Despite comprehensive policies for equity and social justice, underprivileged sections are not yet getting…

Question

Despite comprehensive policies for equity and social justice, underprivileged sections are not yet getting the full benefits of affirmative action envisaged by the Constitution. Comment.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Affirmative action has built a floor of representation for Dalits, Adivasis and backward classes, but elite capture, shrinking public jobs and prejudice keep the poorest from its full benefit. The Rohini Commission found about 97% of central OBC benefits going to roughly a quarter of OBC castes.

**Introduction**

B.R. Ambedkar warned in 1949 that India was entering a "life of contradictions", equal in politics but unequal in social and economic life. Affirmative action under Articles 15(4), 16(4) and 46 has built a floor of representation, though not yet substantive equality.

**Policy Architecture for Equity and Social Justice**

1. **Constitutional mandate**: Articles 15(4), 15(5) and 16(4) enable quotas in education and jobs, Articles 330 and 332 reserve seats, and the 103rd Amendment (2019) added the EWS quota.
2. **Laws and watchdogs**: The Atrocities Act, 1989 is monitored by the National Commissions under Articles 338, 338A and 338B, while scholarships and Stand-Up India (2016) have helped a Dalit middle class emerge.

**Why Benefits Have Not Reached the Underprivileged in Full**

SKETCH: flow | Where Affirmative Action Leaks
- Constitutional promise
- Quotas and schemes
- Awareness and certificates
- Elite capture
- Partial benefit

1. **Elite capture**: The Rohini Commission found about 97% of central OBC benefits going to roughly a quarter of OBC castes, with 983 communities getting none; Davinder Singh (2024) allowed sub-classification of SCs.
2. **Shrinking opportunity**: Public jobs are a small share of employment, contractualisation narrows them, and the private sector has no quota.
3. **Access and prejudice**: Certificate hurdles keep Musahars and PVTGs out, while the Rohith Vemula (2016) and Payal Tadvi (2019) cases expose caste bias on campus.

**Way Forward**

1. **Targeted equity**: Use Census 2027 caste data to sub-categorise quotas, extend supplier diversity such as the 4% procurement share for SC/ST enterprises, and enforce the Atrocities Act through Special Courts.

**Conclusion**

The policies are not failing; they are reaching unevenly. Closing the gap created by capture, shrinking opportunity and prejudice is the test of Ambedkar's social democracy and of SDG 10.

Despite comprehensive policies for equity and social justice, underprivileged sections are not yet getting the full benefits of affirmative action envisaged by the Constitution. Comment.

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