B.A.

(Dissertation)

(RESERVATION SYSTEM IN INDIA)

Dissertation submitted to Shree Ram College, Rampur, Subarnapur,

Odisha

(Affiliated to Rajendra University in partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts)

Submitted by–JITU SAHU

University Roll No– RO4721PSC049

Under the supervision of

Dr. R.N. Tripathy & Dr. G. Barik

Department of Political Science

Shree Ram College, Rampur
Odisha
2024
 Department Of Political Science, Shree, Ram College,
Rampur, Subarnapur, Odisha, 767045

Date:………………

DECLARATION

I declare that the dissertation entitled “RESERVATION SYSTEM IN INDIA”

Submitted by me in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree
of Bachelor of Arts of Shree Ram College, Rampur, Subarnapur, Odisha, is my own
work. The dissertation has not been submitted for any other degree of Rajendra
University or any other Universities.

Signature of the Candidate

CERTIFICATE

We recommend that this dissertation be placed before the examiners for evaluation.

Signature of the H.O.D(Pol.Sc) Signature of the External Examiner Signature of

Supervisors

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I dedicate this project to
my family

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Gratitude fills my heart as I reflect upon the pivotal role my parents have played in
my academic journey. With their unwavering blessings and boundless love, I stand
today having conquered this significant academic milestone. To my esteemed mentors,
Dr. R.N. Tripathy and Dr. Gunanidhi Barik, I owe a debt of gratitude beyond
measure. Their continuous encouragement, unwavering support, and invaluable
guidance have not only shaped the quality of my work but have also propelled me to
explore new horizons in academia. Their constructive criticism and insightful
suggestions have been instrumental in refining my research, and I am profoundly
grateful for their mentorship over the past three years.

A mere acknowledgment of their contribution feels insufficient, for they have not just
supervised my dissertation but have also nurtured my intellectual growth, molding my
thoughts and shaping my scholarly pursuits. I can only hope that my words
adequately convey the depth of my appreciation.

I extend my sincerest thanks to Sj. Taranisen Behera, Principal sir of SRC, whose
unwavering dedication serves as a beacon of inspiration in my life. I am indebted to
Sj. M.S. Ratha, Head of the Department, for imparting not only political knowledge
but also fostering a sense of spiritual awareness, guiding me towards a balanced life.

My gratitude extends to Mr. A. Padhan Sir, the librarian of our college, for his
invaluable assistance in providing essential materials for my research.

To my beloved family members, whose unwavering support, affection, and

encouragement have fortified my resolve, I am eternally grateful. I also extend
heartfelt appreciation to my friends for their unparalleled assistance throughout this
journey.

This work holds immense significance for me, marking a crucial milestone in my
academic odyssey and serving as a profound learning experience that will
undoubtedly shape my future endeavors.

Name: JITU SAHU

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 CONTENTS

Page no.

Chapter I: introduction

Chapter II:
1) Origin of reservation
2) Different types of reservation
3) Impact of reservation
4) Provision related to reservation
5) Reservation in other country
6) Case law
Chapter III Reservation system in India: Is it indispensable ?

Chapter IV: conclusion

BIBLIOGRAPHY :

List of Tables

Figures

Maps

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Abbreviations

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7
 INTRODUCTION

Reservation in Indian law provides for a quota system whereby a percentage of posts
are reserved for employment in Government and in the public sector units, and in all
public and private educational institutions, in order to diminish backwardness of the
socially and educationally backward communities and the Scheduled Castes and
Tribes who do not have adequate representation in these services and institutions.

The central government of India reserves 27% of higher education, and individual
states may legislate further reservations. Reservation cannot be exceeded 50%, as per
the rulings given by the supreme court, but certain Indian states like Rajasthan have
proposed a 68 % reservation.

Now % of reservation growing day by day, each politician who represents for their
caste make “rallies and andolan” to get the share in reservation,Reservation is started
as thinking to upliftment the backward caste for next 10 years but almost 70 years are
already gone but reservation never ends, no other party or political had enough
courage to raise their voice against reservation because they leave in a hear of loosing
their vote banks at the end. Simply it matter of “kisaa kursi ka”

Reservation, in India, is a type of affirmative action that tries to allocate fixed number
seats in educational and social institutions, for various under- represented
communities. It is stated as a response to the thousands of years of discrimination
done by upper caste persons in India. Thus, when India attained independence, the
constitution gave special provision for certain communities to have a minimum
representation in various fields.The initial provision was to have ended in a few years,
but the practice continues till now, and the government of India kept on increasing
the quotas that, many Institutions have more than 80% of the seats reserved for people
of various communities and other criteria, leaving very little for open competition.

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Reservations will practically pull down the mark of competence to such low levels
that the basic force of inquisitive learning is stopped at premature levels at each and
every stage of learning-school, college, university and work. Quality education takes a
back seat and glory of competent carrers will become a tale of past.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

∙ To study the positive impact of reservation system in India.

∙ To study how the backward classes in our society is getting effected.

SOURCES OF DATA
The researcher will be relying on both primary and secondary sources to complete the
project.

1. Primary Sources: Judicial statements, acts, laws under Indian constitution.

2. Secondary Sources: Books, newspapers and websites.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This research is based on doctrinal and non-doctrinal types of research work.

HYPOTHESIS
The researcher tends to favour the provisions of reservation system in India.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The researcher has monetary and time limitations in completing the project. Further
more emphasis will be given on the role of lawyers in India.
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2.1 ORIGIN OF RESERVATION

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The reservation policy is an age old policy being practiced in India. Its origin has its
roots scattered from the ancient times when the practice of ‘untouchability’, caste
system and Varna system was dominant in the society. In ancient times, the Hindu
society was divided on the basis of Varna, Jatis or classes and they were as follows in
the descending order of their social hierarchy- the Brahmans, the Kshatriyas, the
Vaisyas and the Shudras. There was another class of people or rather no class people
known as “untouchables” or “avarna” that is who has no class. These untouchables
were considered to be impure for the society and were excluded from the social
system. They had to reside outside the village and had no social rights. In some parts
of the country such as Southern India, if even their shadow was casted on the upper-
class people then it was considered that the person has got impure. There were strict
restrictions on them for social gatherings and social life and if they violated any social
norm, they were severely punished and in some cases were even killed. The division
of society on the norms of purity and impurity was a very cruel system, and it had
adverse effects on the development and growth of these lower class people where the
skill and labor of an individual were recognized merely on the
ground of him being a member of a lower caste. The epics like Mahabharata also
quote of many instances wherein a warrior like Karna was not allowed to showcase
his talent merely on the ground of him being a Shudra. He was often referred to as
‘Shudra Putra’ and humiliated because of his caste. The then prevalent caste system
was a major reason for the advent and advancement of the Reservation Policy in

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India. The idea of giving reservations to a certain class of people originated because
of the prevalent atrocities being done on the certain class of people. To give them an
equal opportunity, an equal status in society, to uplift them socially, to bring them at
par with other sections of society and moreover to bring development in the lower
strata of society, were the reasons for the adoption of Reservation Policy in India

RESERVATION POLICY IN PRE-INDEPENDENCE ERA

The legal origin of Reservation Policy in India began with lying down of the
Government of India Act, 1919 which came during the turbulent period of World War
I. During this period, the British were more focussed on Europe rather than on India
yet they passed much important and significant legislation that aimed at the
development of the Indian Territory. This Act of 1919 not only introduced several
reforms for the Indian Governmental institutions but also addressed many issues of
minorities including the formation of communal electorates. Though the system was
criticized firmly by Montague-Chelmsford as a system that could be a hindrance to
the self-development policy but because Muslims already had a communal electorate
through the Minto- Morley reform of 1909 and, therefore, they found it unfeasible to
take away the separate electorates of Muslims.

After the Act of 1919, the controversial Simon Commission came up in 1927 to
scrutinize the Montague- Chelmsford reforms. After touring the entire Indian
provinces, their representatives proposed for combining separate electorates and
reserving seats for depressed classes and demand for the wider franchise was there as
the economic, educational and social position of these depressed classes did not allow
them to vote properly. To stamp and scrutinize the report of Simon Commission and
the reforms proposed by them and how to incorporate them into new Constitution, a
Round Table Conference was convened in London in 1931. There were many Indian
delegates from various interests groups. The conference was chaired by Prime
Minister Ramsay Macdonald. There were appeals for separate electorate from B.R
Ambedkar but Mahatma Gandhi strongly opposed the appeal for separate electorate
for depressed classes and because of this strong opposition from Mahatma Gandhi and
Congress the issue of minority remained unresolved in the Conference.

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After this the Communal Award and the Poona Pact of 1932 came into force wherein
the Prime Minister Macdonald announced the communal award where the separate
representations were to be provided to Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-
Indians, Europeans and Dalits Depressed classes’ were assigned a number of seats
that were to be filled by election from special constituencies in which voters
belonging to the depressed classes could only vote.

The award brought in criticism from Mahatma Gandhi but was strongly supported by
Dr. BR Ambedkar and other minority groups. As a result, of the hunger strike by
Mahatma Gandhi and widespread revolt against the award, the Poona Pact of 1932
came into being which brought in a single general electorate for each of the seats of
British India and new Central Legislatures. The stamping of the provisions of Poona
Pact, 1932 were done in The Government of India Act of 1935 where reservation of
seats for depressed classes was allotted. This was the scenario before the
independence of India.

2.2 DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESERVATION IN INDIA

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The Indian Government’s approach towards the SC/ST population has primarily been
shaped by the provisions in its Constitution which basically guarantees equality
before the law, and empowers the State to make special provisions to promote the
educational and economic interest of the SC/ST and to provide legal and other
safeguards against discrimination in multiple spheres. The Government has applied a
two fold strategy which includes: (a) legal safeguards against discrimination, (b) pro-
active measures in the form of ‘reservation policy’ for state sector and state supported
sectors, and (c) policy in the form of informal affirmative action for private sector
(namely agriculture and private industry, in which more than 90 percent of the SC/ST
workers are engaged) as part of a general developmental or empowering measure.
Anti-discriminatory measures include enactment of Anti-untouchability act of 1955
(renamed as protection of Civil rights Act in 1979) and Schedule Caste/Tribe
Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989. Under the first Act, practice of untouchability and
discrimination in public places and services is treated as offence. The second Act
provides legal protection to SC/STs against violence and atrocities by the high castes.
Reservation for both SC/ST in government services, educational institutions and
political bodies like legislature also falls under ant-discriminatory, but pro-active
measures. These pro-active measures have been used to ensure proportional

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participation of the SC/ST in various public domains. The reservation policy is
confined to a tiny state-run and state-supported sector, whereas the vast private sector
where more than 90 per cent of the SC/ST population workers are engaged are
excluded. They therefore remain unprotected from exclusion and discrimination. In
the absence of reservation policy in the private sector, the state has used ‘general
programmes’ for economic, educational and social empowerment of the SC/ST. The
focus has been to improve the private ownership of fixed capital assets (land and
nonland), education, and improved access to social needs like housing, health,
drinking water, electricity and others. The strategy for improving or building the
private ownership of capital assets, education and social needs, which has been
generally taken as a part of the anti-poverty programme, is also used as a method of
earmarking quotas in an informal manner for the SC/ST population of the country.

1) Reservation in Government Sector

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It is important to note that the Indian affirmative action policy is confined to
government and government aided sector of services and educational institutions; the
private jobs and educational institutions are completely excluded from the purview of
the policy. Accordingly, the reservation policy is operative mainly in three spheres:
government jobs, admission to public educational institutions and seats in central,
state and local legislatures and bodies. Over a period of time, as the government
sphere expanded, so did the scope of reservations to include newer spheres like:
government housing, government spaces for shops and commercial activities and a
number of other small spheres. The most important is the reservation in government
services. Article 16(A) permits reservation in favour of backward castes and in
pursuance of this provision, the Government has made reservation for SC/ST in
proportion to their share of population (See Table 1 B). There is also reservation in
promotion of employed persons. The government services generally include
government civil service, public sector undertakings, statutory and semi-government
bodies, voluntary agencies, etc. which are under the control of the Government or
receiving grant-in-aid. However, there are also certain services at the central level that
do not come within the purview of reservation policy: these prominently include the
defense and the judiciary. Reservation policy is accompanied by an array of other
special provisions designed to facilitate and enhance the probability of the reserved
groups to compete for government jobs. These include: relaxation of minimum age
for entry into the service, relaxation in minimum standard of suitability within
reasonable limits (subject to required minimum qualification), relaxation in fee, and
provision for pre-examination training, separate interview for SC/ST persons,
provision of expert from SC/ST background on selection committee and others.

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2) Reservation in Education Sector

Second important sphere of reservation is in the education sector. Article 15(4)

empowers the State to make special provisions for the advancement of the SC/STs.
Under this provision, the State has reserved seats for SC/ST students in educational
institutions: in colleges and universities, including technical, engineering and medical
colleges run by the central and state governments and government aided educational
institutions. These provisions are supported by a number of financial schemes which
include scholarships, special hostels for SC/ST students, concession in fees, grants for
books, remedial coaching, etc.

3) Reservation in Legislative bodies

Third most important sphere of reservation is representation in the central and state
legislatures. A legislative reservation is one of the specific and mandatory
constitutional provisions dedicated to SC/STs. Under Articles 330, 332 and 334 of the
Constitution, seats are reserved for SC/STs in the central and state legislatures in
direct proportion to their population size. Similarly, reservation is provided in local
level bodies at the district, taluk and village levels. Constituencies (for the seat in
parliament and state assemblies) are reserved for SC/STs in proportion to their share
in population. Thus, at the all India level, out of the total number of parliamentary
seats, 14 per cent and 7 per cent of constituencies (or seats) are earmarked for SC/STs
respectively. Only the person from SC/ST community can contest from these reserved

17
constituencies. For example, in 2004, of the total of 543 constituencies in the
parliament, 75 were reserved for SCs and 41 for STs. The number of constituencies to
be reserved is assessed in consultation with the population census which is conducted
every ten year. The same procedure is followed at the state and sub-state level. For a
constituency to be declared reserved, that constituency must fulfill one sole criterion,
i.e. the ratio of SC/ST population to the total population in the constituency must be
comparatively large. The constitutional provision for reservation in legislative bodies
for the SC/ STs is complemented by statutory provisions which enhance political
participation from the SC/ST population. For instance, they are required to make
smaller election deposits.

2.3 IMPACT OF RESERVATION

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In this section we will first examine the impact of the reservation policy on the
employment sector, the education sector and the legislature. Later, an attempt will be
made to discuss the status of the informal affirmative action policy in the private
sector. Finally, attempt will be made to assess the aggregate impact of both formal
and informal affirmative action policies on SC/STs by using the indicators of human
development.

a)Employment Sector

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To begin with the employment sector, there has been a striking increase in the
numbers of SC/ST government employees. In 1960, there were 2,18,000 SC
employees which increased to 6,41,000 in 1991 and 5,40,000 in 2003. The
corresponding increase in the percentage of SC employees to total government
employees increased from 12 per cent in 1956 to about 16 per cent in 2003 – fairly
proportionate to their percentage share in population. In the case of ST, the numbers
increased from about 3,80,000 in 1960 to 2,03,000 in 1991 and further up to 2,11,000
in 2003; a corresponding increase in percentage from 2 per cent in 1960 to 6 per cent
in 2003. Similarly, the number of employees in public sector undertaking has
increased from 40,000 in 1970 to 2,96,000 in 2003 for SC and from 12,000 to
1,38,000 for ST during the respective years. In case of nationalized banks, the number
has increased from 4,000 in 1972 to 1,43,000 in 2000 for SC and from 400 to 43,000
for ST during the same period. The corresponding percentage has increased from 1.89
to 13.32 per cent for SC and from 00.19 per cent to 4 per cent for ST. Similarly, the
number of SC employees in nationalized banks increased from 55,000 in 1978 (10 per
cent) to l,33,000 in 2004 (17 per cent) and for ST the number increased from 8,000
(1.5 per cent) to 44,000 (5.72 per cent). In public insurance companies the number of
SC employees increased from 14 thousands in 1993 (14 per cent) to 20 thousands (16
per cent) in 2000. The number of ST employees increased from 5,000 (5 per cent) to
8,000 (6 per cent) during the same period. If we take the total number of employees in

20
three services – government, public sector undertaking and public sector banks – we
will notice that the number of employees in these three services has increased from
7,88,000 to 9,10,000 for SCs and from 2,45,000 to 3,69,000 for STs during the period,
1978-2004. The percentage of total employees also improved between 1978 and 2004;
from 15 per cent to 17 per cent in the case of SCs and from 4.7 per cent to 6.9 per cent
in the case of STs. If we also include the public sector insurance companies along
with the aforementioned three services, then the aggregate number of employees in
the employment sector for the year 2000 (the latest year for which comparable data is
available) comes to 10,70,000 for SCs and 423,000 for STs. It may be mentioned that
these do not include many other government spheres like educational institutions and
others. If we did, the absolute number of employees in reserved seats will increase
further. Thus, during the last fifty years or so, the share of SC/STs in the government
services has improved quite significantly. There are, however, variations between
different types of jobs. Generally, reservation is fairly proportionate to the required
percentage in group C and D jobs, but unsatisfactory in the case of A and B category
jobs. For effective implementation of reservation policy in jobs, the Government has
tried to developed some safeguards which include maintenance of Model Roaster for
identifying posts under reservation, separate interview of SC/ ST candidates, special
office with liaison officers to oversee Reservation policy in each office,
representatives of SC/STs on selection boards, banning de-reservation of reserved
posts, banning the full exchange of posts with general category candidates if SC/ST
category are not available and other measures. However, reservation in employment
and educational institutions, fall short of the target in some categories of jobs. There is
a tendency towards clustering of reservations in certain categories of services,
departments and grades. For instance, in 2003, the lower categories of jobs, i.e. C and
D grade posts, accounted for almost 95 per cent of the total SC/ST posts under
reservation in government. Though the target in case of grade C and D jobs are fairly
close to the reservation percentage earmarked: 16 per cent for SCs and 8 per cent for
STs, but in grade A and B jobs, and also in several categories of technical and
university jobs, the fulfillment of quotas fell short. Also, the slow pace of the process
of achieving reservation is a major impediment to fulfilling reservation quotas.
Implementation of reservations at the practical level faces immense resistance from
various spheres. This is reflected in the delay in making provisions, in filling up the
posts and resorting to courts for implementation. The magnitude of resistance is much

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intense in higher-grade jobs and more so, in technical educational institutions. It is
less in lower categories of jobs and in admissions to institutions other than technical.
Delay and resistance in provision making and in filling up posts is particularly
prevalent in the case of State aided autonomous institutions which are required to get
approval of their decision making bodies for reservation.

b)Education

In the case of admission in educational institutions, the availability of assessments

about the impact of reservation in higher education is limited. The limited evidence
indicates that the student enrolment has increased under reservation.. In 1981, one
estimate put the proportion of graduate students around 3.3 per cent for SCs and 0.8
per cent for STs – which is highly disproportionate to the actual population share of
SC/STs. By the late 1990’s, the proportion of SC students to the total number of
students enrolled rose to 7.8 per cent and for the STs, it rose to 2.7 per cent. This is
nevertheless low if we look at the actual share of the SC/ST population to the total
population – 16 per cent and 8 per cent respectively. Hence, it is difficult to estimate
how many SC/ST students have benefited by the reservation policy. One estimate
indicates that in 1996/97, roughly 5,10,000 SC students and 1,80,000 ST students
were enrolled. Of these, roughly about 2,00,000 students from both the categories
may have been enrolled in desirable programmes in higher education where
reservation matters. Weisskopf (2005) estimates conclude that about a third of SC/ST
students enrolled in universities were pursuing higher education in desirable
programmes because of the reservation policy. This implies that out of the
approximately 7,00,000 SC/ST students attending universities, only a portion of them
are enrolled into programmes of their choice; SC/STs obtain a much lower share in
preferred institutions. In many cases, despite reservation being the norm, it is accepted
only in theory and defies implementation of any sorts. Therefore, there is a substantial
amount of catching up to do in order to reach the required level of 16 per cent and 8
per cent reservation for SC/STs.

c) Legislature

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The constitutional provisions for reservation in public sector employment and
educational institutions are mere authorizations empowering the State to make special
provisions in favour of discriminated groups. But, the legislative reservations are
specifically provided in the Constitution itself. Legislative seats in each state are
reserved in proportion to the population of SC/STs in the state. Thus, in 2004, 75 seats
(13.81 per cent) of 543 seats in Lok Sabha were reserved for SCs and 41 seats (7.55
per cent) for STs. Of the total number of seats reserved in all the states’ legislative
assemblies (Vidhan Sabhas), more than 2000 seats were reserved for SC and STs. In
the case of political reservation, two problems continue to receive attention. Firstly,
the Government has been delaying the updating of the percentage share of seats for
SC/STs in the central and state legislatures as per the recent changes in population
figures. The present allocation of seats for SC/ST is based on the population census of
1981, whereby the population share of SCs is about 14 per cent and STs about 7.55
per cent. Whereas, according to the latest population census of 2001, their population
is about 17 per cent for SCs and 8.50 per cent for STs. Thus, both groups continue to
suffer from under-representation in central and state legislatures. Another issue relates
to the quality of representation afforded by the SC/ST representatives in the
legislative bodies. Of course, it cannot be denied that political reservation does
provide substantial quantitative presence of the SC/STs in the legislative bodies,
which would otherwise have been completely nil, if not for political reservations.
Nonetheless, the activities of SC/ST representatives are presumably microscopic and
concentrated on matters that affect these groups only. Also, their effectiveness in
representing the interests of the marginalised groups is most evident in their dealings
on matters directly related to their welfare. However, there have been studies that
have made the observation that there is a problem of low participation, less
articulation, less assertiveness and less independence of SC/ST representatives than
their colleagues belonging to high castes. To the extent that the problem of quality of
representation exists, it may be attributed to the “structural constraints imposed by the
arrangement for reserved seats or the method of election under reservation” (Galanter,
1991). Often, a legislator elected through reserved seat, especially a SC, is responsible
to and dependent upon a constituency made up overwhelmingly of non-members (or
high caste members). To the extent that the legislator is dependent on high caste vote
and is thus, obliged to support them; thus a SC legislative candidate suffers from the
limitation of not being able to represent fully the interests of SC/STs, who themselves

23
happen to be a minority in most of the reserved constituencies. This arrangement acts
as a filter in keeping the divergent interests of these groups from unifying and checks
direct and forceful expression of their grievances and interests. It is precisely because
of this limitation of political reservation that Ambedkar had suggested an alternative
arrangement or method of election of SC/ST representatives, namely ‘separate
electorate’ as against reservation of seats. The separate electorate would have ensured
the representation of more independent and representative legislature of SC/STs in
legislature.

d) Reservation in Private Sector

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Affirmative Action Policy One of the general qualms about public sector reservation
policy in employment and admission to educational Institutions is that it applies to a
tiny government and government supported sectors and excludes a large private
sector. For instance, in employment, the reservation policy excludes private
employment where more than 90 per cent of the SC/ST workforce is engaged; with
the result that there is lack of protection against practices of exclusion and
discrimination in the private sector. There is notable exclusion in the following
sectors – private industrial, services and agricultural. Similarly, the entire private
owned educational institutions are excluded from the provision of reservation policy.
It is only after the introduction of policy of privatization and back-door de-reservation
of government employment in the early 1990s that the demand for reservation in
private sector has picked up. And at present, the Government has set up Group of
Ministers to develop a consensus between the Government and the private sector for
adoption of Affirmative Action Policy for private sector. The informal type of
affirmative action policy in the private sector, with a group target approach, has
helped the SC/STs to some extent. However, the net gains are limited in nature since
the disparities between the SC/STs and the non-SC/STs, with respect to the main
indicators of human development, continue. It is rather difficult to disaggregate the
impact of informal affirmative action policy, as well as, of formal reservation policy,
on the human development of SC/STs.

e) Human Development of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

25
It is possible to look at some of the indicators of human development in order to
capture the aggregate impact of formal and informal affirmative action policies, as
well as, the general economic and social development trends. Over time, there has
been a positive improvement in the human development of SC/STs. The positive
changes are reflected in the aggregate indicators of human development – income
level, employment, social needs like education and health, and ultimately, in poverty.
During 1983/84 and 1999/2000, we observed an improvement in the monthly per
capita consumption expenditure (proxy indicator for income), literacy rate and
incidence of poverty of SC/STs. As mentioned earlier, the share of SC/ST employees
in government sector has significantly improved and apparently, it had positive
multiplier effects on the social and economic situation of these two disadvantaged
groups. However, it needs to be recognized that, although there has been some
improvement as reflected in some of these indicators, improvement in relation to non
SC/ST is low, or lower than the rate which is required to bridge the gap between
SC/ST and Non SC/ST groups. Hence, the disparities between SC/STs and non
SC/ST have not been reduced substantially so as to bridge the gap to a reasonable
level. Consequently, the socially marginalized groups of SC/STs lag behind the non
SC/ST section of the Indian population with respect to attaining the desirable level in
human development. For instance, in 2000, the infant mortality rate was higher
among the SC/ STs as compared to non SC/ST. Similarly, compared with non SC/ST,
the literacy rate among the SC/STs is lower by 14 per cent and 21 per cent,
respectively. The SC/STs’ monthly per-capita expenditure is less by about 25 per cent
and 34 per cent respectively, as compared with consumption expenditure of non
SC/ST. Again compared with non SC/ST, the incidence of aggregate poverty is 70 per
cent and about 100 per cent higher among the SC/STs respectively. The percentage of
under-nourished children among the SC/STs is higher by 23 per cent and 27 per cent,
respectively. Finally, the SC/STs’ access to public health services, compared with non
SC/ST, is less by 23 per cent and 44 per cent. Thus, despite an improvement at the
level of individual indicators, the level of human development among the SC/STs as
compared to non SC/ST in 2000 is relatively lower.

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 2.4 PROVISIONS RELATED TO RESERVATION SYSTEM IN
INDIA

India’s affirmative action policy, more popularly known as “Reservation Policy”, is

authored by the provisions in the Indian Constitution which was adopted in 1950,
though its initiation at the country level dates back to the early 1930s. The two
important features of the provision in the constitution which needs to be
acknowledged for the purpose of this working paper are: the principle of “Non-
discrimination and Equal opportunity” and the provisions enshrined in the
Constitution empowering the State to take steps to ensure equal opportunity. Article
16 provides for “equality of opportunity for all citizens in the matters relating to
employment or appointment to any office under the State”. It bans discrimination,
particularly in any employment or appointment to any office under the state on
grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence, or any of them.
In fact Article 17 abolished the institution of untouchability which sanctified
discrimination and exclusion of the erstwhile untouchables. The Article states:
“Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden”. Accordingly,
the Constitution empowered the state with the responsibility to ensure non-
discrimination and equal opportunity in practice. Article 46, a ‘Directive Principle of

27
State Policy’ states: The State shall promote with special care the educational and
economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social
injustice and all forms of exploitation. Such provisions in the constitution relates to
government services, education, political representation and others.

 Government Services

The constitution provides for both appointment and promotion in the government
services. Article 16 (4) empowers the State to make “any provision for the reservation
in appointments, or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens”. Article 16 (4
A) enables the State to make provision for reservation in matters of promotion to any
group or groups of posts in the services under the State in favour of the SCs and STs.
Article 335 states: The claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of
efficiency of administration, in the making of appointments of services and posts in
connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.

 Education

In the case of education, the provision relates to non-discrimination in educational

institutions, equal representations, and measures for educational promotions. Article
15 (4) states that “Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any
special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward
classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes”. Article
29(2) provides protection for admission and against discrimination in any educational
institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only
of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.

 Political Safeguards

The constitution empowers the State to take steps to provide due representation to the
SC/STs. Various articles contains provisions for the reservation of seats for the
SC/STs in the nation’s legislative bodies in proportion to their population: Central

28
Legislative Assembly (Article 330), Legislative Assembly of the States (Article 332),
in Municipalities (Article 243 T), in various Panchayat (local self government) level
bodies, namely, village, taluk (block) and district (Article 243 D).

Article 15(4) – Special Provision for Advancement of Backward Classes-

Article 15(4) is an exception to clauses 1 and 2 of Article 15, and it was added by the
Constitution (1st Amendment) Act, 1951, as a result of the decision in State of Madras
v. Champakam Dorairajan. In this case, the Madras Government had reserved seats in
State Medical and Engineering colleges for different communities in various
proportions on the basis of religion, caste and race. The state defended the law on the
ground that it was enacted with a view to promote the social justice for all the sections
of the people as required by Article 46 of the Directive Principles of State Policy. The
Supreme Court held the law void because it classified students on the basis of caste
and religion irrespective of merit. To modify the effect of the decisions, Article 15
was amended by the Constitution (1 stAmendment) Act, 1951. Under this clause, the
state is empowered to make provisions for the advancement of any socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes. After the amendment, it became possible for the state to put up a Harijan
Colony in order to advance the interest of the backward classes.

Constitution (93rd amendment) Act, 2006: Provision for Reservation of Backward,

SC and ST classes in private educational institutions (article 15(5))

The new clause 5 provides that nothing in Article 15 or in sub- clause (g) of Clause 1
of Article 19 shall prevent the state from making any special provisions, by law, for
the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for
the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in so far as such special provisions
relate to admission to educational institutions including private educational
institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational
institutions referred to in Clause (1) of Article 30..

The above-mentioned amendment has been enacted to nullify the effect of three
decisions of the Supreme Court in TM Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka, Islamic

29
Academy v. State of Karnataka and P.A Inamdar v. State of Maharashtra. In T.M Pai
and P.A. Inamdar case, it had been held that the state cannot make reservations of
seats in admissions in privately run educational institutions. In Islamic Academy case,
it had been held that the state can fix quota for admissions to these educational
institutions but it cannot fix fee, and also admission can be done on the basis of
common admission test and on the basis of merit. This Amendment enables the state
to make provisions for reservation for the above categories of classes in admission to
private educational institutions. The Amendment, however, keeps the minority
educational institutions out of its purview. Article 15 prohibits discrimination on the
ground of religion. The evil effect of reservation is well known. The politicians who
claim to take the country to the 21 st century for which higher education is based on
merit is essential, is taking a retroactive step in providing reservation to less
meritorious students to private educational institutions. This appeasement policy of
the government may get them some benefit in elections, but it would be harmful to the
Nation.

Reservation of posts in public employment on the basis of residence (Article 16(3))

Article 16(3) is an exception to clause 2 of Article 16 which forbids discrimination on

the ground of residence. However, there may be good reasons for reserving certain
posts in State for residents only. This article empowers Parliament to regulate by law
the extent to which it would be permissible for a state to depart from the above
principle.

Reservation for backward classes in public employment (Article 16(4))

Article 16(4) is the second exception to the general rule embodied in Articles 16(1)
and (2). It empowers the state to make special provision for the reservation in
appointments of posts in favor of any backward class of citizens which in the opinion
of the State are not adequately represented in the services under the State.

Article 17 talks about the abolition of untouchability and declares its practice in any
form to be an offense punishable under law.

30
The Social Security Charter of Directive Principles of State Policy under Article
39-Adirects the State to ensure equal justice and free legal aid to Economically
Backward Classes and under Article 45 imposes a duty on the state to raise the
standards of living and health of backward classes.

Articles 330-342 talk about the special provisions for the certain class of people such
as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Anglo –Indians, Linguistic minorities and
OBC

31
 2.5 RESERVATION SYSTEM IN OTHER COUNTRIES

 CANADA

Employment equity, as defined in Canadian law by the Employment Equity Act,

requires employers to engage in proactive employment practices to increase the
representation of four designated groups: women, people with disabilities, Aboriginal
peoples, and visible minorities. The Act states that "employment equity means more
than treating persons the same way but also requires special measures and the
accommodation of differences."

The Act requires that employers remove barriers to employment that disadvantage
members of the four designated groups. The term reasonable accommodation is often
used for the removal of such barriers to employment. Examples of employment
barriers are wheelchair inaccessible buildings, or practices that make members of a
designated group uncomfortable. Employers are also required to institute positive
policies for the hiring, training, retention, and promotion of members of the
designated groups. Examples of positive policies include recruitment in Aboriginal
communities, job advertisements in a Chinese-language newspaper, or an apprentice
program directed toward people with disabilities.

 UNITED KINGDOM

The Equality Act 2010 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, and has the
same goals as the four major EU Equal Treatment Directives, whose provisions it
mirrors and implements.

The primary purpose of the Act is to codify the complicated and numerous array of
Acts and Regulations, which formed the basis of anti-discrimination law in Great
Britain. This was, primarily, the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act
1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and three
major statutory instruments protecting discrimination in employment on grounds
of religion or belief, sexual orientation and age. It requires equal treatment in access
to employment as well as private and public services, regardless of the protected
characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership,

32
race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. In the case of gender, there are
special protections for pregnant women. The Act does not guarantee transsexuals'
access to gender-specific services where restrictions are "a proportionate means of
achieving a legitimate aim". In the case of disability, employers and service providers
are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments to their workplaces to overcome
barriers experienced by disabled people. In this regard, the Equality Act 2010 did not
change the law. Under s.217, with limited exceptions the Act does not apply
to Northern Ireland.

 CHINA

In the People's Republic of China the government had instated affirmative

action policies called Youhui zhengce when it began in 1949 and became an explicit
policy in the mid-1980s. The policies giving preferential treatment to ethnic
minorities in China were modeled after those by the Soviet Union. Three principles
are the basis for the policy: equality for national minorities, territorial autonomy, and
equality for all languages and cultures. The dissolution of the USSR was studied by
China; economic inequalities and power imbalances were found to be the cause of the
collapse, and the findings led to a new policy, Law on Autonomy for Minority
Regions.

No taxes in minority regions are required to be sent to the central government; all of it
can be spent locally. Minorities receive proportional representation in local
government. Higher-level jurisdictions ask lower-level minority areas to put forth
"extensive efforts to support the country's construction by providing more natural
resources" and in exchange gives them infrastructural subsidies such as personnel
training, budgetary subventions, and disproportionate public works investments. The
Chinese government encourages business to hire minorities and offers no-
interest loans to businesses operated by minorities. Prominent government posts may
be filled with "model" citizens who are also minorities. There is a system of
universities exclusively for minority students. The government established bilingual
programs to help minorities learn Mandarin Chinese. Scholars are creating alphabets
for minority languages that had not been previously written as a way of preserving
those languages. The Chinese government officially allows minority parents to have

33
two children per family instead of the one demanded for Han people as part of
the One Child Policy.

 SRI LANKA

The policy of standardization was a policy implemented by the Sri Lankan

government in 1971 to rectify disparities created in university enrollment in Sri
Lanka under Colonial rule. In 1972, the government added a district quota as a
parameter within each language. In 1946 minister C. W. W. Kannangara introduced
free education in all the government institutions in Sri Lanka. Government funded all
the money by bearing the expenses. 30% of university places were allocated on the
basis of island-wide merit; half the places were allocated on the basis of comparative
scores within districts and an additional 15% reserved for students from under
privileged districts.

 TAIWAN

The Council of Indigenous, formerly known as the Council of Aboriginal Affairs, is a

ministry-level body under the Executive Yuan in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It
was established to serve the needs of the country's indigenous populations, as well as
a central interface for the Taiwan's indigenous community with the government.

The Council promotes the use and revitalization of Taiwan's aboriginal languages,
supported legislation that would grant autonomous land to indigenous peoples,
strengthened relations between Taiwan's indigenous groups and those in other
countries, and raised awareness of aboriginal cultures. Among its responsibilities, it
grants recognized status to indigenous tribes of Taiwan.

The Council has been criticized by both indigenous and non-indigenous individuals
and groups. These criticisms tend to accuse the Council of ineffectiveness, and of
discriminating against plains aborigines. After the enactment of a 2000 law which
required the Taiwanese government to either allocate time slots on public television to
aboriginal culture and education or to create a channel solely devoted to aboriginal

34
issues, the Council began to push for a channel to be made. In 2005, the channel was
finally created, becoming the first such channel in Asia.

 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Affirmative action in the United States is a set of laws, policies, guidelines, and
administrative practices "intended to end and correct the effects of a specific form of
discrimination." These include government-mandated, government-sanctioned, and
voluntary private programs that tend to focus on access to education and employment,
specifically granting special consideration to historically excluded groups such
as racial minorities or women. The impetus toward affirmative action is redressing the
disadvantages associated with past and present discrimination. Further impetus is a
desire to ensure public institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and police forces,
are more representative of the populations they serve.

In the United States, affirmative action tends to emphasize not specific quotas but
rather "targeted goals" to address past discrimination in a particular institution or in
broader society through "good-faith efforts ... to identify, select, and train potentially
qualified minorities and women." For example, many higher education institutions
have voluntarily adopted policies which seek to increase recruitment of racial
minorities. Another example is executive orders requiring some government
contractors and subcontractors to adopt equal opportunity employment measures, such
as outreach campaigns, targeted recruitment, employee and management
development, and employee support programs.

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 2.6 CASE LAWS

 Indra Sawhney V. Union of India– The Mandal Case

The 9 Judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court by 6:3 majority held that the
decision of the Union Government to reserve 27% Government jobs for backward
classes provided socially advanced persons- Creamy Layer among them are
eliminated, is constitutionally valid. The reservation of seats shall only confine to
initial appointments and not to promotions, and the total reservations shall not exceed
50 percent. The court accordingly partially held the two impugned notifications (OM)
dated August 13, 1990, and September 25, 1991, as valid and enforceable but subject
to the conditions indicated in the decision that socially advanced persons- Creamy
layer among Backward Classes are excluded. However, the court struck down the
Congress Governments OM reserving 10% Government jobs for economically
backward classes among higher classes.

After the landmark Mandal case, Article 16(4-A) (through 77 th Amendment) and
16(4-B) (through 81st Amendment) were added. According to clause 4-A, nothing in
this Article shall prevent the state from making any provision for reservation in
matters of promotion to any class or classes of posts in the service of state in favour of
the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which in the opinion of the State, are not
adequately represented in the services under the State.”

36
Clause 4-B seeks to end the 50% ceiling on the reservation for SCs/STs and BCs in
backlog vacancies which could not be filled up in the previous years due to the non-
availability of eligible candidates.

85th Amendment Act replaces the words “in matters of promotion to any class” in
clause 4- A of Article 16 with words “in matters of promotion, with consequential
seniority, to any class.”

 Ashok Kumar Thakur vs. Union Of India

Ashok Kumar Thakur v. Union of India is an Indian public interest litigation case
challenging the conclusion of the Mandal Commission that about 52% of the total
population of India belonged to Other Backward Classes classification. The National
Sample Survey Organisation had estimated the OBC segment to be 32 per cent.

In April 2006, the government decided to reserve nearly 27% of seats for students
from the OBC segment in institutes of higher learning in India. This would have
reduced the seats for a general, unreserved candidate to about 50% (after taking into
account other reserved seats). The Indian parliament passed a bill to bring out an
amendment in the constitution in this regard. Thakur challenged the validity of the
amendments. On 10 April 2008, the Supreme Court of India upheld the Government's
27% OBC quotas in Government funded institutions. The Court categorically
reiterated its prior stand that "Creamy Layer" should be excluded from the ambit of
reservation policy and private institutions are also not to be included in. The verdict
produced mixed reactions. Several criteria to identify creamy layer has been
recommended, which are as follows:

Those with family income above Rs 250,000 a year should be in creamy layer, and
excluded from the reservation quota. Also, children of doctors, engineers, chartered
accountants, actors, consultants, media professionals, writers, bureaucrats, defence
officers of colonel and equivalent rank or higher, high court and Supreme Court

37
judges, all central and state government Class A and B officials. The court has
requested Parliament to exclude MPs’ and MLAs’ children, too.

JUDGEMENTS:

1. The Constitution (Ninety-Third Amendment) Act, 2005 does not violate the "basic
structure" of the Constitution so far as it relates to the state maintained institutions and
aided educational institutions.

2. "Creamy layer" principle is one of the parameters to identify backward classes.

Therefore, principally, the "Creamy layer" principle cannot be applied to STs and
SCs, as SCs and STs are separate classes by themselves.

3. The Parliament should fix a deadline by which time free and compulsory education
will have reached every child. This must be done within six months, as the right to
free and compulsory education is perhaps the most important of all the fundamental
rights (Art.21 A). For without education, it becomes extremely difficult to exercise
other fundamental rights.

4. Held that the determination of SEBCs is done not solely based on caste and hence,
the identification of SEBCs is not violative of Article 15(1) of the Constitution.

38
 3. Reservation system in India: Is it indispensable ?

Introduction

“The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” - Aristotle

According to the oxford dictionary, the word ‘Reserve’ means something that you
keep for a special reason or to use at later date and the term reservation means a seat,
table, room, etc. that you have booked. In the Indian perspective, reservation refers to
the act of reserving a fixed number of seats in government jobs, legislatures, and
educational institutions for the weaker section of society. The reservation policy was
introduced as affirmative action, with an idea of ensuring the equality and adequate
representation of backward classes in every service under the state. The reservation
policy in India was adopted with a reason to uplift certain castes who were subjugated
to atrocities, social and economic backwardness due to the prevalent dominance of
caste system in Hindu Society

Historical Aspect

Reservation policy in India was originally developed by William Hunter and Jyotirao
Phule in the year 1882. The basic principle behind the reservation was the Caste
System and the malpractice of untouchability in India, however, the present prevailing
reservation system in India was introduced in 1933 by British Prime Minister Ramsay
Macdonald in the form of the Communal Award. Under the provisions of the
communal award, there were separate electorates for Europeans, Anglo-Indians,
Indian Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and the Dalits. But on 24th September 1932 when
the Poona Pact agreement between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar was signed, it
was decided that for Hindus there would be a single elective with certain reservations
for the depressed classes in it. When the constituent assembly was framing the
Constitution of India, social discrimination based on the case system was a big
hindrance to equality in society. So, the provision of reservation for the socially
backward classes was introduced in the Constitution of India. Reservations were
initially introduced for a period of 10 years and only for SCs and STs, but it kept on
extending with several changes. The period of reservation was further extended to
2030 by the 104th Amendment

39
Provisions of Reservation in Constitution of India for SC’s/ ST’s/OBC’s/EWS

 Article 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution enabled the Central and State
Governments to reserve seats in government services for the members of the
SC’s and ST’s
 Constitution (77th Amendment) Act, 1995 and a new clause (4A) was inserted
in Article 16 to enable the government to provide reservation in promotion.
Later on, clause (4A) was modified by the Constitution (85th Amendment)
Act, 2001 to provide consequential seniority to SC’s and ST’s candidates
promoted by giving reservation. Constitutional 81st Amendment Act, 2000
inserted Article 16 (4 B) which enables the state to fill the unfilled vacancies
of a year which are reserved for SCs/STs in the succeeding year, thereby
nullifying the ceiling of fifty percent reservation on total number of vacancies
of that year
 Article 330 and 332 provides for specific representation through reservation of
seats for SCs and STs in the Parliament and in the State Legislative
Assemblies respectively.
 Article 243D provides reservation of seats for SCs and STs in Panchayat
 Article 233T provides reservation of seats for SCs and STs in every
Municipality.
 Article 335 of the constitution says that the claims of STs and STs shall be
taken into consideration without compromising the maintenance of efficacy of
the administration.
 Part XVI of the constitution of India deals with reservation for SC’s and ST’s
in Central and State legislatures.
 103rd Constitutional amendment provides 10% reservation for Economically
Weaker Section (EWS) in the general category under articles 15(6) and 16(6).

After the recommendation of Mandal Commission, OBCs were also included

in the ambit of the reservation and were given 27% of reservation, 15% seats
are reserved for SC category and 7.5% for ST category, on 14 January 2019
when the 103rd Constitutional amendment was enforced; 10% reservation was
given to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in the general category
under articles 15(6) and 16(6) of the Constitution of India. Reservation for the

40
 EWS category was given over and above the existing 50% reservation for
SC/ST/OBC categories.

Landmark Judgments on Reservation in India

 State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan AIR 1951 SC 226

Case was the first major verdict of the Supreme Court on the issue of
Reservation. The Supreme Court in the case pointed out that while in
the case of employment under the State, Article 16(4) provides for
reservations in favour of backward class of citizens, no such provision
was made in Article 15. Pursuant to the Supreme Court's order in the
case the Parliament amended Article 15 by inserting Clause (4).
Hon’ble court also held that caste-based reservations as per Communal
Award violative of Article 15(1) of the constitution.
 M. R. Balaji v. State of Mysore AIR 1963 SC 649
court held that the government’s 68% reservation on college
admissions was deemed excessive and unreasonable, and was capped
at 50%. Almost all states except Tamil Nadu (69%, under 9th
schedule) and Rajasthan (68% quota including 14% for forwarding
castes) have observed this 50% ceiling.
 Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of India AIR 1993 SC 477
AIR 1993 SC 477 The court upheld separate reservation for OBC in
central government jobs, but excluded these to the “creamy layer” (the
forward section of a backward class, above a certain income), also held
that total reservation cannot exceed 50%. Judgement implemented,
with 27% central government reservation for OBCs. The court
examined the scope and extent of Article 16(4). Contrary to this
Parliament enacting 77th Constitutional Amendment Act which
introduced Article 16(4A). The article confers power on the state to
reserve seats in favour of SC and ST in promotions in Public Services
if the communities are not adequately represented in public
employment.

 M. Nagaraj v. Union of India (2006) 8 SCC 212

41
 case while upholding the constitutional validity of Art 16(4A) held that
any such reservation policy in order to be constitutionally valid shall
satisfy the following three constitutional requirements:
- The SC and ST community should be socially and educationally
backward
- The SC and ST communities are not adequately represented in Public
employment.
- Such reservation policy shall not affect the overall efficiency in the
administration.
 Ashoka Kumar Thakur Vs Union of India (2007) 4 SCC 361
In the year 2005, the government introduced the 93rd constitutional
amendment act. With the enactment of the act, Article 15 (5) was
inserted in the constitution of India. Article 15 (5) provides reservation
to the socially and educationally backward classes in the relation to
admission in public and private educational institutions. But this
amendment was challenged on the ground that it is against the
principle of equality and violative to the basic structure of the
constitution. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of
this amendment while saying that that reservation provides an extra
advantage to those who without such support cannot dream of
university education. It was held that:
o 93rd constitutional amendment act does not violate the basic
structure of the constitution as it only moderately abridges or
alters the principle of equality.
o Reservation in educational institutions is a part of affirmative
action
o Social and financial status must be studied for the identification
of backward classes.
o Caste or economic backwardness should not be the sole criteria
of the reservation. For reservation social, economic, and
educational backwardness should be considered together.
o Creamy layer exclusion principle should not be extended to
SCs and STs

42
  Jarnail Singh vs Lachhmi Narain Gupta AIR 2018 SC 4729
Hon’ble Supreme Court held that reservation in promotions does not
require the state to collect quantifiable data on the backwardness of the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. The Court also held that
creamy layer exclusion extends to SC/STs and, hence the State cannot
grant reservations in promotion to SC/ST individuals who belong to
the creamy layer of their community

Arguments against Reservation System

 Quotas based on the reservation are a form of discrimination against

other citizens, which is contrary to the right to equality guaranteed
under the Constitution of India.
 In the socially backward section of society, only the economically
sound people take most of the benefits of the reservation and the rest of
the section remains deprived due to lack of knowledge and awareness,
thus it ruins the aim of reservation, marginalized section among
backward section still remains marginalized
 The caste-based reservation policy is promoting the caste system,
instead of abolishing it. People are using it as a tool to meet their
political benefits.
 Reservation may adversely affect the educational, economic growth of
India because it does not ensure the efficiency of people who get
selected by way of the quota system in educational institutes as well as
in other sectors.
 Reservation schemes do not elevate the quality of education and work
efficiency of employees, rather degrades it
 In the caste-based reservation system, the economically backward
section of the upper caste does not get any benefit whereas the
economically well-off section from backward and lower caste enjoys
the privilege of it.

43
  Reservation agitations may cause social unrest by creating the feeling
of discrimination among the different castes and classes of society.

Arguments favours Reservation System

 The most fundamental principle of justice is one that has been widely accepted
since it was first defined by Aristotle more than two thousand years ago is the
principle that “equals should be treated equally and unequal unequally.” In its
contemporary form, this principle is sometimes expressed as follows:
“Individuals should be treated the same, unless they differ in ways that are
relevant to the situation in which they are involved.” For example, if Jack and
Jill both do the same work, and there are no relevant differences between them
or the work they are doing, then in justice they should be paid the same wages.
And if Jack is paid more than Jill simply because he is a man, or because he is
white, then we have an injustice—a form of discrimination—because race and
sex are not relevant to normal work situations. Considering this view
reservation can be the criteria to uplift the society.
 Affirmative action of reservation has socially and economically uplifted a
large section of the underprivileged and marginalized population of India.
Reservation to the tribal groups (STs) has helped the members of the tribal
community to improve their representation in educational institutes and
services of the state by minimizing the disadvantages faced by them due to
lack of resources.
 Reservation to the OBCs has helped the left-out section of society who was
backward in terms of education and other resources.
 Reservation to the economically weaker section of society (EWS) has helped
the section of society that was socially forward as compared to SCs and STs
but was economically weaker. This section was deprived of education and
resources because of poor financial conditions.
 Reservation helps in providing the same level of playing field to every citizen
of the country. It helps socially and educationally backward sections of society
who are deprived of money, education, and other resources. Without
reservation, it was nearly impossible for them to match with the rest of
society.

44
  The reservation system in India has improved the delivery of justice to every
section of society by providing free legal aid to the members of SCs, STs, and
women, who otherwise would suffer due to lack of money, knowledge, and
awareness.

Equality is the essence of the constitution of India. Reservation policy provides

special privileges and extra protection to certain classes of people in the society. The
intention of reservation policy to provide reservation as a form of affirmative action
so that the disadvantaged groups can match up with the mainstream of the society.
This policy was enacted for a period of 10 years, but it is continuing till today by way
of extension. To achieve the final aim of the reservation, that is, to overcome the
historical injustice, provide a level playing field for all, ensure adequate
representation of all and to ensure equality among all, the caste system and other
discriminations must be completely abolished, as it will help to reduce the disparity
between the people of the country. But until the final aim is achieved, it is very
important that the fruits of reservation policy must reach the people who literally
require it. Reservation is fair, as far as it provides appropriate positive discrimination
for the benefit of the downtrodden and economically backward Sections of the society
but when it tends to harm the society and ensures privileges to some at the cost of
others for narrow political ends, it should be done away with. Meritocracy should not
be polluted by injecting relaxation of entry barriers, rather than it should be
encouraged by offering financial aid to the underprivileged. A strong political will is
indispensable to find an equilibrium between justice to the backwards, equity for the
forwards and efficiency for the entire system. If reservation is indispensable, Social,
educational and economic criteria should be taken cumulatively to determine the
backward classes of the society. Reservation should not be provided perpetually
generations after generation. So that the fruits of the reservation can be provided to
people who really deserve this kind of affirmative action. Simultaneously equal
importance should be given for the abolishment of the caste system, malpractice of
untouchability, and other sorts of discrimination from our society. So that equality in
society can be ensured.

4. CONCLUSION

45
The reservation policy in India was adopted with a reason to uplift certain castes who
were subjugated to atrocities, social and economic backwardness due to the prevalent
dominance of caste system in Hindu Society.

This reason has somewhere lost its essence in the modern era, and the castes that
should be actually benefitted are not being benefitted, and the others are reaping the
benefits of the reservation system that are actually not meant for it. Today, the
reservation system has just become a tool for politicians to gain vote banks. The
recent agitation from the Patels of Gujarat to include them in the category of OBC
was shocking for the entire nation, as the people who were agitating to get
reservations in the state of Gujarat were in no ways socially and economically
backward.

In the State of Tamil Nadu, the reservation system proved to be a havoc for the
society wherein the Brahmans had very cleverly churned themselves down in the
league of the backward bandwagon and had gained enormously from the reservation
system.

For these possible reasons, the Creamy Layer has been excluded from the list of
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBC after the landmark Mandal Case.

In one of the landmark decisions of Ashok Kumar Thakur v. Union of India, Justice
Ravindran smelling the dangers from the present trend on the reservation had rightly
opined that when more people aspire for backwardness instead of forwardness, the
Country itself stagnates.

It is quite impossible to declare Reservation policy as good or bad as those benefitting

from it would always support it and declare it to be good while those who are being at
a loss because of the system would always curse it and declare it to be bad. But what
matters the most is not that whether the reservation policy is good or bad instead what
matters is the idea and the reason behind its adoption. If that reason is losing its
essence, then, of course, the reservation policy would gradually turn out to be bad.

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The political indulgence in the process of reservation has merely reduced from a
noble idea to a strategy to increase the vote bank. Moreover, a lot of criticism has
been made on the criteria of reservations. The socially and economically backward
classes are not actually in practical and real sense socially and economically
backward, the only stamp of being from a backward caste is enough to gain profits in
the name of reservations.

The reservation policy is good till the point some deserving candidate is not missing
upon his opportunity because of the prevalent reservation system. I find no reason for
giving admissions to undeserving students over deserving students. If these classes of
people have been denied opportunities in past, then the scenario is being repeated with
the general class in the present. The undeserving should not reap the fruits of the labor
of the deserving.

We also need to understand that when we talk about development then simultaneously
we cannot talk about backwardness. If we would demand more and more
backwardness, then it is obvious we cannot move forward, and we will not be able to
move forward, our progress would ultimately get stagnant.

It is also important that the essence of the idea of the adoption of reservation policy
should be maintained, and the actual backward classes who are in real and not fiction
denied access to education, job opportunities etc be benefitted.

This reservation policy should not become a ladder to climb on the stairs of profit,
money and other related interests for those who are just roaming with the stamp of
being a backward class and are actually socially and economically much more stable
than the general class.

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRIMARY SOURCES
1. Constitution Of India

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2. 85th Constitutional Amendment Act 2001

3. The Constitution (Ninety-Third Amendment) Act, 2005

SECONDARY SOURCES
BOOKS-
1. Sahoo, Niranjan Reservation Policy and its implementation across
domain in India:An Analytical review
(Academic Foundation (1 November 2009))

2. Sukhdeo & Chittaranjan Reservation in Employment, Education, and legislature-

status and emerging issues (Working Paper Series
2007)

3. Rana, Mulchan Reservations In India ( Concept Publishing Company

(2008))

4. Vijayan, P.P Reservation policy and judicial activism, (Kalpaz

publications) (2006)

Chapter 2 5. Prakash, Chowdhuri Caste System, Social Inequalities and

Reservation Policy in India, (LAP Lambert Academic
Publishing (5 June 2012))

JOURNAL ARTICLE-
Chapter 3 1. Thomas E. Weisskopf, Impact of Reservation on Admissions to Higher
Education in India, Vol. 39, EPW 4339, 4339 (2004)

Chapter 4 2. G. Thimmaiah, Implications of Reservations in Private Sector, Vol. 40,

EPW 745, 745 (2005)

INTERNET-
1. www.knowledgeofindia.com
2. www.realityviews.in
3. www.youthkiawaaz.com
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4. www.blog.ipleaders.in
5. www.hindustantimes.com
6. www.legalservicesindia.com
7. www.indiatvnews.com
8. www.dartmouth.edu
9. www.indianexpress.com
10. www.gov.uk
11.www.ncls.org

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