In India, reservation is a caste-based affirmative action policy. In layman’s terms, it is the practice of reserving seats in government jobs and educational institutions, for specific groups of people. The system was established to elevate the highly neglected and deprived backward castes ( unprivileged) to the same level as the upper castes.

Although the system boosts the self-esteem of people from different unprivileged groups and gives them a chance to showcase their talent, people from the general category have to take a back seat and watch their dreams get crushed.
In today’s society, even an above-average individual from a general category has very little chance of getting into a good government university because of all the reservations for the minor groups. No matter how skilled or talented an individual is, there is always a chance of him losing his seat to an undeserving candidate. This outlook can sometimes lead to self-doubts about one’s accomplishments, particularly for those who do not benefit from reservations and believe they must compete on a different level.

Therefore, to achieve true equality of opportunity, systemic inequalities must be addressed, which may necessitate policies such as reservations to ensure fair treatment.