142 
* CHAPTER IX, 
that of appointment to the better-paid subordinate grades. The pre- 
sent 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 stan- 
dard 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 diseri- 
mination began to be actively pursued, and this position is not seri- 
ously disputed. The question of future recruitment stands in a differ- 
ent 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 examina- 
tion 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 vacan- 
cies 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