Tracing the origins, evolution, and current debates surrounding India’s complex reservation system, with a focus on its impact in Jammu & Kashmir and the need for reform
Reservations, also referred to as affirmative action or positive discrimination, refer to a policy of reserving a certain percentage of opportunities in jobs, education, or political representation for marginalised or underrepresented groups in society. It simply involves reserving seats or jobs for some disadvantaged groups. To correct historical injustices, ensure social equality, and guarantee fair representation, reservations or affirmative actions exist in many countries; however, these opportunities are generally limited to education and employment.
India has the most elaborate and constitutionally established reservation system in the world. The system of reservations is more widespread, structured, and highly institutionalised than almost anywhere else. In fact, the reservation system that we see today dates back to the British era. It was introduced in 1933 when the then British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald presented the communal Award. The award made certain provisions for a separate electorate for Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans, and Dalits.
After elaborate negotiations and long discussions, Gandhi and Ambedkar signed the Poona Pact, which decided that there would be a single Hindu electorate with some reservations within it. After Indian independence in 1947, reservations were initially provided only for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), with Other Backward Classes (OBCs) included later in 1991 on the recommendations of the Mandal Commission.
The reservation system in India is based on the premise of correcting historical injustices and ensuring social equality. The policy has largely been rooted in addressing social and educational backwardness.
Over the years, there has been a heated debate about the overall essence of positive action at various levels. It has been argued that there is a need to introduce a system of reservations based on economic disadvantages. The government introduced a new 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the general category, covering those not included in existing SC, ST, or OBC quotas. This was enabled by the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, which created a quota based on economic criteria. EWS beneficiaries are defined by income and assets. According to the criteria, families with an annual income below eight lakh rupees, owning limited farmland under five acres or modest residential property, and not falling under SC, ST, or OBC categories, qualify as EWS. This effectively aims to target the poorer segments within communities.
Since 2019, and following the constitutional amendment, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) also implemented a 10% reservation for EWS. This is in addition to the existing caste and community-based reservations. Most households in J&K, even the poor ones, traditionally own their own houses and land, although in some cases these are small. Since the EWS certificate requires criteria based on land and property limits, many technically poor families are excluded. Incidentally, poverty in J&K is not always income-based; people may have low income but survive on subsistence farming, horticulture, or livestock, which can make them appear relatively well off on paper.
The existing reservation landscape in J&K already includes a complex structure with categories such as SC, ST, RBA, ALC, PSP, Pahari, etc. Therefore, the relevance of EWS in J&K seems very limited.
Recent NEET results show that EWS reservations are controversial, as they often benefit middle-income families more than genuinely deserving poor. In J&K, their relevance is even weaker due to land and house ownership patterns. The recent NEET UG results have exposed the distortions caused by multiple layers of reservation. The cutoff scores for NEET 2025 are as follows: OM – Boys 531, Girls 508; RBA – Boys 503, Girls 453; ST1 – Boys 405, Girls 362; ST2 – Boys 424, Girls 393; SC – Boys 366, Girls 393; ALC – Boys 409, Girls 386; OBC – Boys 455, Girls 391; and EWS – Boys 335, Girls 285.
It has been found that, based on these cutoffs, 80% of seats under these categories go to the Jammu region, while Kashmir, which has higher merit, is left behind, resulting in discrimination or double discrimination. The NEET UG J&K 2025 cutoff chart highlights the distortions caused by multiple reservation layers. Open Merit (OM) boys needed 531 marks, while EWS girls qualified with just 285— a wide gap of 246 marks for the same MBBS seat. Similar gaps are observed across categories, with girls enjoying a 20–60 mark relaxation under the 50% gender quota, and reserved categories consistently requiring much lower scores than OM.
The EWS quota, intended for economically weaker sections, has become the least competitive route, even less demanding than SC/ST, despite its questionable relevance in the UT, where most families own a house or land. The data expose a double distortion—merit is heavily compressed in OM, especially for boys, while cut-offs under EWS and gender quotas are diluted. This raises concerns about fairness and the true benefits of reservation.
In J&K, under the reservation policy, the ‘Open Merit’ quota has been reduced to 40% or less. Many experts believe the current reservation scheme disregards the guidelines of the Supreme Court, which has capped the OM quota at 50%. This year’s NEET results show that a large number of seats were allocated to reserved categories. Such favouritism could have dangerous consequences for the quality of healthcare in J&K in the coming years and for overall administrative efficiency, as similar patterns have been observed in various job examinations conducted by JKSSB and JKPSC.
Surprisingly, job aspirants from Kashmir face what can be described as intersectional or compound discrimination. Earlier this year, the government released region-wise data in response to a query about beneficiaries from SC/ST reservations. The data, published in the Indian Express, revealed that all SC certificates issued in the state from April 1, 2023, to March 2025, were issued in Jammu. During this period, a total of 67,112 SC certificates and 539,309 ST certificates were issued in J&K. No SC certificates were issued in Kashmir in that period. Of the total ST certificates, only 79,813 (14.7%) were issued in Kashmir. All SC certificates and 85.33% of ST certificates were issued in Jammu during the same timeframe.
Similarly, the government highlighted that 268 villages in Jammu benefited under the ALC category, compared to only 16 in Kashmir. Under the IB category, 551 villages in Jammu received benefits, while no such beneficiaries were recorded across all ten districts of the Valley. Under the RBA, 1379 villages in Jammu benefited, compared to 1229 in Kashmir. The data reveals that 27,420 EWS certificates were issued in Jammu, compared to only 2,273 in all ten districts of Kashmir.
Such a discriminatory system not only undermines merit and hard work in appointments but also affects promotions across various government departments.
In J&K, the reservation policy requires rationalisation to ensure it remains fair, transparent, and constitutionally valid. With recent expansions in the Scheduled Tribe list and existing provisions for RBA, ALC, OBC, SC, ST, and EWS, the system has become complex and is rightly perceived as unequal or discriminatory. A transparent review based on social, educational, and economic indicators, along with strict enforcement of creamy-layer norms and time-bound assessments, can help balance affirmative action with merit. Such an approach would reduce perceptions of reverse discrimination while ensuring that genuinely deserving groups continue to benefit.
The writer is a columnist and academician. He writes extensively on educational, social, and youth-related issues.
Rayees Masroor
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