The Double Edged Sword Of Equality

Explore the possibilities of an India without reservation with our new blogger Subhashree Sathe.

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On 26th January 1950 the Indian constitution was adopted giving India a legal framework that brought with it many rights, duties and most important of all, reservations. Reservations in India which were supposed to be there only for 50 years but are still existent after 70 years of independence and are found mostly in government jobs and the education system that too after grade 10. Reservation in India is predominantly caste based and not class based, hence making it debatable whether or not it is profitable to the society.

Why reservations?

The proposition in this debate claims that reservation is probably the only way to give justice to all the lower caste people who have been discriminated against for years by the deeply rooted caste system existent in the Indian social system. It is said that only if they are given some advantages over others for some years, will they come to a place where they are equal to the other components of the society, for the race to begin ‘fair’.

Do we need reservations?

However the argument does not quite impress the opposition. They claim that many of them are already in a position better than the others economically as well as socially, which is why it does not make any sense to have reservations any more. They also pose an argument that there is no need for reservations in the education system, as provisions for education must be completely merit based instead of caste based.

It also has to be taken into account that while reservation may mean providing equal opportunity to the lower caste people, it also means discriminating against the supposed upper caste people for that many years. To add more complications to the debate many urban Indians claim that the caste system is not prevalent in India, aptly ignoring rural Indians who still firmly believe in the existence of caste system.

What is the solution?

The solution that many economists and sociologists have come up with is actually in support of class based reservations. It is an apt solution and the golden pathway to equality they claim. While about 98% of lower caste Indians are supposedly poor, class based reservation also favours and makes provisions for the economically poor upper castes. Class based reservation does not literally leave any loop holes unless we take into consideration that faking one’s income and becoming poor on paper in India is not a tough job. This is rather an unending quest for equality in India.

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Written By Subhashree Sathe