In India, reservation has almost always been an evergreen and contentious issue. While a significant portion of the population supports it, another section consistently opposes it. Against this backdrop, it becomes fascinating to revisit the story of the first constitutional amendment made specifically to safeguard reservations for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The year was 1950. A Brahmin woman named Shenbagam Duraisamy was denied admission to a medical college because she had crossed the prescribed age limit. Holding the reservation system responsible for this, Duraisamy filed a petition in the Madras High Court, demanding that the reservation provisions be scrapped.

On 28 July 1950, the Madras High Court ruled in her favor. Subsequently, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal challenging this decision. As a result, the reservation system was effectively dismantled. Notably, Shenbagum’s lawyer was Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, a former member of the Constituent Assembly.

According to Periyar’s renowned book Caste System and Patriarchy, just a week after the Madras High Court’s decision, on 6 August 1950, Periyar made a passionate appeal to the people of Madras State to rise and fight to reclaim their rights. This sparked widespread protests across the state.

Periyar then called for a general strike on 14 August 1950, which turned out to be a resounding success.

He also appealed directly to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, urging the government to restore the right to reservations. Responding to this pressure, the government amended Article 15 of the Indian Constitution (which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth).

Here’s what the constitutional provisions state:

• Article 15(1) says: “The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.”

• Article 29(2) says: “No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.”

However, the critical addition was Clause (4) inserted into Article 15, which says:

“Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.”

In this way, Periyar successfully thwarted the conspiracy to dismantle the reservation system and ensured its constitutional protection.

Had these 30 crucial words not been added to the Constitution, generations of Tamils might have been deprived of education, and no state would have shown the rest of India the path forward. It is thanks to Periyar’s tireless efforts that future generations of India’s backward classes now have a constitutional guarantee protecting their access to education.