Bridging Gaps to Reinforcing Divides: A Critical Study of India’s Reservation System

The reservation policy in India was introduced as a temporary corrective measure to correct centuries of systematic unjust and unequal treatment of the people belonging to marginalized communities. It was the most ambitious yet debated provision incorporated in the Constitution of India by the makers of the magnificent Constitution. In recent times, this policy has given birth to many debates: while a large population believes that this policy has worked greatly, its role in expanding access to education, political representation and education has been remarkable, Critics argue that it has created intra-Caste inequalities, an imbalance between meritocracy and social justice, vote bank politics, polarization, creamy-layer abuse and certificate manipulation. Starting from the Constituent Assembly debates on reservation, focusing on the key arguments from to post- Constitutional provisions to landmark judicial rulings to the various government datasets. This paper critically examines whether reservations in India continue to function as a device of social justice or whether they have begun reinforcing socio-political divides. This paper offers a critical analysis combining legal doctrinal study of constitutional provisions and case laws with quantitative analysis of government data and a survey conducted using Google Forms, collecting responses from students & academicians of the Lovely Professional University, the paper examines how the reservation improved access to higher education but there persist underrepresentation of backward communities in public sector and professional roles despite substantial demographic weight, the paper also examines the presence of inter-caste inequalities, imbalance between meritocracy and social justice, socio-political misuse. The paper come up with recommendations like introduction of creamy layer for SCs and STs category, voluntary renouncing, shift from only caste-based reservation to mixed model caste & economic based reservation, and enforcing stricter documentation & periodic review.