A new online campaign called Reservation Hatao Andolan is rapidly gaining attention across social media and within just a short period of time, the movement's official Instagram page has crossed 4.5 million followers, making it one of the fastest-growing online campaigns in the country.
The campaign is being led by an anonymous group that says it is independent and not linked to any political party and according to the group, its aim is to push for reforms in India's reservation system and encourage a wider public discussion on the issue.
In a recent post, the group stated that it is "not affiliated with any political party." It said that many citizens had once believed that a change in government could bring major reforms to the reservation system, however, the group claimed that no such changes took place and that reservation policies continued to evolve over time.
It added that the issue should not be viewed through the lens of party politics and that its focus is on government policy rather than any political party.
The campaign has also shared its policy proposal on social media and it says that if the objective is to eliminate caste-based discrimination, then the government should stop requiring or recognising caste identity in everyday public life.
According to the proposal, citizens should not have to mention or record their caste in routine government forms, educational admissions, employment applications or other public-facing processes, while the campaign also calls for an end to the public display of caste identity.
The movement's stated long-term goal is "One Nation. One Identity." It has also used the slogan "Remove Reservation, Remove Casteism" in its campaign posts.
The group argues that government support should be provided to people who genuinely need assistance instead of being based on caste and believes that changes should be made to the existing reservation policy and has appealed to people to support its campaign online.
The campaign has drawn comparisons with the earlier Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, which gained massive popularity on Instagram during the controversy surrounding the NEET examination and that online campaign attracted millions of followers in a short time and became widely discussed on social media. Supporters of the current movement have also appealed to people to extend similar support to Reservation Hatao Andolan.
Reservation has remained one of the most debated public policy issues in India for decades. It was introduced after the Constitution came into force to improve representation for historically disadvantaged communities in education, public employment and other areas and over the years, the reservation system has continued to be a subject of discussion, with different groups expressing varying opinions on its implementation and future.
The rapid growth of Reservation Hatao Andolan on social media has once again brought the issue into public discussion. While the campaign has attracted millions of followers online, there has been no indication of any official policy change linked to the movement.