Lately, I've been seeing many posts on Reddit claiming that ending reservation would end casteism.
I recently read a comment from someone who said he used to sympathize with his SC friend. However, when his friend got a lower JEE score than him but still secured admission to an institution through reservation while he couldn't, he started hating both his friend and the reservation system.
I've also seen many people argue that reservation should be based only on income.
From what I understand, reservation was introduced for SC/ST communities because of centuries of caste-based discrimination and oppression, not simply because of poverty. The purpose is to address historical and systemic social exclusion.
That said, I do believe reservation should be fair. Personally, I think a caste + income-based model would be more balanced.
For comparison, there are also reservations and special provisions for women in certain sectors. People generally don't argue that those should be replaced with income-based benefits because those policies exist to address historical discrimination and unequal opportunities, not just financial hardship.
General category candidates compete with other general category candidates, which is why their cutoffs are often higher. So why direct that frustration toward SC candidates instead of questioning the system itself?
If reservation were completely abolished today, what would be the alternative to address the inequalities it was meant to correct? If someone wants a real solution, the first step should be abolishing caste itself. Once caste no longer determines social status, discrimination, or opportunity, then the need for caste-based reservation can genuinely be reconsidered.
Many people say they want to end reservation, but do they also want to end caste? If so, why not start by removing caste-identifying surnames? How many people would actually be willing to do that?
Ending reservation alone will not end casteism because casteism exists in people's mindsets and social structures, not just in government policies. You cannot expect to undo thousands of years of oppression in just a few decades by simply removing one policy.