An Analysis Of Reservation Policy In Indian Education System

After India’s independence in 1947, there were some major initiatives in favour of the Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) that were aimed at their social uplift.

- Aritra Mitra

A common form of caste discrimination in India was the practice of untouchability. The SCs were the primary targets of the practice, which was outlawed by the new Constitution of India. In his book, Annihilation of Caste, B.R. Ambedkar criticised the Hindu religion, its caste system and its religious texts. He argued that inter-caste marriage is not sufficient to annihilate the caste system but “the real method of breaking up the caste system was… to destroy the religious notions upon which caste is founded.”

Reservation in Indian education system

In 1954, the Ministry of Education suggested that 20% of the seats should be reserved for the SCs and STs in educational institutions with a provision to relax minimum qualifying marks for admission by 5% wherever required. In India, reservation is allotted to the ST, SC and OBC candidates in all the prestigious institutions across the country. This reservation policy has been debated over in recent times. The top educational institutions in India like the IITs, AIIMS and IIMs are highly admired. The decision of the government to execute the policy of reservation in central institutions is because of the inequality in terms of lack of access to quality education for students from these backward categories. The reservation policy is executed as to balance the inequalities faced by the SC, ST, and OBC communities.