India, April 9 -- On April 14, India will celebrate the 135th birthday of one of her greatest sons, 'Babasaheb' Ambedkar, eminent economist, jurist, social reformer, and chairman of the Drafting Committee of her Constitution. The day is particularly significant to Dalits, for whose rights he fought a lifelong battle.

One of his significant wins was the inclusion of reservation policies for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution.

While Babasaheb's constitutionalising of affirmative action was a landmark moment for the new nation, the idea of caste-based reservations had been in play for nearly 70 years, with the Princely State of Mysore figuring prominently in the story.

As far back as 1882, Pune's social activist...