By Murali Krishnan, IANS
New Delhi : India Inc. may not have to reserve jobs for the underprivileged once the government sets up the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) which will institutionalise affirmative action just like in the US. So says N.R. Madhava Menon, who has just finished a draft national policy on criminal justice to be submitted to the government.
“This Commission, when it is set up, has the potential to be the guiding light for all government policies concerning not only employment but all other areas that includes the private sector,” Menon told IANS in an interview.
“Pushing equal opportunity has its merits as it enjoins upon every organisation to factor social responsibility – both in the private and public.”
Given the responsibility of laying out the contours of EOC based on the recommendations of the Justice Rajinder Sachar report on the socio-economic conditions of Muslims in the country, Menon believes affirmative action is a historic opportunity whose time has come.
“Did you know that in America federal contracts are awarded to companies and corporations that have to be equal opportunities players, otherwise they are not eligible?” he asked.
It was US President Lyndon B. Johnson who coined the term Equal Opportunity Employment. It was created to prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, sex, creed, religion, colour or national origin.
“Let us see the terms of reference first. Only after that can I figure out whether this will be a constitutional or statutory body and the powers that will vest with the Commission,” said Menon.
Menon was told by the ministry of minority affairs to work on the charter for the Commission and the powers it would enjoy.
Assisting him in drafting the charter will be Yogendra Yadav and Javed Alam, senior fellows at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Rohington Nariman, son of eminent lawyer Fali Nariman, and Ashwini Deshpande of the Delhi School of Economics.
Menon says his first task would be study the EOCs functioning in the US, Britain, Canada and South Africa and see how best practices can be employed in the Indian situation.
Besides submitting a seminal draft national policy on criminal justice, Menon is a key member of the committee on centre-state relations and is also part of a law ministry panel to study judicial impact assessments.