2006 Indian Anti-reservation Protests

2006 Indian Anti-reservation Protests

The anti-caste-based-reservation protests 2006, that took place in parts of India, were in opposition to the decision of the Union Government of India, the multiparty coalition 'United Progressive Alliance' (headed by the Indian National Congress), to implement reservations for Other Backward Classes in central and private institutes of higher education. In the year 2005, based on the recommendations of the Mandal Commission, the government proposed to reserve 27% of seats in the All India Institute of Medical Studies (AIIMS), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other central institutions of higher education for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in order to help them gain higher levels of representation in these institutions. This move led to massive protests by those claiming that the government's (and the Congress party's) proposal is discriminatory and driven by 'vote-bank' politics.