NEET aspirants in Visakhapatnam stage silent protest over reservation policy

Visakhapatnam, August 3: A group of NEET aspirants staged a silent protest near the Gandhi statue at the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) on Monday, demanding an end to caste-based reservations in India. The protesters, part of the Jana Jagarana Samiti, wore black ribbons across their mouths in a symbolic act to draw attention to what they called the suppression of merit.

The demonstration was held in support of the Reservation Hatao Andolan (RHA) GEN-Z campaign, which according to the organisers, seeks to abolish the existing reservation system in education and public employment. The silent mode was chosen to convey the urgency of the issue without disrupting public order.

Jana Jagarana Samiti State convener S.L.N. Vasu addressed the gathering and alleged that the current reservation policy discriminates against meritorious students. He urged the Centre to review the policy and replace caste-based reservations with economic criteria. He also demanded periodic reviews of the reservation system, minimum qualifying marks for all candidates, and an end to what he described as election-time promises on reservations.

The protest comes amid an ongoing national debate over affirmative action. The constitutional framework, however, provides for reservations to socially and educationally backward communities, including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), to address historical disadvantage. Articles 15(4) and 16(4) enable the State to make special provisions for these groups.

In 2019, the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act introduced a 10% reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in education and public employment, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2022. This has added another dimension to the debate, with some arguing that economic criteria are now a recognised basis for affirmative action.

Constitutional jurisprudence has evolved over the years. In the landmark Indra Sawhney case (1992), the Supreme Court upheld the concept of reservation but ruled that total quotas should not exceed 50%, except in exceptional circumstances. The court also emphasised that the creamy layer among the backward classes should be excluded from the benefit of reservation.

Supporters of caste-based reservations, however, argue that economic status alone cannot capture the social discrimination faced by specific communities. They contend that despite decades of reservations, SC, ST, and OBC students remain underrepresented in elite institutions such as medical colleges.

NEET, conducted by the National Testing Agency, is the common entrance examination for undergraduate medical and dental courses. Reserved-category candidates receive relaxation in cut-off marks and a percentage of seats, a practice that has been the subject of several court challenges. The Supreme Court has upheld reservations but has also imposed a 50% ceiling on caste-based quotas.

The demand for economic-based reservation is not without legal precedent. In 2006, the Supreme Court in the Ashok Kumar Mandal case struck down a Tamil Nadu law that provided reservations solely on economic grounds, holding that poverty alone cannot be the basis for reservation under the Constitution.

The Visakhapatnam protest reflects the anxieties of a section of students who feel that merit is being disregarded. Yet, the issue remains deeply polarising, with no consensus. The organisers have said they will continue their campaign and submit a memorandum to the district administration for onward transmission to the Union government.