Scheduled castes are the most backward, followed by scheduled tribes and other backward classes, shows NSSO data
In October, a two-judge Supreme Court bench commented that “national interest requires doing away with all forms of reservations in higher education”. The judges also expressed regret that “some privileges remained unchanged” even after 68 years of independence. Debate on reservations has always been of a polarizing nature in India and abroad.
Arguments for doing away with reservations after so many years of independence are based on two premises. One is that social inequalities have been bridged during this period.
Data shows this is not the case. There still exist large gaps between various social groups in terms of educational status, especially in higher education. Scheduled castes are the most backward, followed by scheduled tribes (ST) and other backward classes (OBC), National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data show. A direct consequence of this gap is a small share of SC, ST and OBCs in the regular wage and salaried employment category in comparison with upper castes, as a Plainfacts piece pointed out last month.
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