Reservation must be based on a rigorous identification of economic backwardness | The Indian Express

Reservation must be based on a rigorous identification of economic backwardness | The Indian Express

Written by Abusaleh Shariff, Mohsin Alam Bhat |Updated: May 18, 2019 9:51:59 am

The writer was membersecretary, Sachar committee  and is with the US-India Policy Institute, Washington DC.

The writer is assistant professor of law and executive director, Centre for Public Interest Law, Jindal Global Law School.

Reservation must be based on a rigorous identification of economic backwardness

The EWS reservations could add a desirable dimension to India’s reservation scheme. But this would depend on whether the policy is implemented scrupulously in line with the fundamental constitutional precepts.

The EWS reservations could add a desirable dimension to India’s reservation scheme. (Illustration: CR Sasi Kumar)

The introduction of the 124th constitutional amendment that provides the possibility of quotas for the “economically weaker sections” (EWS) has rekindled the debate on reservations. These quotas diverge from reservation policies for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other socially and educationally backward classes, by jettisoning caste or community identity as the basis of identifying beneficiary groups.