NAVEEN SAJU
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, CSI COLLEGE FOR LEGAL STUDIES (CSICLS), KANAKKARY, KOTTAYAM DISTRICT, KERALA
Abstract
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
India being the largest democratic nation in the world continues to be a successful nation who provides such a predominant status for the basic, fundamental and inalienable rights which is enshrined under the Constitution of India. But to an extent, it is a clear fact that the nation faces a lot of criticisms over the age-old evil practices of discrimination and untouchability which is considered to be the biggest challenge that the so-called mother of democracy faces even after the 76th year of independence. If we are critically analyzing the issue, it is crystal clear that the changing governments from time to time can be considered as the sole reason for not fully eradicating such social evils from our society. Even though, a lot of reservation policies and affirmative actions are there under various provisions of the Constitution as well as in numerous other enactments, the implementation as well as the effectiveness is still doubtful where the real segregated class of people are not at all able to enjoy the fruits and benefits of such reservation policies. India has crossed all the limits of reservation policies which can be given to the citizens, because as of now, the country is implementing such affirmative action policies which can be considered as an antithesis to the principle of equality since the common unreserved category of people are being sidelined because of such protective discrimination. This chapter will discuss the methods on how to properly implement and effectively monitor the existing reservation policies in our nation and the scope for revisiting the reservation policies of India to preserve the interests of unreserved category as well.
KEYWORDS:Affirmative Action, Unreserved Category, Protective Discrimination, Indian Democracy, Reservation Policies, Fundamental Rights, Minority Communities