Even as the BJP-led centre on Tuesday, 8 January, introduced a constitutional amendment to provide 10 percent reservation for economically weaker sections in the General category in government jobs and in higher education, a closer look at existing quotas in various states show how some provide for over 65 percent reservation in total, reports The Times of India.
Tamil Nadu leads the reservation race in the country, as it provides 69% reservation in government jobs and in higher education. At a hearing before a division bench of the Supreme Court, Tamil Nadu had defended its reservation policy, arguing that backward sections and caste groupings constituted 87 percent of its population.
In November 2018, Maharashtra became the second highest state to provide reservation to the tune of 68 percent. The state, which already had 52 percent reservation in government jobs and education, had in 2018 added another 16 percent for Marathas.
A proposed reservation policy passed in the Haryana Assembly seeks to provide an additional 10% quota for Jats and nine other communities in the state. The decision to implement the quota has been put on hold and has been referred to the National Commission for Backward Classes. If approved and implemented, it would make Haryana the third highest state to provide reservation to the tune of 67 percent.
Haryana is followed by Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, each of which has passed laws that are meant to provide 62, 55 and 54 percent reservations respectively. In total, there are seven states that have passed laws on reservation above 50 percent (though most of these are not enforced, pending decisions in the higher judiciary) and around 10 states that provide reservation between 30 and 50 percent.
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