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VOL. 8, ISSUE 3 (2026)
Reservation policies for SCs and STs in India: Between constitutional provisions and ground-level realities
Authors
Dr. Sanjay Prakash Srivastava
Abstract
The philosophy of affirmative action intends to develop an inclusive
society with a guarantee of taking everyone together through a mechanism of
reservation. It is intended to address centuries old practice of
discrimination, exclusion, and underrepresentation by promoting substantive
equality through adequate representation. However,
despite constitutional mandates and series of legislative measures;
discriminatory treatment remains endemic and societal norms continue to be
reinforced by government and private structures, often through violent means. The
primary purpose of this research paper is to examine the rationality of SCs and
STs reservation in India as well as to evaluate whether the vision of extending
benefit of reservation had trickled down to the actual beneficiaries across all
sections of Dalit or Not. The researcher submits that the policies are
unable to address the root cause of the discrimination. Dalits continue to
experience social stigmatization rooted in entrenched caste hierarchies, which
perpetuate negative stereotypes and social labelling in contemporary Indian
society. We need to understand the sociology of this law and reframe it with
the objective of changing the norms of society by imbibing principle that
everyone is suitable for everything and reinforce this as norms through
nudging.
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Pages:1-8
How to cite this article:
Dr. Sanjay Prakash Srivastava "Reservation policies for SCs and STs in India: Between constitutional provisions and ground-level realities". International Journal of Law, Policy and Social Review, Vol 8, Issue 3, 2026, Pages 1-8
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