Reservation to the forward castes

Reservation to the forward castes



With the introduction of 14% reservation to the poor amongst the forward castes in Rajasthan by the Ashok Gehlot’s govt, the issue of reservation has again taken the centre stage with voices clamouring for its introduction in the centre also. We have now to study the merits and demerits of this public policy issue and see whether it is an ethically sound policy.
Our Constitution enshrines the concept of equality and absence of discrimination through its various articles namely articles 15 and 16. Art 16(4) empowers the state to make any provisions for reservation in appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which in the opinion of the state is not adequately represented in the services under the state. The criteria decided for declaring some classes as being eligible for this reservation was taken as being “Socially and economically backwardness”. The principal of “compensatory discrimination” was meant to ...