In India, one student dies by suicide every 55 minutes[1], and it’s not just because of academic failure but also because of other parameters that are often ignored. Education is considered one of the most essential foundations for growth in India. However, it comes with several flaws, such as academic pressure, grade-chasing, a focus on rote learning, limited infrastructure in the backcountry, and quality concerns. Yet, this blog will focus on one aspect that significantly impacts students but is hidden under the carpet: reservation[2], which often causes students to take such wrong steps.
Genesis of Reservation:
Reservation was initially introduced to uplift the backward caste in society, such as the Dalits (commonly known as the ‘untouchables’),[3] and as a response to historical injustice and atrocities faced by them in the past. Its main objective was to empower the weaker section of the society and give them equal opportunities. However, it went just like the saying of Aristotle- “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal” [4]. Caste-based reservation in the education sector, especially, has created a paradox in the whole system by directly contradicting the entire essence of equality.
Suggestions in Reservation Policy:
One of the most imperative criticisms is the lack of economic filtering. Students from financially privileged backgrounds avail the benefit of reservation rather than the needy ones, just because of their caste identity. At the same time, students from economically unstable backgrounds are left behind. This has created an inverse discrimination. Reservations should be made on an economic basis rather than a caste basis.[5] This will promote healthy equality amongst all the students and allow the meritorious student to steer ahead.
Some of the top elite universities in the world, like the University of Oxford, only have reservations that consider the socio-economic background of the applicant. If the student is from an underrepresented section of society and not economically well off, they can avail of its benefit; however, only if they are meritorious enough to secure a seat in that university. This gives all meritorious and deserving applicants equal opportunity, irrespective of just their caste.[6]
Problems in Caste-Based Reservation:
Caste-based reservations instil caste-based discrimination. It also leads to caste-based raggings and bullying, ultimately leading to suicides.
India’s topmost engineering institution- the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), is a prime example to showcase how reservation based on caste is making our whole education system hollow. Presently, India has 23 IITs. Over 50% of the seats are reserved for the SC (Scheduled Caste), ST (Scheduled Tribe) and OBC (Other Backward Castes) categories across all the courses in these institutes. General category students often find themselves at a disadvantage, which frustrates them. According to the reports from the year 2014 to 2021, at least 34 students died by suicide across different IITs; more than half of them were from the SC, ST, and OBC categories.[7] This shows us the caste-based isolation they face in these institutes. Caste-based ragging is the new trend in Indian Universities; students from reserved categories often feel excluded and humiliated in front of their peers. On the contrary, students from the unreserved categories feel helpless and take out their frustration from their peers.
This toxic environment creates segregation within the campuses on the mere basis of caste, which ultimately contradicts the whole point of education, which was supposed to teach them the values of unity, meritocracy and personal growth.[8]
Conclusion- the Way Forward:
It is high time for India to remove caste-based reservations, especially from the education sector, and instead introduce an economically based reservation system. The atrocities faced by the reserved categories were in the past and now have been eradicated from society. Now, it’s essential to introduce economically based reservation, which will inculcate the value of equity, sustaining the goal of uplifting certain sections of society without alienating the other.
About the Author:
I, Krishraj Singh Sikarwar, currently study in the 2nd semester of the BBA-LL.B. program at the School of Business & Law, Navrachana University, Vadodara, Gujarat. I research, write, and explore topics related to law, literature, and current affairs. This piece of blog is written and published as part of my academic assessment.
[1] Ananya Bhattacharya, In India, One Student Commits Suicide Every Hour, QUARTZ (Mar. 30, 2025, 6:42 PM), https://qz.com/india/1172651/in-india-one-student-commits-suicide-every-hour.
[2] Sumedha Mittal, Stress, dropouts, suicides: Unravelling IIT’s casteism problem, NEWSLAUNDRY (Apr. 3, 2025, 5:15 PM), https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/03/28/stress-dropouts-suicides-unravelling-iits-casteism-problem.
[3] Monika Chopra, Reservation System in India: Advantages and Disadvantages, 15(1) INT’L J. ECON. PERSP. 30–37 (2021), https://ijeponline.org/index.php/journal/article/view/4.
[4] Inderjeet Santoshi & Om Dutt, Reservation System in India: Is It Indispensable?, 9(6) INT’L J.L. 181–183 (2023), https://www.lawjournals.org/assets/archives/2023/vol9issue6/9220-1701928662406.pdf.
[5] Samarth Gosavi, A Case for Reservation on Economic Basis, THE CONTEMP. L. F. (March. 28, 2025), https://tclf.in/2025/01/25/a-case-for-reservation-on-economic-basis.
[6] Jack Grove, Oxford Experiments With Affirmative Action in Ph.D. Admissions, TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION (March. 29, 2025),https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/09/24/oxford-experiments-affirmative-action-phd-admission.
[7] Mittal, supra note 2.
[8] Sunita V.S. Bandewar, Ending Caste-Based Oppression of Students in Educational Institutions: An Unfinished Agenda, INDIAN J. MED. ETHICS, https://doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2021.007 (Apr. 1, 2025).