Nani A. Palkiwala on Reservations in Government Services

Palkiwala Nani A – Palkiwala, a leading lawyer and Constitutional Expert says that Reservation Policy suffers from five fatal flaws: – 

 The substandard replaces the standard and the reigns of power are to pass from meritocracy to mediocracy,

 It ignores the reality that there is no backward castes, but backward individuals, 

 Reservation in promotion is disastrous enough for the Civil administration, 

 It divides the country along caste lines and is against social harmony and social intermingling of various castes, and 

 Equality is the very heart of free republic, the foundation stone of true republic, the source of inspiration, the criteria for its citizenship and the hope for its welfare. The bedrock of Reservation is discrimination in reverse; it is discrimination against merit and caliber.ⁱ Palkiwala opines that Mandal has revived the casteism, which the Constitution emphatically intended to end. ⁱⁱ

i Palkiwala – Unity and Security of State at Stake Indian Express September 14, 1990).

ii Times of India. Dated, February 22, 1992.