The BJP government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a bill to give 10% reservation to the economically poor that fall within the General category. This group had not received any reservation benefits until now, but would become eligible for reservation with the passage of the bill in both houses of Parliament on 9 January 2019.
As soon as it was introduced, it was hailed by BJP supporters as a major reform in introducing economic justice into a system that had previously depended on social backwardness (defined by caste) to determine people’s eligibility for reservation. Even the opposition supported the bill, restricting its criticism to the specific criteria laid down to determine economic backwardness, to the fact that there aren’t enough new jobs being created, or to the fact that it could be struck down by the Supreme Court and was only a political gimmick. All three are valid criticisms, but they miss a much larger, fatal flaw in this new reservation.