ABSTRACT
Of the plethora of social engineering programs launched by independent India to reform its essentially unequal and hierarchical social structure into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic, and to secure to all its citizens social, economic, and political justice,‡ reservations are the most important. This expression has a very unique connotation in that some legislative districts and certain quota of positions in public service are set aside for designated sectors of the population. One Western writer, Marc Galanter, produced a seminal study on this subject. But that being only an exhaustive legal interpretation, he himself conceded that were he
writing now, he would “undoubtedly pay more attention to politics and administration.”* This chapter attempts to do that by drawing a panoramic picture of this complex issue under the following headings: (1) the Indian social milieu, (2) reservations in legislatures, (3) reservations in public service, (4) politics of preference, and an (5) assessment and concluding remarks.
