A brilliant model of affirmative action

In light of recent US Supreme Court decision on race-based admissions, the Indian model of reservations in both jobs and education holds valuable lessons

Last June, the US Supreme Court ruled, by a majority, that schools in the US cannot make race-based admissions. Many see it as a huge setback to the efforts to rectify historical wrongs through affirmative action for disadvantaged groups.

Some have interpreted the ruling to mean that the highest court in the US sees race-based affirmative action in educational institutions as a bad idea. Others feel vindicated in their belief that affirmative action in any sphere, including the workplace, is bad. Both interpretations are incorrect.

The Court did not go into the moral rights and wrongs of race-based affirmative action. It merely