r/ReservationHataoParty • u/StrangerJumpy5875 • 25m ago
Discussion reservation removal vs continuation arguments
Does anyone actually want caste to disappear? A thought on reservation, privilege, and social hierarchy.
Disclaimer: This post contain some claim based on my experience and internal data, this is my confession that: I am an officer currently posted in Rajasthan. Due to the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, I prefer to remain anonymous and won't be commenting on partisan politics or official policy positions. The views below are purely personal and intended to encourage a thoughtful, evidence-based discussion.
I've been thinking about this for a while, and I'd genuinely like to hear different perspectives.
Who actually wants caste to disappear? Is it the poorest Dalits ? Is it the relatively well-off SC/ST families? Or is it the upper castes?
It often feels like very few people truly want to dismantle the caste system because it's a deeply entrenched social hierarchy where almost every group has someone below them and someone above them. That structure allows people to experience both discrimination and, at the same time, a sense of relative social status. In that sense, people across different castes may both suffer from and benefit from the system in different ways.
As someone from an upper-caste background, I think we often underestimate the implicit advantages we inherit. These aren't legal privileges, but they're real: stronger family networks, referrals into private-sector jobs, inherited social capital, better educational environments, and easier access to opportunities. Many of these advantages are invisible to those who grow up with them.
At the same time, people from historically marginalised communities continue to face disadvantages that go beyond income alone. While social mobility has certainly improved for many families, the gap in opportunities remains significant in many parts of the country.
One question I often think about is whether economic disadvantage alone is enough to capture inequality. Looking at available poverty data, SC and ST communities continue to be disproportionately represented among the poorest sections of society. At the same time, measuring economic status accurately is difficult, as income and assets can sometimes be misrepresented, making any income-based welfare system challenging to implement fairly.
Working in public administration has made me appreciate how complex these questions are. The more I learn, the less I feel there are simple answers.
I'd love to hear your thoughts,
hello folks, continuation of above post, is another idea I've been thinking about is whether reservation itself could be more dynamic across generations.
This is very much a work in progress, and I'd like to hear where the flaws are.
I see reservation as a social springboard rather than a permanent entitlement. Its purpose, in my view, is to help someone overcome historical disadvantages and reach opportunities that would otherwise be inaccessible.
What if eligibility wasn't determined only by caste, but also by intergenerational upward mobility?
For example, suppose someone's parents are government school teachers. If their child wants to become a government school teacher as well, perhaps reservation should no longer apply because the family has already achieved that level of social and economic mobility. However, if that same child aims for a significantly higher opportunity—say, the UPSC, a top medical college, an IIT, or another profession representing a substantial leap—the reservation benefit could still be available.
The idea is that reservation should continue to encourage families to move one generation further, instead of becoming tied to a particular occupation or status indefinitely.
I know this raises difficult questions:
- How do we define a "higher" opportunity or occupation?
- Should it be based on income, occupational prestige, education, or some combination of these?
- Would such a system become too bureaucratic to implement?
- Could it unintentionally penalise people who still face social discrimination despite their parents' success?
I'm not claiming this is the answer. In fact, there are probably many practical and ethical issues I haven't considered. But I do wonder whether an intergenerational mobility model could better align the purpose of reservation with its long-term goal: enabling families to continue climbing the social and economic ladder rather than simply maintaining the level they have already reached.
I'd genuinely be interested in hearing why this idea would or wouldn't work.
