Justice isn’t a word trapped in a legal argument. It is a tangible truth that transforms communities, particularly in a country where injustice is institutionalised, ritualised and even scripturally sanctified. That is why Nitish Kumar’s move to offer 50 per cent reservation in subordinate and superior judiciary of Bihar to Dalits, backward castes and the extremely backward castes, with an exclusive horizontal band for women within the quotas, is a revolutionary step. Only the son of a freedom fighter could have thought of such an emancipatory move without being prodded by political expediencies like polls or power deficit.
South India had this reservation for a very long time. Like most other tools of empowerment, the South had tried out and succeeded in ensuring social justice through diversity among justice-dispensing authorities. Then, the South has seen several waves of social reforms that the rest of the country has badly missed out. And it was high time the dusty plains of Ganga, Yamuna and Narmada (not to mention the other mighty rivers)...
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