000			01697nam a22001817a 4500
005			20250609063953.0
020			_a9780143472377
082			_a342.540954 _bCHA
100			_aChandrachud, Abhinav
245			_aThese Seats Are Reserved: Caste, Quotas and the Constitution of India
260			_aHaryana _bPenguin Random House _c2025
300			_a247
500			_aWORDI/2025/CRB/517 _b2025-06-02
505			_aConstitution of India
520			_aReservation or affirmative action is a hugely controversial policy in India. While constitutionally mandated and with historians, political scientists and social activists convinced of its need, many resist it and consider it as compromising 'merit' and against the principle of equality of opportunity. In These Seats Are Reserved, Abhinav traces the history and making of the reservation policy. How were groups eligible for reservations identified and defined? How were the terms 'depressed classes' and 'backward classes' used in British India and how have they evolved into the constitutional concepts of 'Scheduled Castes', 'Scheduled Tribes', and 'Other Backward Classes' in the present day? The book delves into the intellectual debates that took place on this matter in the Constituent Assembly, the Supreme Court and Parliament. Several contentious issues are examined dispassionately: are reservations an exception to the principle of equality of opportunity? Do quotas in government service undermine efficiency? Can 'merit' really be defined neutrally? What is the thinking behind the rule that no more than 50 per cent of the available seats or positions can be reserved?
650			_aConstitution of India
942			_cBK
999			_c226189 _d226189