Critically analyse the trajectory of reservation-related constitutional amendments (102nd–106th) and their implications for the basic structure doctrine.

Five of the eight amendments enacted since 2014 — the 102nd to 106th — concern reservation and representation, making affirmative action the most amended terrain of the Constitution in this period [1]. Their trajectory reveals both a widening of social justice and a recurring contest with the basic structure doctrine.

Trajectory of the amendments

• 102nd (2018): gave constitutional status to the NCBC under Article 338B, institutionalising OBC grievance redressal [1].
• 103rd (2019): introduced 10% EWS quota via Articles 15(6) and 16(6) — the first purely economic criterion for reservation [1].
• 104th (2020): extended SC/ST seat reservation under Article 334 and ended Anglo-Indian nominated seats [1].
• 105th (2021): restored States' power to identify SEBCs under Article 342A, reversing the centralising reading in the Maratha reservation case [2].
• 106th (2023): reserved one-third of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats for women through Articles 330A and 332A [3].

Implications for the basic structure

• Validation: In Janhit Abhiyan (2022), the Court upheld the 103rd Amendment, holding that economic criteria and a breach of the 50% ceiling do not violate the basic structure [4]. This calibrates, rather than abandons, the Indra Sawhney ceiling.
• Federal balance: the 105th shows Parliament using Article 368 to correct judicial interpretation — legitimate legislative response, yet it underlines that federalism itself is a basic-structure value.
• Concerns: successive amendments risk diluting the equality code under Articles 14–16 if group identification lacks empirical backing; the 106th remains contingent on delimitation and Census [3].
• Contrast: the 99th Amendment's fate shows judicial review remains an effective outer limit [1].

The trajectory reflects a maturing dialogue rather than a collision — Parliament expands the beneficiary base while the judiciary tests each expansion against equality and federalism. Anchoring future quotas in credible caste-and-income data, and operationalising women's reservation promptly, would let affirmative action advance Articles 38 and 46 while keeping the basic structure intact.