By Dr Ali Akbar Dhakan

In order to remove inequalities in the recruitment in various organizations and corporations and also provide constitutional share to all small provinces in jobs, quota system was introduced in the 1973 constitution because of the fact that before this, the backward areas and small provinces had been neglected deliberately in the recruitment of all categories of jobs by the bureaucrats belonging to the big province Punjab as they were holding the senior positions since the partition of the subcontinent and also particularly after the imposition of one Unit system in 1955 and making Lahore as the capital of four provinces of west Pakistan  just making two provinces the East Pakistan and the West Pakistan only for distribution of equal financial resources to both the provinces and not allowing the East wing their financial share according to the population basis as they had the more number of people than in the four provinces of West Pakistan had. So the distribution of sources was made on the equality basis i.e fifty fifty percent. In this way not only in the case of financial sources, the east wing was deprived but in the jobs of all kinds of categories or grades of employment imbalances were done only because of the bureaucracy belonging to the big province in the west wing. So it became necessary for the new rulers at the helm of affair in the west wing to provide equal opportunities to all the small provinces or areas in all the functions particularly in the provision of jobs. Accordingly, while preparing the first ever Constitution of the country, provisions were inserted in the Constitution and for each province, the quota system was introduced to protect the rights of the small provinces and provide them equal chances of the jobs in accordance with the population but it is the ill-luck and bad fortune of the people that all the migrants were settled in the big cities particularly having concentration in Karachi and Hyderabad. But less migration was made by the local population as they remained settled in their own small villages and towns or Rural areas which were continuously neglected in developing infrastructural facilities and also in the main fields of Economic, Educational as well as health sectors with the result that the rural people could not compete the urban people in all respects and remained backward and less developed. To remove such imbalances and inequalities and also removing the sense of deprivation from the local population living in rural areas, their rights were protected in the constitution and the quota system was introduced as the prevalent system did not provide equal chances because of the fact, all the functions of the Govt. were dealt by this bureaucracy belonging to the Urban areas who automatically did not care for the future fates and fortunes of the local people living in the less developed areas of the country. The experience has also told that even after the introduction of quota system, the strong bureaucracy has not looked after the interests of the local rural population and there is great vacuum in all the central as well as provincial Government organizations, departments, banks or corporations. We, the rural people demand that surveys of all organizations may be conducted and see as to whether the Provincial Quota has fully been observed or great vacuums can be observed in the recruitments of people of all provinces. It may be concluded that even the constitutional safeties have not been provided to the neglected sections of people and it will be great injustice if quota system is abolished. We are compelled and we are right to express only some words to say that they must be the same grabbers and encroacher of others rights who would oppose this provision given in the constitution for the downtrodden and deprived section of the poor people of Pakistan.

Dr Ali Akbar Dhakan

Chairman, Sindh Development Foundation, Karachi

dated:01-March-2012

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