The Reservation System
How India's affirmative action program reserves government jobs and university seats for historically oppressed groups, the fierce politics surrounding it, and whether it reduces or entrenches caste identity.
The Reservation Framework
India's reservation system is the world's largest affirmative action program, reserving seats in government jobs, educational institutions, and legislative bodies for historically disadvantaged groups. Scheduled Castes (formerly 'untouchables,' roughly 16.6% of the population) receive 15% of reservations. Scheduled Tribes (8.6% of the population) receive 7.5%. Other Backward Classes (OBCs), a diverse category covering roughly 40% of the population, received 27% reservations after the Mandal Commission recommendations were implemented in 1990.
The total reservation in central government institutions cannot exceed 50% under a Supreme Court ceiling set in the Indra Sawhney case (1992). Several states have attempted to breach this ceiling: Tamil Nadu reserves 69% through legislation protected by constitutional amendment. In 2019, the BJP government introduced 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) from upper castes, the first time reservation was extended on an economic rather than caste basis.
