the distribution.

It will be understood therefore that in the report when we use the expression backward classes, we mean all communities other than Brahmins and Europeans and Anglo Indians. A third class included in the ‘backward classes’ is the ‘depressed classes’ to them we refer in particular in some places, and include them in general among the backward classes.

4. Recommendations include menial and inferior services:- We assume, having regard to the third paragraph of Government Order No. 1069-1118-E. A. G. 247, dated 25th September 1918, that the menial and inferior services are not to be taken into account in compiling the returns of appointments given to backward communities and our recommendations do not refer to these branches of the service.

5. No need to justify our recommendations:- From the returns of the Government Order dated 23rd August 1918, our task appears to be to suggest some suitable means by which the object of the Government to secure larger representation of the backward communities in the service of the Government may be effected without materially affecting the efficiency of the service, remembering at the same time that the efficiency of the service as is ordinarily understood is not the only end in the view, but that due regard should also be paid to the general efficiency of the State as measured by the social and educational results of a proper distribution of high offices among the different communities. We refrain from discussing the causes which have led to the existing preponderances of Brahmins in the services, or the effect of this preponderance on the services and the people of the State, because we understand from the order that the Government are convinced of the necessity of making a change in this respect and no arguments of ours are necessary to support that conviction.

6. What is ‘adequate’ representation:- proceeding then on the basis that in the distribution of the public offices of the State, the communities other than the Brahmin are not adequately represented, we have first to arrive at a conclusion what is ‘adequate’ representation. The Census Report of 1911 shows that the Brahmins number 1,94,570 out of a total population of 57,01,579. The depressed classes viz. the Panchamas, Madigas, etc. form a population of 10,43,807 (vide G.O. dated: 8th May 1917). Even if we exclude the depressed classes who may not be expected to enter the superior service in any numbers for some years to come, the Brahmins from only 1-22nd of the rest of the population. These figures doubtless indicate that there is room for a considerable diminution in the representation of the Brahmin community in the public services. We recognize that population is not the only factor to be taken into consideration, and that one important factor is the maintenance of the efficiency of the services. Efficiency, however, is not to be measured solely or even mainly by academic qualifications and it will not be denied that there are many important branches of the administration in which other qualities such as sympathy, honesty of purpose, energy and common sense go as far to make an efficient officer as literary superiority. We do not wish to suggest that the Brahmin community is deficient in these qualities, but it cannot and does not claim a greater share of them than other communities, while its superiority at present in the capacity to obtain academic distinctions can hardly be questioned.

Again under the present system of Government, the officers of the Government in the higher grades of the service have necessarily much influence in shaping the policy of the administration, and the efficiency of the services viewed as machines for securing the even and uniform progress of the State, is likely to be increased by the presence, in their ranks, of officers of different communities. And viewed from the point of view of the services themselves, it is likely that their efficiency will be advanced by promoting a greater feeling of equality among officers and by relieving those who are in the minority of the feeling that their interests are likely to suffer at the hands of the majority. For the fact cannot be ignored that an officer in the exercise of his duty of making appointments and promotions finds it easier to see the values of his own community than those of others.

We think that a large increase in the proportion of officers drawn from communities other than the Brahmin may safely be advocated without any fear that the efficiency of the service as a whole will thereby be materially reduced. We recognize that this increase cannot be suddenly made without risk of dislocation of the Administration or injustice to present incumbents of offices, and after giving good deal of consideration and discussion to the matter, we have determined in to recommend to the Government to fix a period of seven years within which to reach what, for the time, may be regarded as adequate representation. If by the end of this period not more than half of the higher appointments, administrative and ministerial, be held by Brahmin and not more than one –third of the subordinate appointments, we think, that the question of adequate representation will be answered for the time.

Our colleague, Mr. Ranga Iyengar, is of opinion that it is undesirable to fix any definite proportion, and that it must be left to the Government to see that the increase in the representation is fair and adequate according to their own views of adequacy, but the majority of us think that the hands of the Government will be strengthened if a minimum be fixed up to which they can require all dispensers of official patronage to work. Without it, we fear that the object in view is less likely to be gained in a reasonable time. Mr. Ranga Iyengar, agrees with the rest of us that if any period and any proportion have to be fixed, those which we are suggesting are reasonable and suitable.

7. Representation to be general in all grades:- We think it essential that the distribution of the proportion fixed should be made equally in all grades and departments of the service, and we believe that the best, if not the only way to secure the continuance of a proper representation of those which are not Brahmin, in the highest offices. If that is done, there is little fear that inequalities will be allowed to recur in the lower ranks, and what inequalities there may be will soon adjust themselves. Moreover we are of opinion that the proportion is maintained in the grade of Assistant Commissioners it should be maintained also among the officers of those grades serving in the Secretariat, and it should be maintained among Heads of Departments and Secretaries to the Government and we venture to think it should be the rule to maintain it in the Executive Council itself.

By the higher appointments to which we recommend the application of the rule of equality in seven years, we mean, those whether executive or ministerial, which carry a salary classed as Rs. 50-100 or a higher salary. The lower appointments to which we propose the rule of 2/3 and 1/3 within seven, years are those below that grade and also especially the subordinate executive grades whether the pay reaches or does not reach Rs. 100, offices such as those of Police and Excise Inspectors, Shekdars and the lower executive officers in such departments as the Agricultural, Public Works and Co-operative Departments it is these officers who come most frequently in contact in their Official capacity with all classes of the people of the State and from the point of view of general administration it seems desirable that in these grades a full representation of all important communities should be found.

8. Unnecessary to provide for separate representation for each individual community:- It is not necessary at the present stage, to complicate the problem by taking each separate community into consideration and trying to adjust its claims, nor could we do so satisfactorily with the information at our disposal. For the present, it can be seen from what is happening in Southern India, in spite of the numerical and communal disparities of the different communities, still from the point of common interests to be achieved, these communities fall roughly into three groups, 1) the Brahmins, 2) Other Caste Hindus, Mahomedans and Indian Christians, and 3) the depressed classes. These may be taken as unitary groups for the purposes of our report, as they are for other purposes.

In regard to the depressed classes we have suggested measures elsewhere in the body of the report by which their interests can be promoted and here we need say only that we are emphatically of opinion that those among them who are qualified by education for the higher grades of service should, for the present be preferred by to others when they are available. In respect of the other two groups, we desire as mentioned above the establishment of equality within the next seven years, which still leaves the Brahmins in a position of undoubted advantage. The future will have to determine itself on lines which we trust will be equitable and will lead to a more harmonious and uniform developments of all classes. We believe that our proposals represent a fair and adequate representation to which it will be possible to work up in the case of the backward classes within the period of seven years. We regard the period as the maximum to be permitted and the proportion as the minimum to be achieved in the period.

9. The above is our principal recommendation and may here be repeated. Within a period of not more than seven years not less than one-half of the higher and two-thirds of the lower appointments in each grade of the service and so far possible in each office are to be held by members of communities other than the Brahmin community, preference being given to duly qualified candidates of the depressed classes when such are available.

10. Measures to achieve this end:- We now discuss particular means to be adopted by the Government to reduce the disparity between the representation of the Brahmin and the other classes in the service and to bring about the equalization within the fixed period. The measures which the Government Order shows are at present adopted with a view to ensure the larger employment in the public service of persons belonging to the backward communities are:

(i) the grant of exemption from qualifying educational tests.

(ii) Preferential selection in the case of equal or nearly equal qualifications.

(iii) Relaxation of the severity of prescribed tests, and

(iv) Requiring the selection of a minimum proportion of the backward classes in making appointments.

11. The statements appended in Part – III of this report show that these rules and measures, though not without value, have not as they are worked, fulfilled the purpose they were expected to serve. The reservation of a fixed or of the appointments as in the case of Probationers, etc., may not achieve the object of equalizing the representation of communities and may even produce contrary effect. We need only take two instances to show how the reservation of a fixed proportion of appointments intended to equalize the representation has in its working borne out the above assertion. Firstly the order passed during the Commission days in 1874 and reiterated without any modification in Circular No. 2138-98 dated 21st January 1895, during the time of Mr. V.P. Madhava Rao, reserved 10th of the appointments in the grades of Inspectors, Sub–Inspectors, Head constables and other Hindus. In Spite of this long-standing order, we find from a table in the appendices about the officers in the Police Department that in 1918, out of 361 Officers, 191 were Brahmins, Secondly, since 1914 though the number of men nominated by Government to the grade of Assistant Commissioner was increased with a view to increase the representation of backward classes in the civil service, the number of men selected through the Mysore Civil Service Examination has also been raised, and in the result the backward classes continue relatively where they were. Again till 1914 the number of men promoted to Assistant Commissionerships was 3 or 4 each year. But since 1915, this number has gone up to 10 or more each year and there is a large preponderance of Brahmin among them. If we take Statement II in the appendices and calculate the percentage of non-Brahmin appointments to the total number of appointments in each grade during the year 1916, 1917, and 1918 we find that the results obtained have not shown any progressive reduction of the inequality each year, but on the other hand have actually aggregated it year as will be clearly proved from the following table.

Taking the class of appointments carrying a salary of Rs. 50 to 100, it will be seen that the percentage of members of backward communities to the total men in service in that grade in 1916 was 32 which was reduced to 28 in 1917 and further reduced to 26 in 1918. In the grade of Rs. 250 to 450, the corresponding percentage was 31 in 1916 which reduced to 22 in 1971 and it was 24 in 1918. We beg to draw attention in this connection to the practice recently adopted in Madras of appointing men from different communities for the post of the Deputy Tahsildar on lines approaching the proportion basis which has a real tendency to equalize the representation. In our view, the right course is to take the existing proportion of Brahmins to other communities in each grade of appointments together with the percentage of those communities to the total number of appointments in each grade and reserve as many appointments in that grade as may be necessary to secure a progressive reduction of inequality in each year and vary it each year according to circumstances in order to attain the goal which we have recommended. We see that there will be difficulty in the way of applying a similar rule in the case of promotions, but we do not think the difficulties are insurmountable.

PART II

12. Special educational facilities:- Having dealt with the matter referred to us in some of its general aspects, we now propose to discuss the three questions stated in paragraph 3 of the Government Order. Education being the basic principle which tends to the harmonious equalization of the representation of the different communities in public service, we propose to take up first for consideration the second question which refers to ‘special facilities to encourage higher and professional education among members of backward communities.’

13. Primary education:- So far as primary education is concerned, our recommendations relate to the depressed classes in particular and to the other backward classes in general. We fully support the recent policy of Government declaring that the pupils belonging to the depressed classes should be freely admitted into all schools and that grants should be refused to such schools as decline to admit them. At the same time we believe that for the rapid expansion of education among these classes, a system of special schools also should be developed. Great sympathy and care are required from the teachers, if results of any value are to be expected. A system of special Panchama schools with the teachers drawn from the Panchamas and a special Inspectorate seems to us to be necessary to secure speedy results. We deem it important that the Head of the Education Department and the supervising agency generally should be selected with reference to their sympathies and general attitude towards the depressed classes. A large extension of the system of distributing small scholarships or doles will be useful to overcome to some extent the reluctance of most of the parents to spare their children to attend schools which they are unable to do in their present condition. Such an extension should cover both the number and value of scholarships. We also recommend the establishment in each district of an institute like the Central Panchama Institute in Mysore with boarding and special facilities for general and industrial education.

As for the other backward classes we recommend a wider expansion of primary education by the establishment of more schools with competent and better paid teachers and by the strengthening of the supervising staff. This is an obvious recommendation and the Government are alive to the importance of the question, the main difficulty in the way of adopting it is the question of the provision of the necessary funds. As to this we think that in the provision of funds for education and in making education free, preference may be given to those kinds of education which are resorted to by the backward communities even at the risk of stinting for a time the requirements of higher education.

14. Secondary education:-As regards secondary education, we are anxious to see an early increase in the number of Lower Secondary Schools of the Anglo Vernacular type. We prefer this type to the purely vernacular type and we think that schools of the latter type might well be converted so as to make English a compulsory subject in order to give equal opportunities to the rural as well as to the urban population.

We are of opinion that all secondary schools and colleges should be remodeled on a sort of polytechnic basis, so that those whose special aptitudes lie in that study of manual arts may be enabled to reach the stages of higher education with the assistance of their special aptitudes, and that proficiency in the studies certified by a diploma or degree might properly serve as a passport to the Government services. We cannot of course set out here details of a scheme of this kind, but we think that if preferred as a part of the scheme of general education, it would serve as a stimulus to members of the backward classes to pursue their studies into the regions of higher education, and that the efficiency of the general administration would be increased by admixture of officers with some practical acquaintance with the difficulties and requirements of many of the people with whom they have to deal, officers who may be expected to render perhaps greater help in the material development of the country than university graduates in arts and theoretical sciences.

15. Fair proportion of teachers to be of the backward classes:- It is necessary to have in all the secondary schools and indeed in all schools where the number of teachers is more than two, a fair proportion of teachers recruited from the backward classes so as to ensure for their pupils a sympathetic treatment. This goal, can, we think, be reached without any delay and without impairing departmental efficiency either by giving preference to qualified teachers of the backward classes or, should there be an insufficient number of these, by exempting temporarily members of these classes from the stringent operation of the rules restricting recruitment to natives of Mysore, And it might be worth-while, we think, to grant special or extra allowances to teachers of the backward classes, which should not be less than what is allowed in case of Malnad service. We think it is essential that the rule that a proportion of the Inspectors of Schools shall be of the backward classes be rigorously enforced, and these officials might also be given similar allowances, In calculation this proportion, the Inspectorate employed for the Hindustani schools should be excluded as in the case of European and Anglo-Indian officers and the remaining appointments should be distributed among Brahmins and other classes.

16. Distribution of general scholarships:- The question of the distribution of the scholarships other than those awarded by competition for merit both in schools and colleges is important in considering the facilities for the higher education of the backward classes. Besides the scholarships reserved for backward classes, there are general scholarships in the University colleges and secondary schools, technical scholarships and scholarships awarded for qualifying for some of the departments. Such as Forest, Public Works, etc. As regards the first class, i.e., backward class scholarships, we think that the amount of Rs, 85,000 out of the some lakh of rupees granted for students in the University Entrance Classes, High Schools and Secondary Schools is insufficient and requires to be doubled at least. As regards the general scholarships, there seems to be now a danger of the failure to recognize the fact that the backward classes are entitled to have their adequate and fair share of those scholarships in addition to the special scholarships reserved for them. On account of the existence of the backward class scholarships, there seems to be a tendency in practice to regard them as the only kind of scholarships to which those classes are entitled, and to exclude students of these classes completely in the University grade and largely in the other grader from the benefits of a distribution of these general scholarships. It must, we think, be made clear by the Government that the special scholarships are not to be taken into consideration as having any bearing on the distribution of general scholarships except in so far as to prevent one student from getting two scholarships. For the better distribution of scholarships we recommend the appointment of representative sub-committees similar to those created in paragraph 2 of the Government order of 31st May 1919, consisting of one or two educational officers and three non-officials representing important communities, not only for the special scholarships but also to allot the general scholarships and free-studentships in all grades of education including the university. This method is, we think, preferable to leaving the matter entirely to educational officers or to the University Council. It may be found possible to reserve a certain number of the existing Indian and Foreign scholarships for the backward classes and we think it should be done. We would suggest that 2/3 the number be reserved for them for the next five years. If there are not sufficient number of candidates of those classes in any one year, the scholarship so left over may be awarded to Brahmin candidates. We think that advertisements for applicants for such scholarships ought not to demand, at any rate in the case of candidates of the backward classes with whom alone we are now concerned, educational qualification higher than those prescribed for admission to the course for which the scholarship is granted as is being done now in the case of scholarships to Dehra Dun (Forest Department Notification dated 17th February 1919) and foreign scholarships. Whatever be the selection finally made, it is not right, we think, by such advertisements, to exclude from candidates any one who is qualified for admission to a course is regulated. If the course is open say to graduates, the advertisement for candidates should not restrict application to those who have taken a degree with honours.

17. Distribution of seats in Schools and Colleges and Hostels:- A subject which we think requires the careful attention of the Government is the provision of sufficient accommodation for students of the backward classes in the existing Government schools and hostels. From Statement No.XVII, we see that out of 522 students accommodated in the Government hostels, 435 are Brahmins and only 87 of other classes. We recommend that preference be given to the backward class pupils for admission into such institutions. It is pointed out in the Government order of May 1917 that there is a great falling off in the number of students after reaching the Primary grade. This is in part due to the fact that they have to leave their villages to pursue their higher studies in towns and cities. We deem it essential that hostels should be constructed in all taluk headquarters to encourage parents to send their children from the village elementary schools to the secondary schools. It is also necessary that in all hostels there should be at least three separate kitchens, two for vegetarians and one for non-vegetarians with a view to meet the convenience of all communities. These may be provided as early as possible. In the Government hostels, a certain proportion of seats should be reserved for the backward class students, and we would fix it at not less than 50% unless the students forthcoming are less than that number. Private are communal hostels should receive the same grants as the Government hostels do. This would give an added stimulus to the philanthropy of public spirited persons and would go to satisfy a much needed want of the student community.

A matter which is of importance and as to which we believe there exists some dissatisfaction is the question of the allotment of seats in schools and colleges. The refusal to admit the backward class students to a high school or college class for want of accommodation is obviously a serious blow which may to an appreciable degree counteract any attraction towards higher education which the Government may provide. The discouragement caused to his community by the refusal to admit a backward class student is probably much higher in degree and more intense than would be caused to the Brahmin community by the rejection of a student of that class, and it is for this reason that the backward class students should receive a preferential treatment in this matter. We suggest that the claims of the backward communities should be satisfied first up to one-half of the number of seats available in each class or section thereof. And this should be done not over all the seats available as a whole but class by class to ensure that a member of the backward communities shall not unnecessarily be driven to study in a class which does not suit him. Such an even distribution is suggested as it has been represented to us that some students of the backward classes have had to seek admission to aided school in order to pursue studies in the mathematics and science sections, owing to refusal of admission to those sections in Government schools.

18. Hindustani schools:- The existing six Anglo-Hindustani schools in the province are certainly not enough to impart English education to Mussalmans. It is necessary that their number and efficiency should be increased without delay. The Government may also consider the advisability of opening Hindustani sections in some of the Taluk Anglo-Kannada schools, as an experimental measure, in places where an adequate number of Mahomedan boys are available to join the schools but where there is no Anglo-Hindustani school and may employ Hindustani knowing teachers on the staff of these institutions to teach boys in the Hindustani sections English and other subjects through the medium of their mother tongue. The addition to such Hindustani sections to selected Anglo-Kannada schools is likely to bring together Hindu and Mahomedan boys under one roof and under one management and would prove a very desirable means of giving education to Muslim boys side by side with their Hindu brethren. After all, Mussalman students are in need of this arrangement only in the Lower Secondary stage of English education.

19. Modification in the rules of recruitment:- We now pass on to question I in the Government, order, viz., the changes needed, if any, in the existing rules of recruitment to the public service.

20.(a) As regards qualification:- A perusal of the existing rules of recruitment, a copy of which is included in the appendices, suggests the following questions, viz., (1) whether a higher educational qualification than is necessary for the particular office has not been insisted upon in some of the offices, (2) whether an undue preference has not been shown to candidates possessing a knowledge of English greater than is actually necessary, (3) whether there has not been an unnecessary insistence on the B.A. degree qualification. (4) whether the competitive examination for the Civil Service is desirable when the educational development of all classes of the people is not uniform, and (5) whether too great prominence has not been given to literary education without sufficient regard to executive or technical efficiency or other qualities which go to make up a sympathetic and successful officer. The crux of the matter is the English language, It is true that the University degree marks a definite standard of general education apart from English, and it may well be that a University life has a good effect on the character and manners of our young men, but there seems to be no reason why the standard of general education attainable in the high schools, if they are properly organized and administered, should not be sufficient to justify the admission of young men to the services, to those at any rate which do not require special proficiency in any particular branch of knowledge, whether it be English or Science or Philosophy.

The University degree is doubtless a mark of value, and it operates as a standard which it is easy to fix, but it can hardly be said to be necessary when we consider the number of eminent statesmen and successful administrators whom we have had in Mysore and whom we may name Dewan C. Rangacharlu, Messer, Thumbu Chetty, C. Madaiah, C, Sreenivasiengarm K.Doraswami Iyer, Abdur Rahman and Dewan Bahadur K.P.Puttanna Chetty, C.I.E., etc., who though unprovided with university degrees, admittedly proved not less efficient than those who had secured such distinctions.

Most of the rules prescribing high educational qualification are of recent origin and we cannot but think they may have had some operation in excluding members of the backward classes from positions which they might have filled with credit to themselves and their community. We may here invite attention to the rules of recruitment for entry into the Excise Department for the post of anti Inspector as contained in pages 20 and 21 of the same rules in both of which cases a somewhat peculiar and as it seems to us, unnecessary preferential gradation is laid down, which we think ought to be abolished.

We think the Government should lay down a policy for each department of public service and fix the minimum of educational qualifications for entry into particular grades of appointments according to the nature of their functions; and leave the future promotions of officers to depend largely on their general and executive efficiency. That is to say an officer deserving to rise from a lower grade which he had entered with the minimum qualification, should not necessarily be required to equip himself with the qualification prescribed for the higher grade which he tries to enter but should secure his promotion in his turn if he seems to be fit for it, apart from prescribed tests. Officers in service may improve themselves and fit themselves for promotion though they may be unable to study for examinations or seek entrance to a University.

The next point of which we suggest the consideration is the desirability of making some classification of departments and appointments from the point of view of recruitment rules.

(1). The Educational Department and perhaps in a lesser degree the Judicial Department require an high standard of general and literary education in the officers entrusted with the execution of the duties of the department.

(2) The Revenue and Police Departments do not require so high a standard; in them energy, good sense and initiative are probably surer aids to success than scholarships.

(3) Practical and technical services such as the Forest, Agriculture, Mining, Electricity, Commerce and Industries, in which efficiency is probably better achieved by early apprenticeship and by training in the department itself under a thoroughly expert head than by a course of University training, and (4) for clerical and ministerial officers, the standard of general education need not be very high, and a knowledge of English, except in a few offices, need not be regarded as essential. We suggest that it may be possible to consider and remodel the rules of recruitment on these lines.

21. (b) As regards age at the time of appointment:- We consider also that in regards to candidates of the backward classes, the age limit for entry into service may, for the present, be raised from 25 to 28 years.

22. (c) Substituting competitive examination by a Board of Selection:- In regard to the selection of officers to the higher grades of services such as appointment of Assistant Commissioners and Munsiffs in which some are selected by a competitive examination, some others are nominated while the rest are promoted from subordinate service, we do not see why a Board of representative officers should not be able to select candidates without a competitive examination in the very subjects in which a University will have declared them to have passed.

Coupled with such educational qualification as may be prescribed, selection by a Board ought, if properly done, to secure the admission of suitable candidates, better than a purely literary competition like the present Civil Service Examination. A system of selection by a Board of special officers is, we believe, in force in Madras for the selection of Deputy Tahsildars in that Presidency, and the Committee appointed under Government Order No. G.9060-9102-G. M. 401-16-1, dated 2nd January 1917, is on these lines. We are therefore in favour of the abolition of all competitive examinations. It is desirable, at any rate at present and until education is more evenly distributed among the various communities, to revert altogether to the system of nomination, as experience during the last 20 years has shown that the only candidates selected through the Mysore Civil Service Examination who are not of the Brahmin community are three Indian Christians from outside the State. The competitive examination for the selection of Munsiffs may for the same reason be abolished. Provisionally until the competitive examinations are abolished, a larger proportion, say 2 out of 3, of the total number of appointments should be given to members of the backward classes by nominations. For example, if six appointments of Assistant Commissioners are to be made by direct recruitment, four of them should be filled by candidates from backward classes and the remaining two by the other class. If, however, one or more candidates of the backward classes obtain a rank in the competitive, examination, the number of candidates nominated from those classes may be reduced proportionately.

23. Substitution of English by the Vernacular in official correspondence in the districts:-In respect of the lower grades of appointment, it will, we believe, be found possible to reduce considerably the volume of English correspondence by extending the use of the vernacular, particularly in all District and Taluk offices, except when such correspondence is conducted directly with Government, and in such offices, a knowledge of Kannada and some departmental tests in Kannada such as Accounts, Revenue, Excise, Registration, Stamps, etc., seem to be quite sufficient The object is to permit a larger employment of clerks who are quite sufficiently educated in the Vernacular to perform all their duties efficiently without pursuing their studies in English to any large extent. Regarding the clerical staff of the District offices it may be sufficient to have a handwriting and dictation test like that of the Local Service Examinations to show how far the candidate is capable of dealing with the English correspondence.

We are of opinion that for the offices such as those of Sub-Registrar, Inspectors of Police and Excise and all appointments of higher status but which do not belong to the gazetted ranks of the service, the minimum qualification in English required by the present rules should be reduced, and that no higher general educational qualification than the S.S.L.C should be prescribed. In the case of Shekdars, the Lower Secondary certificate may be deemed to be a sufficient qualification.

24. Shanbhogs:- We have not overlooked the fact that there is one other class of public servants in which Brahmins preponderate or may even be said to have practically a monopoly at present, i.e., the Shanbhogs. We note, however, that these appointments are held by hereditary succession under the existing law and that legislative action will be necessary before a change can be effected.

25. Special proposal for Secretariats:- It will certainly tend to the better carrying out of the policy above sketched out if steps are taken to bring about equality in the Secretariats in three or five years instead of seven years. So much of the patronage passes through the Secretariats that this is important. The remark applies alike to Secretariat officers and Secretariat clerks.

26. Arrangements for review of progress:- To enable the people to gauge the progress made by the adoption of these reforms, it is desirable that the administration report of each year should show the proportion of Brahmins to all other classes in each grade of appointment together with number of appointments and the percentage of appointments given to the members of backward classes to the total number of appointments in each grade showing also how the principle of progressive reduction of the inequality in public service has worked during the particular year towards the attainment of the goal arrived at by these recommendations. The report may also publish what special facilities for education of the backward classes have been provided and how far they have helped the promotion of the even distribution of education in the State. It is desirable we think that a standing committee consisting of official and non-official gentlemen representing the classes for whose benefit these reforms are introduced. Should be appointed to watch the administration of the rules. And we would suggest that a Member of Council may be the President of the Committee.

It may be noted that the rules regarding the exclusion of outsiders were passed between the 9th of August 1913 and the 10th of May 1918 and the rules requiring higher educational qualifications which have in effect excluded from the public service those who are not of the Brahmin community, were also passed during the same period. Whatever the ideals of the authors of these rules may have been, they have in effect worked considerably to the detriment of the backward classes.

27. Appointment of outsiders in certain cases:- In this connection, we have considered the possibility that for a particular appointment which according to the scheme of proportionate representation, ought to go to a member of the backward classes, there may be no qualified candidate among the members of those classes. With the extension of education among them this contingently should become less and less probable, and even now, if our recommendations are accepted, can rarely occur in the case of the lower appointments. Should it secure when higher appointments are in question some of us are of opinion that it is better to invite applications from members of backward classes outside Mysore rather than to fill the vacancy by a member of another class. It is thought by those who take this view that not only will the attainment of our general aim of equality in seven years be promoted, but that it is desirable in the interests of the backward classes to secure in all grades of the service a leaven of officers of those classes who may naturally have grater sympathy and consideration for their subordinates of the backward classes than can be expected of officers of others classes. Another suggestion and one which might be applied all round is that those whom it is the fashion to style non-Mysoreans may be admitted to the Mysore services if they are educated in Mysore schools and colleges. It is said that students in Coorg, for instance, might be attracted by the proximity of the Mysore University to study there, if they could hope for admission to the service of government in Mysore, but might be deterred if they had not that hope, by the fear that a Mysore degree may not qualify them for admission to government service elsewhere. On these questions we have been unable to make an unanimous recommendation, but the view set out above has the support of all the members of the committee who represent the backward classes and so is entitled to the sympathetic consideration of the Government.

28. In regard to the third point which we are required to consider, namely, “any special measures which may be taken to increase the representation of the backward communities in the public service without materially affecting efficiency, due regard being paid also to the general good accruing to the State by a wider diffusion of education, and a feeling of increased status which, it is expected, will thereby be produced in backward communities,” we have made certain recommendations in other parts of the report, such as the appointment of a standing committee, the publication of the results of our recommendations with regard to services and education, in the annual administration report and the exemption of non-Mysoreans of the backward classes temporarily from the rules of exclusion from higher offices.

29. Social legislation:-In addition to them, Messrs. Chennaiya, Kalami and Basavaiya desire that permissive social legislation such as is projected in British India on the lines of the Honourable Mr. Basu’s Bill and the Honourable Mr. Patel’s Bill should be passed in Mysore to enable the enlightened to enjoy civic and social freedom and to create an atmosphere of greater practical liberalism and unity. Mr. Srikantesvara Aiyar, Mr. Rangiengar and Mr. Muthanna consider that such a recommendation is irrelevant, as not coming within the terms of the reference to us, and others among us are not prepared to express any opinion as to the probable value of legislation of the kind proposed to the backward classes. If there is a demand for it, it will doubtless be considered apart from any question of its effect on the public services.

We desire to express our gratitude to the Government for having given us the opportunity of representing our views on the matters referred to us.

LESLIE C. MILLER.

*C. SRIKANTESVARA AIYAR.

H. CHENNAIYA.

M. BASAVAIYA.

GULAM AHMED KALAMI.

M. MUTHANNA.

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*Subject to this note of qualification appended.

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Note of Qualification by Rajasabhabhushana, Dewan Bahadur

C. Srikantesvara Aiyar

My own views being in entire accord with the principles enunciated in Government Proceedings No. E. A. G. 308, dated 23rd August 1918, the aspirations of the backward communities for a larger share in Government appointments of all grades and for further advancement in education have my warmest and most active sympathies. It is therefore with extreme regret that I have to qualify my assent to the Report, as it has eventually emerged. I have to do so, not because any of the important conclusions in it lack my hearty approval but because I cannot subscribe to many of the arguments by which it seeks to support its recommendations. I shall, therefore confine myself to stating the points in regard to which I regret to have to differ with the views of some of my colleagues.

2. Although I am fully conscious of the grave drawbacks of the system of recruitment for public service by means of competitive examinations, I am not for its total abolition in that it is the only effective safeguard against official jobbery. In a form modified to ensure more satisfactory, its continuance is, to my mind, indispensable.

3. Earmarking a certain number of appointments for members of the backward communities and filling them up by promotions from lower grades superseding better men for no fault except that of not belonging to the class of community for which the vacancy is earmarked, is not only incorrect in principle but also unworkable in practice without detriment to the purity and efficiency of public service as a whole. Further an undue lowering of educational qualifications as a means of securing a larger proportion of the backward classes for higher appointments is a retrograde step and is inconsistent with the objects for which we have established a University. One of the most powerful incentives to higher education will have thus been taken away.

4. The proposal of importing men merely for the purpose of increasing the representation of the backward communities is contrary to the spirit of the Government Order constituting our Committee. We have only to suggest steps for encouraging the members of such communities “in the State,” to seek employment under Government in larger numbers. And it is difficult to understand how the bestowal of appointments on outsiders could be and encouragement to local citizens,

5. Shanbhogs do not come under the category of regular Government servants and any reference to them in this Report is irrelevant. Their appointment is governed by principles totally different from those obtaining in the case of the rest.

6. Social legislation is likewise a matter altogether outside the scope of this Committee’s work.

7. Lastly, the recommendations as a whole tend to perpetuate the very evil that this order of Government is seeking to remove. It is the ‘Preponderance’ of a community in public service, with its consequences, that is sought to be checked. By lumping together all the backward classes, we but actively help the pushful ones among them to tread on the toes of the others. That this is not an imaginary piece of criticism is amply borne out by the facts and figures furnished by the reports of the Scholarship Committees of the backward classes, which we have but boldly to face. They bear incontestable testimony to the universal tendency to overlook the claims of the unrepresented or more backward communities. I am, therefore, strongly opposed to the lumping together of all such classes. Each of them should have its due share of attention paid to it separately, and its interests properly safeguarded.

8. Barring these exceptions, I generally agree to the recommendations in the report. Only, I should like to emphasize that whatever may be done for the advancement, of any community, the utmost care should be taken to see that the motive to better them is not impaired, the incentive to make themselves competent is not taken away.

MYSORE.

30th July 1919. C. SRIKANTESVARA AIYAR.

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Note of dissent by Rao Bahadur M.C Ranga Iyengar on the subject matter of the reference under G. O. No. E. A. G. 308, dated 23rd August 1918

1. I desire to express my cordial sympathy with the legitimate aspirations of not only the so-called backward communities but of all backward persons the community they may belong. In a progressive State like Mysore, the ideal conditions to be aimed at for attainment should be perfect harmony among all the subjects of the State, equal enjoyment of social and political privileges and equal opportunities for battering their moral, social and economic condition. Unfortunately for reasons which it is not necessary here to discuss, the rate of progress varies with each individual and with each class of individuals. Wise statesmanship consists in making earnest, continuous and intelligent efforts to uplift laggards without retarding the progress of those classes or persons who, having taken full advantage of the existing facilities, have risen and have demonstrated their capacity for rising yet higher. I recognize that the number of backward and depressed persons in the State is unduly large, that every effort should be made to enable them to rise higher and that no stigma or disability should attach to any person merely on the score of his caste. In the attempt to devise methods of remedying existing evils the effects should be distinguished from the causes and attention should be concentrated upon the elimination of the causes-the effects too being dealt with as far as practicable. In my opinion, the root cause of the present lamentable inequalities is the want of the right kind of education. Educate the people properly, and the evils will gradually vanish.

2. The Government rightly desire to ascertain and provide special facilities to encourage higher and professional education among the members of the backward communities. I take it that such education will be based upon natural aptitude, instinctive preference and social environment of the pupils, and shaped accordingly. No amount of money which the Government can set apart for this purpose will be too much. While expressing my general agreement in the recommendations made by the President of the Committee under question II, I regret to have to respectfully dissent from-

(a) The exclusion of the backward persons belonging to communities styled forward. The number of such persons is very large and they are as much entitled to participate in the benefits of a liberal and enlightened policy as their fellow-subjects designated as backward communities ;

(b) The inclusion of the pupils of the backward communities in the distribution of general scholarships (not merit scholarships), while special scholarships, substantial in value and generous in number are and are going to be, provided for them exclusively ;

(d) The recommendations for the compulsory appointment of local sub-committees for the distribution of the special and general scholarships and freeships depriving the heads of schools and colleges of their discretion and powers of discrimination in the matter. The delegation of the work to a sub-committee will not be satisfactory and it is not right to distrust the heads of the institutions. The local committee, if appointed, may advise the headmaster or principal. The grant of a scholarship or freeship depends upon considerations, such as poverty, character, fair progress and regular attendance. The teachers are the best judges of most of these points;

(e) The reservation for the backward classes of 2/3 of the number of Indian, Foreign and Technical scholarships. My objection is to the reservation of a definite proportion of scholarships of each of these kinds and earmarking them as exclusively for the backward communities. I do not object to every eligible student of a backward community being given a scholarship. In respect of industrial and commercial education and technical education, all the communities in the State are backward and there ought to be no discrimination of students by community in the allotment of such scholarships. The reservation of a definite proportion of scholarships for any particular community has an inevitable tendency to lead to the grant of scholarships to even ineligibles of the community, when there are more scholarships than eligible applicants. If however the ineligibles are excluded, the undisposed of scholarships will lapse even while quite eligible candidates of the so-called forward classes are forthcoming and are ready to benefit themselves and the State by successfully prosecuting their studies in British India or abroad. I would therefore submit that the number of such scholarships may be fixed and available for all communities, backward as well as forward, and that while awarding the scholarships, preference may be given to eligible candidates of backward communities. This will serve the purpose intended without denying the advantages to candidates of the forward classes. But if reservation of a proportion of scholarships is necessary, the proportion should be based not upon the relative strength of populations but upon the numbers of eligible applicants for scholarships belonging to the different communities. Such proportion will necessarily vary from year to year;

(f) The preferential admission into schools and colleges of the pupils of the backward communities. This presupposes that more students apply for admission that accommodation can be found for. The point I wish to emphasize is that in view of the general backwardness of the country, the government is under a moral, if not legal, obligation to find accommodation for every student applying for admission to a school or college. If for want of accommodation boys of the ‘forward’ communities are denied admission, it will lead to woeful waste of excellent material.

3. With the spread of education, the existing differences between class and class, individual and individual will gradually decrease, and no department of human activities will long continue to be more or less a monopoly of any particular class. If Government service was, until recently, chiefly manned by members of one community, the spheres of trade, agriculture, industry, etc., were being monopolized by the members of the so called backward communities. The former by reason of heredity, environment and purely literary education had to resort to the public service as their only means of earning a livelihood. The latter by reason of their heredity, environment and training, adopted the more lucrative vocations, grew wealthy and influential. The economic activities inaugurated in the State only a few years ago have already begun to bear fruit and we find today the barriers between the ‘forward’ and the ‘backward’ classes breaking down. Members of the ‘forward’ classes are readily taking to trade, agriculture, industry and other independent walks of life while those of the ‘backward’ classes are joining the public service in steadily increasing numbers. In the years to come, the general commingling with undoubtedly be more pronounced.

4. It may be that the sparseness of the ‘backward’ classes in the public service is due to the very limited spread of English education amongst them. I venture to submit that the real reason for the sparseness is that the members of the backward communities have been finding extremely profitable avocations ready to hand and have been taking them up in preference to a clerkship or other similar post under Government where they could only eke out a bare subsistence or a little more, with no small amount of drudgery. I cannot subscribe to the proposition that for securing the esteem of one’s fellows and the feeling of increased status, service under Government is necessary. The claim of the backward classes for Government appointments ought to be pat on a broader and higher basis, viz., the right of every subject to serve the State in the capacity for which he is by nature and training best fitted. In order that he may exercise and enjoy such right he should be properly educated and suitable opportunities afforded. No one should be denied the benefits of such education and opportunities of serving the State Communities and individuals who are unwilling or unable to participate in the benefits of educations should be induced and encouraged to overcome their reluctance and difficulties and take their proper places in the economy of the State. To the subjects the Government owes the positive duty of affording every suitable educational facility and the negative duty of not debarring any subject on the ground of his case from choosing any occupation best suited to his lasts and capacity. “The patronage of the state must be regulated in the main by public competition and by the reward of merit; and the true law of progress is not the depression of the educational standard to humor the limitations of the individual, but the elevation of the individual to the level of modern competition.” – Lord Curzon.

5. With these general observations, I proceed to offer my humble opinion on questions I and III of their reference.

(a) The public service ought not to be based upon communal or proportional representation of the different communities existing in the country. The service is designed primarily to be efficient in the discharge of public duties for the benefit of the country as a whole. The only considerations that ought to govern the selection of men for public service are :-

(1) Whether the applicant is a native of the country,

(2) Whether he possesses the necessary physical and intellectual qualifications, and

(3) Good character.

For posts for which eligible men cannot be found in any community within the State, importation from outside the State is justifiable but the men imported ought to be entertained in the service only for limited periods steps during such period being taken to train up suitable young men who are natives of the State to fill such posts.

The number of important communities in the State is more than 20. Each of these communities cannot be proportionately represented in the public service and in every grade and department of it consistently with efficiency. Such representation is not even thought of or encouraged in British India where conditions similar to ours obtain.

(b) No definite proportion of appointments should be allotted to the different communities. It seems to me, and I write subject to correction, that the idea underlying the recommendations of some members of the Committee is to gradually reduce the number of Brahmin employees and increase the number of non-Brahmin employees. The division of employees into Brahmin and non-Brahmin classes and the lumping together of all the non-Brahmin communities into one class is neither warranted by the reference nor is it just and equitable to each of the communities styled ‘backward.’ The services of the Brahmin community to the State and to the Royal House of Mysore have been graciously and publicly acknowledged and appreciated by His Highness the Maharaja so recently as September 1918 when a deputation of certain members of a few communities waited upon His Highness with a prayer for communal representation on local bodies. His Highness was pleased to advise all his subjects to live in mutual amity and concord, hoped that the Brahmins would extend sympathy and help to their less-advanced brethren and assured the public that the Brahmins would not be penalized for being educated and cultured. If communal representation is deprecated in the constitution of local bodies, how can communal representation be justified in filling up posts under the Government? In every department and in every grade of service, whether you take them singly or in combination, how can the posts be proportionately allotted to the different communities which number over twenty? If the non-Brahmin communities are all lumped together and a proportion of appointments is allotted to them as a whole, will not inequalities arise by reason of the over representation of the more vocal and the non-representation or under-representation of the less vocal ‘backward’ communities ? In this connection it will be useful and interesting to ascertain the effects on communal representation which have flowed from the operation of the twenty-five per cent rule.

(c) If communal representation in Government service is insisted upon then I submit that each of the important communities should have its adequate proportion of representatives; and in regard to the determination of what is adequate proportion, I agree that “the proportion of a community’s successful candidates to its total candidates for service ought not to be less than the proportion of success to candidature achieved by another community.”

(d) In determining the eligibility of a candidate for a Government post regard should be had for his being a native of Mysore, his good character, his physical fitness and for his having successfully passed the prescribed tests. The tests, I agree, should be of the minimum standard, just necessary for securing the required qualifications for an efficient discharge of duties. The tests should be the same for all candidates to whatever community they may belong. The English language should be insisted upon only in the case of those appointments in which the knowledge of the language is absolutely necessary. There should be no differentiation of equal and nearly equal qualifications with preferential rights for appointment of those possessing only nearly equal qualifications. Where the candidates are of equal merit, those of the ‘backward’ classes may be preferred until a satisfactory proportion of them are admitted into the service.

In granting promotions, passing the tests prescribed for the higher posts may not be insisted upon in every case, provided that in the opinion of the authority making the promotion, there are good reasons for exemption.

(e) I am strongly opposed to the abolition of the Mysore Civil Service and other competitive examinations and to making more appointment by nomination than by competition.

(f) I am not in favour of fixing a higher age limit for entry into Government service in the case of candidates of the ‘backward’ classes. The age limit is fixed for a variety of reasons conducive to efficiency.

(g) I emphatically protest against the recommendation that where eligible candidates of ‘backward’ communities are not available in the state men of ‘backward’ communities outside the State should be invited and given appointments in the State. This crude and unpatriotic proposal is made to surmount difficulties arising from the adoption of the recommended communal proportionate representation, and owes its formulation to the unworthy and undeserved distrust of the sympathy of the ‘forward’ communities. After a long and arduous struggle the benign Government have openly and repeatedly decided that as a rule no one should be appointed to a place in the Government service unless as in a native of Mysore.

On the question of the permissive Social Legislation I agree with Mr. Srikantesvara Aiyar.

In view of the importance of the questions offered by the Government and on account of the differences of opinion among the members of the committee on important points. I would beg to move that the Government may be respectfully requested to publish the reports of the Committee and invite public opinion thereon.

MYSORE

M. C. RANGA IYENGAR

18th July 1919

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SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS

PUBLIC SERVICE

1. Within a period of not more than seven years, not less than half of the higher, and two thirds of the lower appointments in each grade of the service and so far as possible in each office, are to be held by members of communities other than the Brahmin community, preference being given to duly qualified candidates of the depressed classes when such are available. (Para 9) 🙁Messrs. Srikantesvara Iyer and Ranga Iyengar disagree)
2. The right course to ensure the larger employment in the public service of persons belonging to backward communities is to take the existing proportion of Brahmins to other communities in each grade of appointments together with the percentage of those communities to the total numbers of appointments in each grade and reserve as many appointments in that grade as may be necessary to secure a progressive reduction of inequality in each year and vary it each year according to circumstances in order to attain the goal which has been recommended above. (Para 11). (Do do)

EDUCATION

Primary Education – (among depressed classes).
1. A system of special Panchama schools with teachers drawn from the Panchamas, and a special inspectorate seems to be necessary. The Head of the Education department and the supervising agency generally should be selected with reference to their sympathies and general attitude towards the depressed classes. (Para 13).
(2). A large extension of the system of small scholarships or doles will be useful to overcome the reluctance of the parents to spare their children to attend schools which they are unable to do in their present condition. (Para 18).

(3) We also recommend the establishment in each district of an institution like the Central Panchama Institute in Mysore, with boarding and special facilities for general and industrial education. (Para 13).

Primary Education – (among other backward classes)
(4) For the other backward classes, we recommend a wider expansion of primary education by the establishment of more schools with competent and better paid teachers and by the strengthening of the supervising staff. (Para 13).

Secondary Education
(5) We are anxious to see an early increase in the number of Lower Secondary Schools of the Anglo-Vernacular type. Schools of the purely Vernacular type might well be converted so as to make English a compulsory subject in order to give equal opportunities to the rural as well as the urban population. (Para 14)
(6) All secondary schools and colleges should be remodeled on a sort of polytechnic basis so that those whose special aptitudes lie in the study of manual arts may be enabled to reach the stages of higher education with the assistance of their special aptitudes, and that proficiency in the studies certified by a diploma or degree might properly serve as a passport to the Government service. (Para 14).
(7) It is necessary to have a fair proportion of teachers recruited from the backward classes. (Para 15)
(8) Special or extra allowances to teachers of the backward classes may be given, not less than what is allowed in the case of Malnad service. (Para 15): (Mr. Ranga Iyengar disagree)
(9) A fair proportion of the inspectors of schools should be of the backward classes and these should also be given similar allowances. (Para 15)

Scholarships
(10) The amount of Rs. 85,000, out of the one lakh of rupees granted for students in University Entrance class, High Schools and Secondary Schools is insufficient and require to be doubled at least. (Para 16)
(11) The special scholarships should not be taken into consideration an having any bearing on the distribution of general scholarships except in so increase to prevent one student from getting two scholarships. (Para 16)

(12) For the better distribution of scholarships, we recommend the appointment of representative sub committees consisting of one or two educational officers and those non-officials representing important communities not only for special scholarships but also to allot general scholarships and free studentships in all grades of education including University. (Para 16)
(13) Two-thirds the number of existing Indian and Foreign scholarships should be reserved for backward classes for the next five years. (Para 16)

HOSTELS

(14) Hostels should be constructed in all taluk headquarter towns and there should be at least three separate kitchens in all Hostels, two for vegetarians and one for non-vegetarians. (Para 17).
(15) In Government Hostels, a certain proportion (not less than 50 percent) of seats should be reserved for pupils of backward classes. (Para 17).
(16) Private or communal hostels should be given the same grants as Government Hostels. (Para 17)
(17) The claims of backward classes should be satisfied first up to one-half the number of seats available in cuch class or section in all schools and colleges. (Para 17).

MAHOMEDAN EDUCATION

(18) The number and efficiency of Anglo-Hindustan Schools should be increased. (Para 18)
(19) In places where an adequate number of Mahomedan boys is forthcoming to join the schools Hindustani sections may be opened in some Taluk Anglo-Kannada Schools. In others, Hindustani-knowing teachers may be employed on the staff. (Para 18)

RECRITMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICE

(1) Government should lay down a policy for each department of the public service and fix the minimum educational qualifications for entry into particular grades of appointments according to the nature of their functions. (Para 20). (Mr Ranga Iyengar disgaree)
(2) In the case of candidates of the backward classes, the age limit for entry into the service may be raised from 25 to 28 years. (Para 21).

(3) All competitive examinations including Munsiffs’ examination) should be abolished, and until this is done, a larger number of the appointments in the higher grades should be given to members of the backward communities by nomination. A board of representative officers may be appointed for the selection of candidates instead of the competitive examinations. (Para 22) (Messrs. Srikantesvara Iyer and Ranga Iyengar disagree)

(4) For non-gazetted appointments, no higher general educational qualifications than S.S.L.C should be prescribed, and Lower Secondary for Shekdars. (Para 23)
(5) Steps may be taken to bring out equality in the Secretariats in three or five years. (Para 25)
(6) The administration report of each year should show the proportion of Brahmins to all other classes in each grade of appointment, together with the number of appointments and the percentage of appointments given to members of backward classes to the total number of appointments in each grade showing also how the principle of progressive reduction of the inequality in public service has worked during the particular year. The report may also publish what special facilities for the education of backward classes have been provided and how far they have helped the promotion of even distribution of education in the State. (Para 26).
(7) A standing committee consisting of official and non-official gentlemen representing the classes for whose benefit the above reforms are introduced should be appointed to watch the administration of the rules. A Member of Council may be the president of the Committee.(Para 26) (Messrs. Srikantesvara Iyer and Ranga Iyengar disagree)

(8) Non-Mysoreans educated in Mysore Schools and Colleges may be admitted to the Mysore services.

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Round Table India thanks Sridhar Gowda for sharing this report.

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