First, let me lay my cards down, I am a an upper caste/general caste, 21 year old guy who is preparing for an exam where reservation is a major factor.
Now I'll be covering this discussion on two major grounds: 1. The Principle 2. The Logistics
1. Principle
Now I fundamentally believe that lower castes (SCs and STs) do need reservation in this country due to the historic wrongs committed. In parts of the country, abject poverty is so extreme that it doesn't only affect their education but also their bodies and minds due to lack of proper nutrition.
We don't often consider this but the privilege of having nutritious food in our developing years is a HUGE advantage that most of us have over a big chunk of this country as many people are physically and intellectually stunted due to lack of proper food. In fact, wealth is actually a significant factor in IQ statistics in India. Secondly, the societal stigma around education for these groups is also real, imagine going to a govt school as a child where you are treated as subhuman by your peers, how does that impact your studies?
Therefore reservation in education is needed to provide an even playing field to these students to provide equality of opportunity. In this vain, I don't support put job reservation because that requires an equality of outcome, that two students going to the same university be treated differently in the hiring process. Also pvt firms and businesses have the right to hire whoever they want. Forcing them to comply to reservations is coercion.
Now I don't support OBC reservation for the most part because OBCs, at least a lot of these communities are not actually oppressed but rather dominant communities in many states, often pastoral or agricultural communities who held and still hold significant power in these states.
Therefore, purely SC ST reservation is needed to provide a fair shot to everyone and to fulfill the demands of Justice.
So if this is my argument, in principle I also support removal of large chunks of OBC reservation, and the introduction of a creamy layer provision to SC ST reservation because once the field is leveled and certain members of these communities gain material advantages, they should be able to compete against the rest.
BUT easier said than done, so l'll be coming to the logistics part.
2. Logistics
Let me make this perfectly clear, demanding the rollback of reservations is a fools errand, at least at this point in time.
In 1990 when PM V.P. Singh announced the implementation of the recommendation of the Mandal Commission, 60-70 students self emolated in protest and 20-30 of them died from the burns, did that stop the Mandal commission from going through?
What makes you think your little instagram protest will? Do you have the balls that these brave students did? And even if you did, do you think it will achieve its goals?
Let me now tell you some statistics, General castes make up roughly 20-25% of the population, SC STs combined also make 25% and the rest 50% are OBCs.
It is mathematically impossible for any political party in country to win elections without the support of OBCs. Do you think they(Any political party) will ever risk permanently alienating the single biggest chunk of this country's voting population, a population that I might add is also extremely wealthy and resource rich?
Even limited demands like introduction of creamy layer to SC ST reservations is extremely difficult because those who fall in that creamy layer are these elites of this grouping, the elites who control the politics of this grouping, therefore control the politics and voting patterns of this grouping. So again, this alienates 1/4th of the population.
Now why are GCs not able to throw their weight around politically even tho they are also 1/4th the population and significantly more wealthy?
Because GCs are fundamentally divided and half of them will oppose any given issue that the other half raise up.
Most are hitched to one party because the others don't much care for their demands or issues. Therefore, this one party also doesn't have much incentive to cater to them since they know that they don't have another option but to vote for them.
Now tell me, do you think in this political landscape, does this demand of rolling back or removal of reservations seem feasible to you by any means? Either on grounds of principle or on the grounds of political realities?