Page 418 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

not be introduced.

The concept of untouchability was not practised uniformly throughout the
country; therefore the identification of oppressed classes was difficult to carry

out. Allegedly, the practice of segregation and untouchability prevailed more
in the southern parts of India as opposed to northern India. Furthermore,
certain castes/communities, considered ‘untouchable’ in one province, were
not so in other provinces. The continuous efforts of some of the social

reformers of the country like Rettamalai Srinivasa Paraiyar, Ayothidas
Pandithar, Jyotiba Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj

and others, worked to eradicate ‘casteism’.

According to the 2001 census, the SCs represented 16.20% of the
population and the STs were 8.10%. Some of the arguments/counter-

arguments put forth by anti-reservationists and pro-reservationists are:

Anti-Reservationists Pro-Reservationists

‘Men should remain in the
Lower castes no longer accept that their
same occupation and station
lower economic status, lower position in the
of their life as their
social hierarchy and lack of respect from
forefathers’ was a part of
members of higher castes are a “given” in
religious precepts and social
their social existence.
customs long ago, in India.

Opponents are unhappy because they

believe that an arbitrary socio-economic The OBCs, on the other
injustice is being committed against them hand, argue that they should

and in favour of those who have already get a greater share in
reached (or even gone beyond) a ‘level’ administrative positions

playing field, and equality of opportunity is because political power
being eroded from the point such ‘level’ resides in India’s
ground was reached by individual members administrative positions.

of a community that is only collectively They view political power as
labelled as ‘underprivileged’. They are a way to get economic