The demonstration, mobilised under the banner of “Reservation Hatao Andolan”, drew participants carrying placards, banners and saffron flags. Many argued that government support in education, recruitment, scholarships and coaching should be directed towards economically weaker citizens irrespective of caste.
Delhi Police said no permission had been granted for a protest at Jantar Mantar and detained several participants as the gathering continued. More than 50 people were reported to have been taken into custody during the mobilisation. Police and Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed at key points, while barricades were erected around the protest zone.
Police had clarified a day before the demonstration that videos circulating online claiming permission had been granted for an August 21 protest at Jantar Mantar were false. Authorities had instead issued permission for a gathering at Ramlila Ground, subject to conditions including a ceiling of 500 participants.
Protesters nevertheless converged on Jantar Mantar, one of New Delhi’s best-known locations for public demonstrations, where the crowd swelled during the day. Police personnel checked people approaching the area and later moved to disperse participants.
The central demand was for a reassessment of reservation policies that protesters said should give greater weight to household income and economic deprivation. Participants maintained that poverty cuts across caste lines and that financially disadvantaged families should have access to state support without their eligibility being determined primarily by social category.
Several protesters also demanded a “creamy layer” mechanism across reserved categories, arguing that families that have achieved substantial economic or social advancement should not continue to receive the same preference as the most deprived sections.
The creamy-layer principle already applies to Other Backward Classes for reservation purposes. Debate over extending exclusion mechanisms to other reserved communities gained momentum after a seven-judge Supreme Court bench ruled by a 6-1 majority in August 2024 that Scheduled Castes could be sub-classified to ensure that benefits reach more disadvantaged groups within the category. Several judges in that case also favoured examining a creamy-layer principle for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The protesters’ demands, however, directly challenge the rationale underlying much of the existing reservation framework, which treats caste discrimination and historical exclusion as distinct from poverty alone. Supporters of the current system argue that economic deprivation cannot fully measure barriers arising from social discrimination, representation and inherited disadvantage.
Reservation in civil posts and services filled through direct recruitment by open competition at the central level provides 15 per cent for Scheduled Castes, 7.5 per cent for Scheduled Tribes and 27 per cent for Other Backward Classes. A separate 10 per cent quota is available for Economically Weaker Sections among those not covered by the three principal reserved categories.
The EWS quota, introduced through the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, already incorporates economic criteria into the affirmative-action framework. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the 10 per cent provision in 2022, reinforcing the government’s ability to use economic disadvantage as a separate basis for reservation.
Friday’s protesters also raised objections to provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act, with some seeking safeguards against what they described as misuse. The law was enacted to prevent offences and discrimination against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and provides special procedures for prosecution and victim protection.
Higher-education policy formed another strand of the demonstration. Participants criticised the University Grants Commission’s Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2026, which were notified in January to strengthen institutional mechanisms against discrimination based on caste, religion, race, gender, place of birth and disability.
