Revisiting the Idea of Social Justice: An Assessment of EWS reservation in India

Society is considered as an organism in which the flourishing of each element requires the co-operation and coordination of all members. Backwardness of one person leads to a backward society. The aim of social justice is to specify the institutional arrangements that will allow each person to contribute fully to social well-being. The modern idea of social justice is concerned with introduction of a new social order which could secure rights and advantages for the different sections of society in general and for the disadvantage sections of society in particular. It is simply understood as the distribution of benefits and burdens. But, in the process of distribution of resources three basic problems occur. Firstly, what are the things, whose distribution/allocation is concern of social justice? Secondly, who will distribute the things? Lastly, among whom will the distribution be done? It was being provided to Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes, Other backward castes, Divyangs, Women etc. in India in the form of reservation and some other benefits. A new group i.e. Economically Weaker Section (EWS) has been introduced as a beneficiary this year by Modi government. This paper examines the debate among political philosopher as to how fair distribution could happen. It also examines the reflections of Indian scholars on the idea of social justice.