Markandey Katju tells Dalits to give up caste-based reservation

After making controversial statements on the Hathras rape case, Former Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju once again stirred trouble on the internet with a Facebook post commenting on Dalits and reservation in India. Katju, a Brahmin, will form a 'Dalits against Reservation Association' to persuade Dalits to fight for the abolishment of reservation.

In a five-point post on the social media platform, Katju stated various reasons why the caste reservation system has done “great harm” to the Dalits and OBCs, going on to say that only about “0.1% of those castes, that too of the ‘creamy layer’ (because the jobs and seats in educational institutions are too few), but the SCs and OBCs are befooled into thinking that they will all benefit”.

He added that the system is a “vote catching device in India” and the only persons benefiting from this are politicians.

His logic on the caste system stems from the fact that it is a “part of the divide and rule as it separates these castes from the upper castes, and often creates hatred between them”.

He even compared the caste reservation system to crutches given to SCs and OBCs, saying that they are weakened “as an impression is created in them that they need not study and work hard, as even without doing so they will get a job or admission”.

“SCs and OBCs should, therefore, throw away these crutches and stand erect in a manly way, and demand an end to caste reservations. They should say that they will compete on merit with the upper caste by studying hard, and show that they are not intellectually inferior to upper castes,” the post included.

According to the Katju, “All caste based reservations should be abolished, but special help and facilities should be given to poor boys and girls (even of upper caste) to give them a level playing field”.

The post received flak for Katju’s ‘Anti-Dalit’ stance and his idea of abolishing case reservation.

Twitterati also pointed out that Katju is a Brahmin, and has no right to speak for thousands of SCs and OBCs without having lived their experiences or facing caste-based discrimination.