BharatNotes Reservation
nounUsage in a UPSC answer
While the policy of reservation has been instrumental in widening representation for historically marginalised communities, its critics contend that without a sunset clause and periodic review it risks entrenching the very identities the Constitution sought to transcend.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
reserve (v/n), reserved (adj), reservist (n), unreserved (adj), reservable (adj)
Root
Latin reservāre = to keep back; re- = back + servāre = to keep, save, preserve; reservātiōnem = a keeping back
Etymology
From Latin reservationem (nominative reservatio, "a keeping back"), from reservare ("to keep back, save up"), from re- ("back") + servare ("to keep, save, preserve").
Memory Hook
Re- (back) + serve: to "re-serve" is to hold something back, whether a hotel seat kept for you, a quota of jobs set aside, or an unspoken doubt you keep in reserve.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
The setting aside of seats or posts for disadvantaged groups. Articles 15(4), 15(5) and 16(4) enable reservation in education and public employment, while Articles 330 and 332 reserve legislative seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Indra Sawhney in 1992 laid down the governing rules: a ceiling of fifty per cent save in extraordinary circumstances, exclusion of the creamy layer among Other Backward Classes, and no reservation in promotions, the last since modified by amendment. The 103rd Amendment added ten per cent for economically weaker sections and was upheld in 2022, which breached the fifty per cent ceiling and remains contested. Most recently a seven-judge bench in State of Punjab v Davinder Singh, on 1 August 2024, held by six to one that states may sub-classify within the Scheduled Castes to prioritise the most disadvantaged, overruling E.V. Chinnaiah, with several judges endorsing a creamy layer test for Scheduled Castes and Tribes as well.
Don’t Confuse It With
Reservation sets aside a defined proportion of seats or posts, whereas affirmative action is the broader category including scholarships, coaching and outreach that involve no quota. The creamy layer is the advanced section excluded from the benefit, applied to Other Backward Classes since Indra Sawhney and endorsed in principle for Scheduled Castes by the 2024 judgment. Sub-classification divides an existing reserved category to prioritise the most disadvantaged within it, which is different from creating a new category. The fifty per cent ceiling is a judicial rule rather than constitutional text, which is why the economically weaker sections quota could be argued to stand outside it.
Hindi Meaning
आरक्षण (ārakshan); उपवर्गीकरण (upvargīkaran) for sub-classification.
Common Questions
- What did the Supreme Court decide on sub-classification in 2024?
- A seven-judge bench held by six to one in State of Punjab v Davinder Singh that states may sub-classify within the Scheduled Castes to prioritise the most disadvantaged, overruling the 2004 decision in E.V. Chinnaiah.
- Where does the fifty per cent ceiling on reservation come from?
- From the Supreme Court's judgment in Indra Sawhney in 1992 rather than from the text of the Constitution, which is why the economically weaker sections quota exceeding it remains contested.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Prelims 2025 — Constitutional Framework
- Prelims 2024 — Women's Reservation
- Prelims 2024 — Women & Gender
- Prelims 2015 — Environmental Laws
- Prelims 1997 — Local Government
- Mains 2019 · GS2 · 15 marks — Social Justice
- Mains 2018 · GS2 · 10 marks — Indian Polity
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Reservation” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation
