Reverse discrimination
Topic: Equality and Social Justice · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Equality"
Meaning
Reverse discrimination is the critics' charge against reservations and quotas. They say quotas unfairly deny equal treatment to people outside the favoured groups. They also say that sorting people by caste or colour keeps alive the very prejudices that equality is meant to remove. Critics often add concerns about merit and the efficiency of administration, pointing to Art. 335. Supporters reply that past exclusion means some groups cannot compete on equal terms straight away.
Example
When the 27% OBC quota was challenged, the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney (1992) upheld it but set limits. It kept out the "creamy layer", the better-off members of backward classes. It also fixed a 50% ceiling on reservations. In the US, Bakke (1978) struck down fixed racial quotas.
Don't confuse with
- Equality through differential treatment: this is the defence of the same measures. It says that treating people differently can be the way to make them equal.