A growing youth-led campaign is calling for the complete removal of caste-based reservation, with demonstrations in multiple states reflecting rising dissatisfaction among sections of the younger generation.
The issue gained visibility alongside the NEET paper leak protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, where some participants also raised slogans demanding an end to the reservation system. The campaign’s early voice has been linked to a young man named Harsh Dubey, who has repeatedly argued in TV debates that caste-based quotas affect opportunities in education and jobs for other economically poor groups.
Protests have since been reported in places including Nagpur in Maharashtra, and later extending to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Jaipur in Rajasthan and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. In Jaipur, members of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena held a march to the Collector’s office, seeking a review of caste-based laws and calling for reservation for economically weaker sections in panchayat and municipal elections. Police dispersed the crowd when the march was planned to proceed towards the BJP office and the Chief Minister’s residence.
Dubey is also said to be planning a large protest in Delhi and has reportedly sought permission to hold it, while efforts are underway to mobilise supporters nationwide. An Instagram page titled “Cancel Reservation” has been launched, and the report claims it has crossed 6 million followers.
The movement has listed six demands, including shifting from caste-based to income-based reservation, limiting benefits to one person per family, reallocating unfilled reserved seats to the general category, removing economically strong individuals from reservation lists through continued measures, introducing a “sunset clause” to phase out reservation as educational disparities reduce, and stopping reservation-related promises during elections. The initiative has also received support from public figures including writer Anand Ranganathan, journalist Ajit Bharti and writer-director Anuradha Tiwari.
