Former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai delivered the annual Loksatta Lecture at Mumbai University on Friday, offering a sweeping analysis of the evolution of affirmative action in India.
He emphasised Ambedkar’s early advocacy, decades before the Constitution was drafted, to mark Dr BR Ambedkar’s death anniversary and to highlight how it firmly rooted India’s commitment to equal opportunity.
Gavai reminded the audience that Ambedkar tirelessly argued for structured protections for historically marginalised communities, first before the British government and later in the Round Table Conferences, long before independent India incorporated such measures into its constitutional design.
He situated the origins of affirmative action in Maharashtra, calling it “the birthplace of modern social justice in India.”
He referred to Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj’s 1902 order, which reserved half of all government positions for backward communities.
The former CJI also highlighted the pioneering reforms of Jyotirao Phule.
Savitribai Phule further championed education and dignity for the oppressed.
“These reforms were early acknowledgements that equality required intervention, not passive declarations,” he said.
Ambedkar’s Constitutional Framework
Former CJI explained that the Constituent Assembly deliberately designed Articles 15(4), 16(4), 46, and 335 as tools to correct structural disadvantages.
He noted that the First Constitutional Amendment, piloted by Ambedkar, was crucial in protecting reservations in education after early judicial challenges.
Former CJI BR Gavai also traced the gradual shift in judicial thinking, from viewing reservations as exceptions to equality to recognising them as instruments of substantive equality, culminating in landmark decisions such as Indra Sawhney.
Highlighting tangible social change, former CJI noted that affirmative action has diversified India’s political, administrative, and educational spaces.
Increased representation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs in Parliament, civil services, and universities, he said, has ‘broken centuries-old monopolies over decision-making and knowledge’.
He discussed the 2024 Supreme Court judgment that permits sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes to ensure a fairer distribution of benefits.
Gavai also proposed a more nuanced approach to the ongoing ‘creamy layer’ debate. He said this approach should prioritise the most deprived groups without entirely excluding others.
Former CJI Gavai concluded that affirmative action must be accompanied by robust anti-discrimination policies.
“Entry is only the first step. Equal opportunity cannot flourish if prejudice and bias persist inside institutions,” he noted.
He called for stronger grievance systems, sensitisation programmes, and accountability frameworks to fulfil the Constitution’s promise of substantive equality.
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