Reservation policy in India has evolved from social justice to economic justice. Comment with reference to the EWS quota.

Q. Reservation policy in India has evolved from social justice to economic justice. Comment with reference to the EWS quota. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Reservation in India began as a remedy for social and educational backwardness rooted in caste. The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, inserting Articles 15(6) and 16(6) to give 10% quota to Economically Weaker Sections, marks a genuine widening towards economic justice — but a supplement to the social-justice framework, not a replacement of it. [1]

Evidence of the shift towards economic justice - Purely economic criterion: EWS is India's first reservation resting on income and assets alone — family gross annual income below ₹8 lakh, with exclusions for a residential flat of 1,000 sq ft and above, or plots of 100/200 sq yards in notified/other areas. [2] - New beneficiary class: it covers the poor not already covered by SC, ST or SEBC reservation, treating deprivation among "forward" castes as a distinct disadvantage. [3] - Judicial endorsement: in Janhit Abhiyan (November 2022) the Supreme Court upheld the amendment, accepting economic backwardness as a valid basis for affirmative action and permitting EWS to sit over the Indra Sawhney 50% ceiling. [1] - Wider reach: it extends to admissions in Central and private educational institutions, excluding minority institutions. [1]

Why social justice remains the core - EWS is additive, not substitutive — SC/ST/OBC quotas remain intact, since caste disability is social, not merely financial. [3] - The design leans on self-declared income and asset certificates, and the uniform ₹8 lakh ceiling ignores regional cost-of-living variation, raising targeting concerns. [2] - Untouchability, discrimination in hiring and low representation persist irrespective of income — problems no income ceiling addresses.

Thus reservation policy has broadened rather than pivoted: economic justice now runs alongside social justice as a second track of the equality guarantee. Sharper identification tools — verified income-asset data and periodic review of the ceiling — can make EWS deliver on its promise. Read with Articles 14 and 46 and SDG-10 on reducing inequalities, the quota completes, rather than dilutes, the constitutional vision of substantive equality.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Amendment) Bill, 2019 — PRS Legislative Research — insertion of Articles 15(6)/16(6), 10% cap, coverage of private institutions excluding minority institutions, quota being over and above existing reservations 2. Criteria for EWS Reservation, Press Information Bureau — ₹8 lakh family income ceiling and asset-based exclusion thresholds 3. EWS Reservation, Press Information Bureau — EWS applies only to persons not covered by SC/ST/SEBC reservation