NEW DELHI--The Indian Supreme Court has blocked a plan to more than double the number of university slots reserved for disadvantaged students, saying that the government is relying on outdated statistics. The plan, adopted by Parliament, triggered protests last year by students from privileged castes, who worried that it would hinder their entry into some of the country's most elite institutions.
To overcome the evils of the caste system, which relegates several groups to menial jobs and subjects them to overt discrimination, India has long had an affirmative action plan that guarantees those groups 22.5% of public-sector jobs and slots at many universities. The new law would boost that figure to 49.5%. But last week, the court said the government was basing its argument on data collected as far back as 1931 and demanded fresher facts.
Pavagada Venkata Indiresan, former director of the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai, called the ruling "a defeat for cynical politicians who tried to replace an essential service by unwarranted draconian regulation." The government is weighing its options before a final verdict is issued in August.
