Social empowerment

Story hook

It is 7 November 2022. The Supreme Court Constitution Bench of five judges (CJI U.U. Lalit + Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, Bela Trivedi, Ravindra Bhat, J.B. Pardiwala) delivers its judgment in Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India. By a 3-2 majority, the bench upholds the 103rd Constitutional Amendment 2019 that introduced 10% reservation for "Economically Weaker Sections" (EWS) among the general category in education + government jobs.

The judgment is constitutionally seismic for three reasons:

1. It accepts economic criterion alone as a valid basis for reservation — overturning a 70-year orthodoxy that reservation in India is only for social + educational backwardness rooted in caste / tribe oppression.

2. It approves breach of the Indra Sawhney 50% ceiling — the 1992 SC-imposed cap that reservation cannot exceed 50% of seats. With EWS 10% added to existing 15% SC + 7.5% ST + 27% OBC = 59.5% in Central jobs/education.

3. It excludes SC/ST/OBC from EWS — a poor Dalit or Adivasi cannot claim EWS even if more economically deprived than a poor upper-caste applicant. Justice Bhat in dissent calls this "excluding the excluded" + "a betrayal of constitutional morality".

The EWS verdict capped a tumultuous decade in Indian reservation politics: Maratha quota struck down (2021), Patidar agitation 2015-17, Jat agitation 2016, OBC sub-categorisation Rohini Commission (2017+ ongoing), 102nd + 105th Amendments on NCBC + state lists, and the looming caste census debate (Bihar 2023, national 2027 likely). This file maps it.

Why this matters for UPSC

Mains GS-I + GS-II — asked 2014 "The Indian society is multi-ethnic, multi-lingual + multi-cultural. What are the challenges + opportunities?"; 2017 "The growth of cities has not been accompanied by adequate infrastructure"; 2018 "Caste based violence is a serious concern in India"; 2020 "How have the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission of India enabled the states to improve their fiscal position?". The reservation sub-theme is repeatedly asked under "Indian Society features"

• "Welfare schemes".

Prelims has tested:

• Constitutional articles (15, 16, 46, 330, 332, 335, 341, 342).
• Amendment numbers (77th, 81st, 85th, 93rd, 102nd, 103rd, 105th).
• NCBC composition (102nd Amendment 2018, Article 338B).
• EWS (103rd 2019).
• Indra Sawhney 50% ceiling.

Interview: caste census, sub-categorisation, EWS critique, two-child norm vs reservation, creamy layer, Maratha quota.