India, Sept. 14 -- Periodically, people, groups and even constitutional authorities opposed to affirmative action for the welfare of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) come out in the open, not realising that reservation in jobs and educational institutions is a permanent feature of the Indian Constitution. Reservation in Parliament and State Legislatures was, at the beginning of the Republic, time-bound. Even so, it has been extended from time to time, and this provision is unlikely to be repealed.

In this context, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's statement on August 24 on reservation assumes great significance. Kharge accused the Union Government, led by Narendra Modi, of trying to end reservation in government a...