142

* CHAPTER IX,

that of appointment to the better-paid subordinate grades. The present
 position is illustrated in the following table relating to twelve Class
I railwavs :—

Class of employees,

Gazetted officers .. ve
Subordinates drawing Rs. 260
per month and over Y.

Subordinates drawing less than
Ra. 250 per month ..

Europeans.

1.394

2.045

1.397

1 R36

Anglo-Indians.


Hindus,
Muslims
and other
Indians.

60

519

9 may

2.035

10.064

736.465

]

14.001 | 739.919

Total staff.

2,078

8,757

747.926

758.756

It has been stated to us that particular grades of railway service are
reserved, in practice if not by rule, for Anglo-Indians and that other
Indians seeking employment of that type have to enter on lower pay.
Partly in consequence of this, the former class receives advantages in
respect of promotion and other matters which are not open to all. On
behalf of the Anglo-Indians it has been urged that they have a higher standard
 of living than other Indians. and that they cannot, enter at the lower
levels.

The Government of India have declared their policy to be the
elimination of racial discrimination, and we have been supplied by the
Railway Board with a memorandum detailing the steps which have
been taken and will be taken to give effect to this policy. So far
as those in the service are concerned, the memorandum observes
that it is not practicable to withdraw concessions from those who
enjoyed them before the policy of the elimination of racial diserimination
 began to be actively pursued, and this position is not seriously
 disputed. The question of future recruitment stands in a different
 category. Here the ordinary principle of recruitment solely on the
basis of merit without regard to race or community, is modified in two
directions. In the first place, the Government of India, in order to
secure adequate representation of minority communities, have adopted the
policy of reserving one-third of the vacancies in any competitive examination
 for the redress of marked communal inequalities. In effect this
policy means that if the minority communities (z.e., Musalmans, Sikhs
and others, including Anglo-Indians) do not obtain a third of the vacancies
 by simple competition, candidates belonging to these communities
who are qualified may be preferred to better qualified candidates of the
majority community. In the second place, the Government of India