Reservation in India – Explained in Layman’s Terms

Reservation in India - Explained in Layman

What is meant by reservation or affirmative action?

In simple terms, reservation in India is all about reserving access to seats in government jobs, educational institutions, and even legislatures to certain sections of the population.

Also known as affirmative action, the reservation can also be seen as positive discrimination. Reservation in India is a government policy, backed by the Indian Constitution (by means of various amendments).

Reservation in India

Table of Contents

The purpose of reservation in India

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The two main aims to provide reservation as per the Consitution of India are:

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  1. Advancement of Scheduled Castes (SC) and the Scheduled Tribes (ST) OR any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens (e.g.: OBC) OR economically weaker sections (EWS) – Article 15 (4), Article 15 (5), and Article 15 (6),
  2. Adequate representation of any backward class of citizens OR economically weaker sections (EWS) in the services under the State. – Article 16 (4) and Article 16 (6)

The extent of Reservation in India

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In India, reservation is provided in:

  1. Government Educational Institutions (like IITs, IIMs, etc.) – as per Article 15 – (4), (5), and (6)
  2. Government Jobs (like IAS, IPS, etc.) – as per Article 16 – (4) and (6)
  3. Legislatures (Parliament, and State Legislature) – as per Article 334

Before 2019, the reservation was provided mainly on the basis of social and educational backwardness (caste). However, after the 103rd constitutional amendment in 2019, economic backwardness is also considered.

Apart from the reservation quota, additional relaxations like upper-age relaxations, additional attempts, and lower cut-off marks are also provided for various reservation categories.

Reservation quota in India for Government Jobs

Reservation Category vs Reservation Quota

A vacancy reserved for SCs STs or OBCs cannot be filled by a candidate other than an SC ST or OBC candidate, as the case may be.

As seen from the above table, about 60% of seats are reserved in India – for various sections like ST, SC, OBC, and EWS – with respect to Government jobs and Higher Education Institutions. 3% of seats are also reserved for differently-abled persons across all categories.

This also means that only 40% of seats are available under merit. In the merit seats, not only the general category candidates but all other categories like SC, ST, OBC, and EWS can also compete.

SC/ST Reservation

The objective of providing reservations to the Scheduled Castes(SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in services is not only to give jobs to some persons belonging to these communities. It basically aims at empowering them and ensuring their participation in the decision-making process of the State.

Besides, the state is also keen to end practices such as untouchability.

Scheduled Castes (SC) are given a 15% quota in jobs/higher educational institutions while Schedule Tribes (ST) are given a 7.5% quota in jobs/higher educational institutions.

Reservation is provided not only with respect to direct recruitment but also with respect to promotions for the SC/ST category (Article 16(4A)).

There is no concept of a ‘creamy layer’ with respect to SC/ST reservation. This means that irrespective of the income status or the government posts held by the parents, children of SC/ST parents will get SC/ST Reservations.

OBC Reservation

Reservation for Other Backwards Classes (OBC) was introduced based on the Mandal Commission Report (1991). The quota for OBCs is 27% in government jobs and higher educational institutions.

However, there is a concept of a ‘creamy layer’ with respect to the OBC reservation. Only those from OBC who come under the Non-Creamy Layer would get an OBC reservation.

The creamy layer concept brings income and social status as parameters to exclude some of the privileged members of OBC from the extent of reservation. This concept also keeps a check to ensure that the benefits of reservation do not get extended to subsequent generations.

EWS Reservation

The Central Government of India recently introduced EWS Reservation. A 10% quota is provided for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) among General Category candidates in government jobs and educational institutions. This is done by adding clauses for the same in the Indian Constitution (103rd Constitution Amendment Act, 2019).

History of Reservation System in India – Rectifying the Historical Injustice

To an extent, reservation as a policy is pursued by the State to correct the historical injustice done to certain castes by the so-called “upper castes”. The caste system that prevailed in India had alienated many “lower castes” from the mainstream – hindering their development. To a great extent, the repercussions are still felt.

The original Consitution of India provided reservation only for quota in legislatures – that too only for 10 years until 1960 (article 334). Subsequent amendments to the constitution extended the period of reservation for quota in legislatures.

Provisions of reservations in Educational Institutions and Government Jobs – article 15(4) and Article 16 (4) – were also created by means of Constitutional Amendments later. No time period is given for the validity of the reservations mentioned in Article 15(4) and Article 16(4).

The initial reservations were only for SC and ST [Article 15(4) and Article 16(4)]. OBCs were included in the ambit of reservation in 1991 [Article 15(5)]. In 2019, Economically Weaker Sections are also included [Article 15(6) and Article 16(6)].

Should India need reservations (now)?

Reserved - You cannot take this seat

It’s the duty of the government to provide equality of status and opportunity in India.

Reservation is one of the tools against social oppression and injustice against certain classes. Otherwise known as affirmative action, reservation helps in uplifting backward classes.

However, reservation is just one of the methods for social upliftment. There are many other methods like providing scholarships, funds, coaching, and other welfare schemes.

The way the reservation is implemented and executed in India is largely governed by vote-bank politics.

Indian Consitution allowed reservation only for socially and educationally backward classes. However, in India, it became a caste-based reservation instead of a class-based reservation.

Initially, the reservation was intended only for SC/ST communities – that too for a period of 10 years (1951-1961). However, it has extended ever since. After the implementation of the Mandal Commission report in 1990, the scope of the reservation was widened to include Other Backward Communities (OBCs).

The benefits of the reservation were successively enjoyed only by a few communities (or families), excluding the truly deserving ones. Even 70 years after independence, the demand for reservations has only increased.

Now, with the introduction of economic criteria for reservation, in addition to the caste criteria that already existed, things have become more complicated.

Unequals should not be treated equally, but is reservation the only solution?

Reservation in India

There is no doubt that unequal people should not be treated equally. However, is the current system of unequal treatment perfect? Is it creating more injustice? Is it the only way out in a welfare nation? It’s time to introspect.

Reservation based entirely on economic criteria is not an all-in-one solution, though family income can be one of the parameters. Also, it’s time to fix a time period for the reservation system – rather than extending it to eternity.

Denying India, the service of the meritorious candidates, who see them being overtaken by others with lesser academic performance or brilliance, is also a crime and injustice.

Aren’t there any alternative mechanisms to uplift the marginalized so that everyone gets equal opportunities? How is affirmative action done in other countries?

Reforms in the reservation system of India are the need of the hour. However, as the subject of reservation revolves around a lot of votes, parties are reluctant to disrupt the existing system.

50% Cap on Caste-Based Reservations

In Indra Sawhney vs Union Of India, 1992, the Supreme Court of India capped caste-based reservation, ruling that “no provision of reservation or preference can be so vigorously pursued as to destroy the very concept of equality”.

“Since this Court has consistently held that the reservation under Articles 15(4) and 16(4) should not exceed 50% and the States and the Union have by and large accepted this as correct it should be held as constitutional prohibition and any reservation beyond 50% would liable to be struck down.”

While introducing the bill for Economic Reservation in 2019, Arun Jaitley (Finance Minister) contended that the 50% cap on reservations imposed by the Supreme Court was only for caste-based reservations, and the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) reservation won’t be impacted by it.

Poverty cannot be the basis for providing reservations: SC

As per Article 16(4), one of the main purposes of the reservation is to provide adequate representation of all classes (castes) in government services. Economic Reservation introduced by Article 16(6) is actually against this concept – as it does not take into consideration the caste-based representation.

Moreover, the reservation is not a poverty alleviation scheme.

Supreme Court had also ruled that economic status cannot be the sole criterion for reservation.

Many states had tried to implement Economic Reservation, however, they were subsequently quashed by Courts.

Introducing the EWS bill in 2019, Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot said the similar state laws for the EWS quota were quashed by Courts because there was no provision for economic reservation in the Constitution before. Now, the Law will not be struck down by the Supreme Court if challenged as it has been brought by making required provisions in the Constitution.

Will the Reservation System in India compromise the Merit (and efficiency of the system)?

Article 335 of the Indian Constitution states that

The claims of the member of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall be
taken into consideration, consistently, with the maintenance of efficiency of administration in
the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union
or of a State.

Provided that nothing in this article shall prevent in the making of any provision in
favour of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes for relaxation in
qualifying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation, for reservation in
matters of promotion to any class or classes of services or posts in connection with the affairs
of the Union or of a State.

There is no second question that all castes/classes should be adequately represented in government services. However, which percentage can be called adequate – without compromising the merit or efficiency of the administration?

Is the current level of reservation adequate? Or is it less? Or has it already compromised the merit? What do you think?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. What is the reservation percentage in India?

Ans: In India, reservation to the SCs, STs and OBCs in case of direct recruitment on an India basis by open competition is given at the rate of 15%, 7.5% and 27% respectively.

Q. How many reservations are there in India?

Ans: Reservation in India is provided to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) at the rate of 15%, 7.5% and 27%, respectively, in case of direct recruitment on all India basis by open competition.

Q. Who created reservations in India?

Ans: William Hunter and Jyotirao Phule in 1882 originally conceived the idea of the caste-based reservation system. The reservation system that exists today, in its true sense, was introduced in 1933 when British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald presented the ‘Communal Award’. After long negotiations, Gandhi and Ambedkar signed the ‘Poona Pact’, where it was decided that there would be a single Hindu electorate with certain reservations in it.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. RACHNA says March 3, 2019 at 9:56 pm

first of all thank mam/sir , I the student of Mcs biotcetiongy and now a day I have starteded perprationof ias officer .I try my best .if u provide me a best guidance for clear this exam thanku

Thank you for the feedback. Hope the article helped you. All the best! It’s good thing to think big.First check your spellings before persuing this path Businesses start krlo

sir i am Sanju mohanan a philosophy graduate and currently working in a private firm.
I wish to clear cs in 2020 can i sir?
How can i study effectively sir?
Pls guide me sir
Hope u will reply

@Sanju – Start from ClearIAS Beginners Guide.

thank you a lot sir for this valuable topic. i am very much grateful to your notes and guidance. your writings are always pellucid. just keep motivating the aspirants by providing them with these gifts. hope to be further guided by you till i achieve my dream job…thank you again.. and namaskar..

@ Satya – Thank you for the valuable feedback. We are truly delighted to read comments like yours. Great to know that our style of presentation suits you.

Your articles and way of presenting things related to various topics of social issues have always been very lucid and appropriate. I have been following your site for 1 yr i guess and it’s quite helpful for people doing self study. Thanks allot for your valuable materials for civil service aspirants.

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Very good! article which explained the current reservation scenario in India. Those who oppose the reservation should understand the history behind it. During the time of the suffering of SC/ST since thousands of years were there no people to think about equality in the upper castes?Unless the untouchability is removed from the minds and attitude of the people, reservation for SC/ST is justifiable.
The tragedy is that the section of the people who opposed the reservation for SC/ST and other back ward sections, have readily accepted the EWS reservation.
So it shows that everyone want reservation for their benefit.

@Divya – Thank you for the valuable feedback. Happy to know that you liked the article.

its wrong part talent is never respected in india just caste is respected…… this is main reason that india is still underdeveloped

It wrongly pronounced that there is not any creamy Lear in SC reservation policy. The well settled parents children also can get reservation. It is wrong . I am being professor in history my children did not apply for scholarship or any facilities.. Second, it is wrongly pronounced that the less merits also can get service vide reservation. Now , there are many students from SC who obtain 90 to 95 % of marks. Also there is long que of candidates for few posts . The recruitment process is completed with merit list , the higher rank holders are selected . Not from low marks. It is not fault of SC ,ST candidates , but it is faults of castiest minded person who made the Castes, caste is in mind and not in human body . It is shamful for the castiest minded group of people who promote caste system in India. Freeze the all Castes , forbid the use of Caste indicating sirnames, disgnated names .

That’s why reservation quota on the basis of caste should be banned,if really talented people are getting jobs and poor people receiving benefits which given by government. Then quota will be stopped. The reservation system was only meant for 10 years as the Constitution parameter but still it is in progress due to dirty politics.One day will come in India no quota reservation rather talent.

Dear Sir, Only the Reservation system in India decides the filing of the post whether a student or a job vacancy. Everywhere else, the general pattern consists of Aptitude Test, Group Discussion and Interviews which select the candidates. (These processes are not related to any caste). So lets make such patterns for selection.

The articles are very good with each section described so well! good job sir.
espically the article on reservation was comendable.

Hello…i am swati vasava.Student from SVNIT surat.completed 2nd year in integrated master of science.i want to start upsc preparation from now.i know i should cover all NCERT books from 6 to 12 in this vacation time but i am getting confusion which language should i prefer? English or gujarati!?i completed my school life in Gujarati medium but now i am studying in CBSC board english medium. Please give me suggestion.hope to get reply soon
Thanks ☺

Dear Sir, I am Neeraj Sehrawat, I am working in domestic Company having 5 years experience as a Sr. Executive-HR/Admin and Compliance. Please guide for my best future. Thanks & Regards

The info you gave that reservation was only given for 10 year is wrong. It was political reservation which was given for 10 years, there were no limits set on economical and social reservation.

These articles are great. Kindly keep posting such articles and keep up the good work. Thank you for this website.

Writer need to work on concepts like caste in depth to have better understanding of whole issue, other countries don’t have such a brutal system like caste so we can’t even compare the issue with other affirmative actions as claimed by the writer. There is a complete lack of epistemological understanding of caste and it is reflected in the article.

Hello Team Clear IAS,
While reading your article on Reservation, It seems better and you have given more facts which are essential too. But I finf some mistakes as well.e.g. the true meaning of reservation is lacking, the main objective of reservation is also missed. In the Article You said that Reservation was for 10 year only,here you bluff because this is not the fact. The fact is Reservation was is given in 3 Broad Areas as given below,
1) Political reservation
2) Education R
3) Employment R.
So here In Political Field the reservation was given for 10 year with a provision that if this section would not get adequate representation then it would be Extend for next 10 year ( as we know the caste mentality ,bias mentality of our society). This 10 year Criteria was not applicable for Education and Employment.
You have give the best facts which are essential to know but this article seems Monotonal, Unbalanced, Acorders.. need improvement as it is most important issue. Thank you.

It is true that the Reservation in India is given in 3 broad areas.
The article explains that Original Consitution of India has provided reservation only for quota in legislatures – that too only for 10 years until 1960 (article 334).
This means the original constitution explicitly mentioned ONLY political reservation. The article also mentions that the 10-year period of reservation was only for political reservation in the original constitution. The Education Reservation (Article 15(4)) and the employment reservation Article 16(4) were created by constitutional amendments later. The educational reservation and employment reservation were not explicitly mentioned in the original constitution.
The First Constitutional Amendment Act 1951 Introduced Educational Reservation Article 15(4) while the Seventh Constitutional Amenmendent Act 1956 introduced Employment Reservation. In short, I find the above article as correct. The author has put the facts right.

The article was meant to explain the concept of reservation in laymen terms. There is no comparison made with other affirmative actions. However, the reference is made to look if there any best practices exist in other countries which we can adopt to improve our system of reservation.

It is the same we meant by writing ‘ only for quota in legislatures – that too only for 10 years until 1960 (article 334)’ and in the next paragraph, No time period is given for the validity of the reservations mentioned in article 15(4) and article 16(4).

There shouldn’t be any reservation. Still you think discrimination exist,i don’t think so. And what about those who were benefitted by reservation what they have done for upliftment of there society . Nothing!
70 years is too much for upliftment but by giving lame excuse that we have been exploited for 1000 years you can’t justify further need of reservation.
It’s all for political benefit by leaders.
Unfortunately it is never gonna to end ever. And people always remain in same state unless a new approach for upliftment is opted. Aur chalta rahega mera desh Ram bharose.

Dear Ritesh.. 1) S.C. ‘s house in most of the haryana villages exist on the outskirts and mainly on the West direction.. where s
The Sun sets…. as the upper caste sld be the 1st one to get the Surya-darshan.. 2) Funeral grounds, water-Wells are different for lower castes… 3) They still cannot perform “ghurchari” a procession during their marriage.. unlike upper-caste men… Searc for it… many got killed even in police presence.. 4) They still are called “dhed ke beej”.. (a casteist slang..) by most of the villagers.. I live in a city… still I’m aware of these discriminations… we just need to be more aware to know the REAL-TRUTH. Thankyou for your time and patience.. Thankyou🙏

Yes you are right . Its been 70 years we were not even born . I am a general and have never discriminated any one in my life but still i am facing this . Ppl kept saying we were discriminated 1000 years ago etc etc but man I don’t know who discriminated you then why i am getting punished. And if you know any one being discriminated then what have you done for them ? And if you don’t have done anything for them then stop this because you are just supporting governments tactics of vote bank .
Also We generals pay so much fees and I don’t have to explain the difference of fees between us . I respect every catagory but i have never got an answer about WHY RESERVATION EXISTS? the answer that can actually satisfy my question.
THANKYOU

there is clear adequate solution without compromising merit/efficiency.
the reservation is to protect/empower and equal opportunity in decision making.
caste/class/gender–regarding reservations to be below 50%—
taking any base year of population control imposed—
a reservation to be given below 50% of that caste’s total percentage of population-i.e.,if OBC is 41% population then the reservation for them is below 20.5%
for SC-below 9.5% out of their 19% population(SC can be subdivided as SC-A and SC-B with 5% and 4.5% out of their 10% and 9%population,actually their population is well below19%)
in reserved 50% -the eqality of women automatically reserved to 50% of those seats because women population is 50%.
in politics because of empowering necessity to to protect them -50% male and 50% female to be reserved in rotating the costituencies-or-atleast the the parties are to be ordered by court to must give 50-50 seats.

it is better that reservation should be increased to 99% and rest 1% can be competed by competent persons.

I am Jagesh Kumar MBA,PGDCA pursuing Company Secretary Executive course from ICSI. As the aim of caste based reservation was to uplift the lower caste and backward people along with the upper caste and that too for a period of 10 years, later got extended. Now the total percentage of reservation is around 59 percent. As the aim is achieved need to stop all caste based reservation and implement economic reservation say 25 percent for economically backward people from all castes whose annual income is less than or equal to 50000 or 100000 whatever the parameter is and rest 75 percent must go on open merit. Then only we can become a developed country and overcome recession.

Team ClearIAS, I would like to bring to your notice some of the contradictions in your explanatory piece on Reservation Policy in India. Though I would be happy to be proven wrong otherwise.
In the section, ‘History of Reservation System in India’, it is written that reservation policy was first instituted for a period of 10 years only for representation in legislatures both central and state with periodic extension clause. Whereas there was no time limit given for provisions of reservation in educational institutions and government jobs. There is no mention of the expiration of the same nowhere in the Constitution.
As one moves to the next section, ‘Should India Need Reservation (now)?’, it is clearly written that “Initially, reservation was intended for only SC/STs that too for only 10 years but it got extended ever since.” And, after the implementation of Mandal Commission, it included the OBCs too.
My objection is just that while it is factually correct that reservation was first introduced to cover the SC/ST communities and later it got extended to OBCs as well, but it would be incorrect to say that the validity of reservation for Sc/STs was only for 10 years. It definitely was but only in legislatures and not in educational institutions or government jobs.
I feel this point should be highlighted here as such errors or typos may mislead the general public and change the course of debate on reservation policy.
Regards,
A Critical Reader

I really thankful to u sir/ma’am for such type of notes……..now I m a doing bsc (4th sem) bt I still start preparation for upsc…….bt i usually some confused how I choose optional sub…….sir/ma’am please help me to clear this exam……

Thank you sir/madam, for providing this detailed information on reservations. బి.సిలు కు రిజ్వేరేషన్ రోష్టర్ నిబంధనలు రూల్సు తెలపగలరని విజ్ఞప్తి.

Origin of Caste based Reservation system is in Manu Smriti, in India, and under Manu Smriti, the General category people got 100 percent Caste based Reservation in Education and Employment for thousands of years, in India, and the British white people to do justice to the SC, ST, OBC category people, granted Caste based Reservation to the SC, ST, OBC people in Education and Employment in India, in the year 1936, and the 50 percent Caste based Reservation to the SC, ST, OBC people continued under the Constitution of India, in the year 1950, for the unlimited period of time, and by that way, the General category people lost 50 percent reservation, and therefore they got annoyed for it, and then they started agitations against SC, ST, OBC reservation, and started talking about Merit, and the Times World Higher Education Report 2020 says, the Oxford University, England, is at Rank – 1, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, is at Rank – 401, and yet the talk about Merit continues in India. Sir Vishal Anand, Nagpur, India.

Dear Sir Vishal Anand,
Wondering if you got your Sir title from Oxford University or Britishers gave you the title. I guarantee that you must have neither read Manu smriti, nor been to Oxford or IIT and still you like to talk about merit.

The present reservation can be raised upto 99% and rest 1% is more than sufficient for the competition.

To Vishal Anand,
1. Manusmriti or any ancient texts deals with varnas, which is based on work we do but not castes.
2. Britishers are the ones who introduced “caste” concept to create social unrest.
3. There was no rule in ancient texts to not to learn or perform. It is based on individual with merit has advantages.
4. OBC reservation has been added by indians in mandal commision during 1991 but not britishers. To All,
Definitely reservations is not effective(one and only) tool for social upliftment. Rather its been causing lack of efficiency and quality in all govt sectors.
what will address at the upbringing of tribal people who are living far away from towns and cities? Does any SC, ST reservation helps them to get into govt sectors for decision making? Now SC, ST or OBC whoever enjoyed reservations got opportunity to uplift themselves, its been 70 years which is three generations. Can’t they opt-out of reservations as they already are competent enough to participate in merit(general) category? They aren’t, which is indirectly causing imbalance to their caste categories. It is vicious cycle which is now utilized by politicians or administrators for their favour. Verdict:
Reservations has become tool for politicians and administrators for their selfish needs rather than the intention behind this concept. This is my personal view, based on 30 years of societal exposure. And yes, I’m from MERIT category.

Dear All, I am amazed to see this type of reply from well educated person about castism in India and reservation.
For getting benefits of reservation you have to be educated mentaly and economically .As after passed bill about reservation doest not mean they all started getting benefits from the day it was implemented. from my family iam the one who has got the benefits of reservation not from three generations my age 32. This is very simple and easily explainable but still people make it so critical. Yes I’m agreed that reservation is not only tool for uplifting backward class. Peoples drisciminate for 1000year will be capable to compete with so call open category after just 70years and reservation 20%.
Total India population more than 50% belongs to SC AND ST Who’s going to represent them in any social economic platform. People are talking about merits but what about opportunities. None of the communities get equal opportunity to compete with them and people talking about merits strange na. School ,collages , University and govt jobs are only platform for these communities to overcome from poverty and social economic backwardness. From my point of view why education is so expensive that people can’t even afford it which is nation requirement for development.why there is no any provision or funds allocated to these institutions to provide free education we allocate 1/3 funds to military to empower the defence but what about inside people are struggling for one time bread. This is very deep can be solved but people are talking about reservation but why it’s required no bodies care. Lower rank person get benefitted over higher rank that’s we call reservation no it’s not it’s representative of their community to equally contribution to the society of their own. 70 years reservation don’t count as three generations. Indian Commission need to go at ground level and they have to get data about why these people are not uplifted even after reservation and they have educate them about education and power of that then only India we reservation free. Please give us equal opportunity in all sector we will definitely compete prove the better result and uplift the society blaming is not the solution.

There are 4 types of reservations: 1. Political Reservation 2. Reservation in Education 3. Reservation in Employment 4. Reservation in promotion According to Article 330: SC / ST enjoys reservation in the Lok Sabha and in the Legislative Assembly as per Article 332 and Article 334 states that EVERY 10 years the reservation received in the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assembly will be REVIEWED, (not ended) after 10 years. This is the Article whose misconception is for everyone. It is a sheer lie that all kinds of reservation were only for 10 years. Now lets come to the second third and fourth type of reservation: Articles 15 and 16, which are fundamental constitutional rights, include reservation of SC / ST in education and employment in 15 (4) and 16 (4) included in it. These are fundamental rights. So no one can change them because they are fundamental constitutional rights. After the Constitution came into force, the ruling class and opposition deliberately spread the misconception that reservation in employment and education was only for 10 years. The truth that all Indians should be made aware of is that reservation in EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION is not just for 10 years. IT IS FOR GOOD. THAT MEANS FOREVER—-(unless caste is abolished). As long as the caste system remains, the reservation system will remain till then! It is true that the reservation system was meant to protect the Scheduled Castes and Tribes only temporarily UNTIL the successful ANNIHILATION OF CASTE, which most seem to have forgotten to work towards.

present reservation should be increased to 99% and 1% is more than sufficient for the competition.

your content is beneficial for many of students who really want to know about this.thank you for sharing a valuable content.

My real question would be is how many upper caste people are willing to marry freely and consider SC and ST people as their equals? Will a Brahmin Boy marry a Dailit girl of same qualifications and economic status? Caste is not in the class you are it is entwined in the mindset of Indians from Childhood. Ambedkar clearly saw this evil and did what’s best without creating a physical divide in this nation. Tell me one sanitary worker from upper caste. I heard of upper caste sanitary workers cleaning toilets used by upper caste people. Caste still remains in India and is not spoken openly in cities. But in villages it’s a daily conversation. Open the matrimonial page in a news paper, look at all the caste based requirements parents post. It sickens me to my bones to see that. And here they are trying to pluck out the bud before it has blossomed. Yes the creamy layer is the final bud that is about to blossom and pollinate thereby creating a better species of Dalits who will be ready to take on this oppression with more knowledge, money and unity.

Sir in which era you are living please tell us .
1. In india more than thousands of upper caste ppl marry lower caste ppl this concept is known as inter-caste marriage and sir it is very common now a days . [happened in my own family]
2. Many of my close friends are from lower caste and we are equal .
3. Please go and google how many upper caste ppl are working as labour’s, rickshaw pullers, cleaning toilets etc etc i hope we will get your answer which will help you get out of your imaginary era where no hindu works as mentioned above .
4. No one speaks about castes openly in cities because in cities only qualification matters .
5. In matrimony sites ever family demands for girl/boy of same catagory/caste muslim will ask for muslim , christian fir christian , general for general , SC for SC because it is arrange marriage sir and this is what happens in arrange marriage
6. Its been 70 years and buds have already bloomed now please try to get out of your imaginary era
Thankyou

I think today india needs no reservation on the basis of caste whether it is sc or obc. Reservation should only give on the basis of financial status. Every reserved caste have only two points.. First is that general caste people are rich they belong to raja/maharaja there ancestors bullied lower caste people and all that…..first of all….i am from rajput family and clearly note my words * i am not rich, i belong to economical weaker section, with inclusion of our farming income we rarely touches 4 or 5 lakh annually, we dont have our own house we still live in rented house, we dont have a car(even not a maruti) no bike, we only have a chetak scooter, we are 3 members in family and we can’t even go anywhere together on chetak beacause we are unable to fit on that together, and i am preparing for govt. Job but due to high fee of coaching institutes i am unable to go there, and also we have complementary our indian so-called quota system*. Now tell me from where you can say that general category are rich.
Now let me come to second point….reserved categories always put blame on us that there ancestors bullied the lower caste people…..now note it * if anyone do crime like murder, then who deserves punishment? That person who did murder or his next generation? Who doesnt even know for what they are being criticized……i want to know ….is this equality? *. Now one another point they have that…why dont upper castes marry in dalits?…. Let me tell you…..according to our constitution an adult can marry in any religion or any caste. What he or she want………there are tonnes of examples of intercaste marriages….
We general categories are have done alot marriages in dalits……now let me ask you….why dont you marry in muslim or christian or any other religion?
And let me come on another point…….they always say that there is no sanitary worker belongs to upper caste……. Did you know all sanitary workers personally? That with what caste they belong…….. At the end i only want to say that reservation should only be given on financial basis not on caste system…..
Thank you 🙏💕

I think today india needs no reservation on the basis of caste whether it is sc or obc. Reservation should only give on the basis of financial status. Every reserved caste have only two points.. First is that general caste people are rich they belong to raja/maharaja there ancestors bullied lower caste people and all that…..first of all….i am from rajput family and clearly note my words * i am not rich, i belong to economical weaker section, with inclusion of our farming income we rarely touches 4 or 5 lakh annually, we dont have our own house we still live in rented house, we dont have a car(even not a maruti) no bike, we only have a chetak scooter, we are 3 members in family and we can’t even go anywhere together on chetak beacause we are unable to fit on that together, and i am preparing for govt. Job but due to high fee of coaching institutes i am unable to go there, and also we have complementary our indian so-called quota system*. Now tell me from where you can say that general category are rich.
Now let me come to second point….reserved categories always put blame on us that there ancestors bullied the lower caste people…..now note it * if anyone do crime like murder, then who deserves punishment? That person who did murder or his next generation? Who doesnt even know for what they are being criticized……i want to know ….is this equality? *. Now one another point they have that…why dont upper castes marry in dalits?…. Let me tell you…..according to our constitution an adult can marry in any religion or any caste. What he or she want………there are tonnes of examples of intercaste marriages….
We general categories are have done alot marriages in dalits……now let me ask you….why dont you marry in muslim or christian or any other religion?
And let me come on another point…….they always say that there is no sanitary worker belongs to upper caste……. Did you know all sanitary workers personally? That with what caste they belong…….. At the end i only want to say that reservation should only be given on financial basis not on caste system…..
Thank you 🙏💕

Well said sir

Sir I am a statistician conducting a survey on the topic (do we still need caste based reservation in education).Can you suggest me of some questions to prepare a questionnaire.

Informative..
Thanks A Lot.
Reservation is good but need of the hour is to implement Reservation based on Economic condition.
Recently, I wrote a same article on ‘Reservation in India’ based on Data you provided in this Article.
Credit goes to you for Data. My Site link is – https://www.thepanoramaglobal.com

Of course,do you not need reservation if you are given it?
The future is the tussle for reservations by all communities and it will be revoked.

If 10% quota based on economic backward section then why it should only for general ews category ?

Because other castes already have reservation. At least 80% people who get some form of caste quota (especially OBC) wish if they can get more quota. I suspect that you belong to OBC category, so I understand why you asked that question.

Team Clearias,
Thanks for the well written article. But there are many things in the article you missed mentioning. Like Political Reservations taking away civil liberties from unreserved category people in India.
As we know GEN and OBC are banned from contesting election in 130 lok sabha districts, which I feel is quite unfair on them. In a democracy everyone should be allowed to contest elections, nobody should be banned as it is a universal civil liberty. India is the only democratic country in the world which bans hundreds of millions of people from contesting elections.
Should a democratic country have such laws which denies its own citizens democratic rights?
Shouldn’t contesting elections be everyone’s right?
But sadly in India everyone doesnt have that right.
Plus political reservations are also implemented in state and muncipal elections which means majority of the populationof our country are denied from contesting elections. This is quite bad for the democracy of our country. You missed this important point in your article. I hope you include it in your article.

What about outcome by reservation? Is it best for the system. If there’s any kind of reservation it will eventually decrease the productivity. If the system develop the backward classes automatically come forward. You know why there’s no kind of reservation in Indian cricket team because they are competing at world level if there are reservation they can’t play with their 11 best player in the country. There’s no reservations in army cause if there are unfit soldiers in army it will cost our country instantly. Everyone should get equal of opportunities not equal seats. Competition will lead the development of the country. Government should make sure that everyone should get equal opportunities instead of quotas.

I am an OBC category candidate having a valid OBC certificate, but got selected for the post of Assistant Prof in the year 2006 under general category (didn’t use by OBC cert). The category detail in my personal file in my personal file is that of UR. I have applied for getting a forwarding from my current employer for the post of Associate Prof. under OBC category in a central University, exclusively for OBC .So, am I eligible to get the forwarding for the OBC exclusive post even though I am occupying the seat of an UR in my current job.Can you please provide me some court ruling of any similar case. I would happy if you could help me.