
These Seats Are Reserved
Caste, Quotas and the Constitution of India
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $15.75
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Anuj Datta
About this listen
Reservation or affirmative action is a hugely controversial policy in India. While constitutionally mandated and with historians, political scientists and social activists convinced of its need, many resist it and consider it as compromising 'merit' and against the principle of equality of opportunity.
In These Seats Are Reserved, Abhinav traces the history and making of the reservation policy.
How were groups eligible for reservations identified and defined? How were the terms 'depressed classes' and 'backward classes' used in British India and how have they evolved into the constitutional concepts of 'Scheduled Castes', 'Scheduled Tribes', and 'Other Backward Classes' in the present day?
The book delves into the intellectual debates that took place on this matter in the Constituent Assembly, the Supreme Court and Parliament. Several contentious issues are examined dispassionately: are reservations an exception to the principle of equality of opportunity? Do quotas in government service undermine efficiency? Can 'merit' really be defined neutrally? What is the thinking behind the rule that no more than 50 per cent of the available seats or positions can be reserved?
Deeply researched and ably narrated, this volume is a compelling addition to every thinking individual's library.
©2023 Abhinav Chandrachud (P)2023 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Democrat Party Hates America
- By: Mark R. Levin
- Narrated by: Jeremy Lowell, Mark R. Levin
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In American Marxism, Mark Levin explained how Marxist ideology has invaded our society and culture. In doing so, he exposed the institutions, scholars, and activists leading the revolution. Now, he picks up where he left off: to hold responsible the true malefactors steering our country down the wrong path. Insightful and hard-hitting as ever, Levin proves that since its establishment, the Democrat Party has set out to rewrite history and destroy the foundation of freedom in America.
-
-
As always thank you Mr. Levin for your Insight.
- By Yukonwill on 09-24-23
By: Mark R. Levin
-
My Own Words
- By: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mary Hartnett, Wendy W. Williams
- Narrated by: Linda Lavin
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first book from Ruth Bader Ginsburg since becoming a Supreme Court Justice in 1993 - a witty, engaging, serious, and playful collection of writings and speeches from the woman who has had a powerful and enduring influence on law, women's rights, and popular culture. My Own Words is a selection of writings and speeches by Justice Ginsburg on wide-ranging topics, including gender equality, the workways of the Supreme Court, being Jewish, law and lawyers in opera, and more.
-
-
Spectacularly Dry
- By CMP on 07-27-18
By: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and others
-
Law School for Everyone: Constitutional Law
- By: Eric Berger, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Eric Berger
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Americans wage many of today’s fiercest policy debates and culture wars over constitutional meaning. It’s because constitutional law is so fundamental to our democracy that law schools across the country teach the subject. It's the area of law that determines what federal and state governments are permitted to do, and what rights you have as an individual citizen of the US. Here, you'll get the same accessible, well-rounded introduction to constitutional law as a typical law student - but with the added benefit of noted constitutional scholar Eric Berger's brilliant insights.
-
-
Read with this Neil Gorsuch!
- By Amazon Customer on 02-03-20
By: Eric Berger, and others
-
The Liberty Amendments
- Restoring the American Republic
- By: Mark R. Levin
- Narrated by: Jason Culp, Mark R. Levin
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mark R. Levin has made the case, in numerous New York Times best-selling books - Men in Black, Liberty and Tyranny, and Ameritopia - that the principles undergirding our society and governmental system are unravelling. In The Liberty Amendments, he turns to the founding fathers and the constitution itself for guidance in restoring the American republic.
-
-
Only by contending with challenges...
- By TenStarDoug on 08-13-13
By: Mark R. Levin
-
The Vision of the Anointed
- Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Vision of the Anointed is a devastating critique of the mindset behind the failed social policies of the past thirty years. Thomas Sowell sees what has happened not as a series of isolated mistakes, but as a logical consequence of a vision whose defects have led to disasters in education, crime, family disintegration, and other social pathology. In this book, "politically correct" theory is repeatedly confronted with facts-and sharp contradictions between the two are explained in terms of a whole set of self-congratulatory assumptions held by political and intellectual elites.
-
-
An Absolute Masterpiece!
- By Brendan Martino on 04-04-22
By: Thomas Sowell
-
The Socialist Temptation
- By: Iain Murray
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just 30 years ago, socialism seemed utterly discredited. An economic, moral, and political failure, socialism had rightly been thrown on the ash heap of history after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately, bad ideas never truly go away — and socialism has come back with a vengeance. A generation of young people who don’t remember the misery that socialism inflicted on Russia and Eastern Europe is embracing it all over again.
-
-
Full Of Important Insights
- By Ralph Alderson on 12-17-20
By: Iain Murray
-
The Democrat Party Hates America
- By: Mark R. Levin
- Narrated by: Jeremy Lowell, Mark R. Levin
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In American Marxism, Mark Levin explained how Marxist ideology has invaded our society and culture. In doing so, he exposed the institutions, scholars, and activists leading the revolution. Now, he picks up where he left off: to hold responsible the true malefactors steering our country down the wrong path. Insightful and hard-hitting as ever, Levin proves that since its establishment, the Democrat Party has set out to rewrite history and destroy the foundation of freedom in America.
-
-
As always thank you Mr. Levin for your Insight.
- By Yukonwill on 09-24-23
By: Mark R. Levin
-
My Own Words
- By: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mary Hartnett, Wendy W. Williams
- Narrated by: Linda Lavin
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first book from Ruth Bader Ginsburg since becoming a Supreme Court Justice in 1993 - a witty, engaging, serious, and playful collection of writings and speeches from the woman who has had a powerful and enduring influence on law, women's rights, and popular culture. My Own Words is a selection of writings and speeches by Justice Ginsburg on wide-ranging topics, including gender equality, the workways of the Supreme Court, being Jewish, law and lawyers in opera, and more.
-
-
Spectacularly Dry
- By CMP on 07-27-18
By: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and others
-
Law School for Everyone: Constitutional Law
- By: Eric Berger, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Eric Berger
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Americans wage many of today’s fiercest policy debates and culture wars over constitutional meaning. It’s because constitutional law is so fundamental to our democracy that law schools across the country teach the subject. It's the area of law that determines what federal and state governments are permitted to do, and what rights you have as an individual citizen of the US. Here, you'll get the same accessible, well-rounded introduction to constitutional law as a typical law student - but with the added benefit of noted constitutional scholar Eric Berger's brilliant insights.
-
-
Read with this Neil Gorsuch!
- By Amazon Customer on 02-03-20
By: Eric Berger, and others
-
The Liberty Amendments
- Restoring the American Republic
- By: Mark R. Levin
- Narrated by: Jason Culp, Mark R. Levin
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mark R. Levin has made the case, in numerous New York Times best-selling books - Men in Black, Liberty and Tyranny, and Ameritopia - that the principles undergirding our society and governmental system are unravelling. In The Liberty Amendments, he turns to the founding fathers and the constitution itself for guidance in restoring the American republic.
-
-
Only by contending with challenges...
- By TenStarDoug on 08-13-13
By: Mark R. Levin
-
The Vision of the Anointed
- Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Vision of the Anointed is a devastating critique of the mindset behind the failed social policies of the past thirty years. Thomas Sowell sees what has happened not as a series of isolated mistakes, but as a logical consequence of a vision whose defects have led to disasters in education, crime, family disintegration, and other social pathology. In this book, "politically correct" theory is repeatedly confronted with facts-and sharp contradictions between the two are explained in terms of a whole set of self-congratulatory assumptions held by political and intellectual elites.
-
-
An Absolute Masterpiece!
- By Brendan Martino on 04-04-22
By: Thomas Sowell
-
The Socialist Temptation
- By: Iain Murray
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just 30 years ago, socialism seemed utterly discredited. An economic, moral, and political failure, socialism had rightly been thrown on the ash heap of history after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately, bad ideas never truly go away — and socialism has come back with a vengeance. A generation of young people who don’t remember the misery that socialism inflicted on Russia and Eastern Europe is embracing it all over again.
-
-
Full Of Important Insights
- By Ralph Alderson on 12-17-20
By: Iain Murray
-
Intellectuals and Society
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a study of how intellectuals as a class affect modern societies by shaping the climate of opinion in which official policies develop, on issues ranging from economics to law to war and peace. You will hear a withering and clear-eyed critique about (but not for) intellectuals that explores their impact on public opinion, policy, and society at large.
-
-
Biased but good
- By Justin on 05-06-10
By: Thomas Sowell
-
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution
- By: Kevin R.C. Gutzman
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Instead of the system that the Constitution intended, judges have created a system in which bureaucrats and appointed officials make most of the important policies. While the government claims to be a representative republic, somehow hot-button topics from gay marriage to the allocation of Florida's presidential electors always seem to be decided by unelected judges. What gives them the right to decide such issues? The judges say it's the Constitution.
-
-
The best PIG to date
- By Matthew Groom on 05-16-08
-
The Quest for Cosmic Justice
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book is about the great moral issues underlying many of the headline-making political controversies of our times. It is not a comforting book but a book about disturbing and dangerous trends. The Quest for Cosmic Justice shows how confused conceptions of justice end up promoting injustice, how confused conceptions of equality end up promoting inequality, and how the tyranny of social visions prevents many people from confronting the actual consequences of their own beliefs and policies.
-
-
First released 20 years ago & now a classic!
- By Wayne on 11-05-18
By: Thomas Sowell
-
The Founders' Key
- The Divine and Natural Connection Between the Declaration and the Constitution and What We Risk by Losing It
- By: Dr. Larry Arnn
- Narrated by: Van Tracy
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, reveals this integral unity of the Declaration and the Constitution. Together, they form the pillars upon which the liberties and rights of the American people stand. United, they have guided history's first self-governing nation, forming our government under certain universal and eternal principles. Unfortunately, the effort to redefine government to reflect "the changing and growing social order" has gone very far toward success.
-
-
Linking Declaration and Constitution.
- By Ed Bethune on 04-26-24
By: Dr. Larry Arnn
-
When Affirmative Action Was White
- An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America
- By: Ira Katznelson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this "penetrating new analysis" ( New York Times Book Review), Ira Katznelson fundamentally recasts our understanding of 20th century American history and demonstrates that all the key programs passed during the New Deal and Fair Deal era of the 1930s and 1940s were created in a deeply discriminatory manner. Through mechanisms designed by southern democrats that specifically excluded maids and farm workers, the gap between blacks and whites actually widened despite postwar prosperity.
-
-
Absolute Must Read
- By Andrew on 01-02-18
By: Ira Katznelson
-
Scalia Speaks
- Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived
- By: Antonin Scalia, Christopher J. Scalia - editor, Edward Whelan - editor, and others
- Narrated by: Christopher J. Scalia
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This definitive collection of beloved Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's finest speeches covers topics as varied as the law, faith, virtue, pastimes, and his heroes and friends. Featuring a foreword by longtime friend Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and an intimate introduction by his youngest son, this volume includes dozens of speeches, some deeply personal, that have never before been published. Christopher J. Scalia and the justice's former law clerk Edward Whelan selected the speeches.
-
-
Engrossing
- By Jean on 10-20-17
By: Antonin Scalia, and others
-
Power Divided Is Power Checked
- The Argument for States' Rights
- By: Jason Lewis
- Narrated by: Jason Lewis
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jason Lewis reminds us that the concept of states' rights, as bequeathed by the Founding Fathers to a grateful nation, was about a constitutional framework intended to limit the missteps of government and provide the greatest amount of freedom by not allowing the consolidation of power in the nation's capitol. He defines the essence of our constitutional republic and highlights the legal history of the relationship between the states and the federal government.
-
-
Excellent
- By Kegster on 10-03-22
By: Jason Lewis
-
The Breakdown of Higher Education
- How It Happened, the Damage It Does, and What Can Be Done
- By: John M. Ellis
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having watched the deterioration of academia up close for the past 50 years, Ellis locates the core of the problem in a change in the composition of the faculty during this time, from mildly left-leaning to almost exclusively leftist. He explains how astonishing historical luck led to the success of a plan first devised by a small group of activists to use college campuses to promote radical politics, and why laws and regulations designed to prevent the politicizing of higher education proved insufficient.
-
-
It’s not for everyone, but I enjoyed it
- By Brian Sachetta on 12-13-20
By: John M. Ellis
-
The Political Theory of the American Founding
- Natural Rights, Public Policy, and the Moral Conditions of Freedom
- By: Thomas G. West
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book provides a complete overview of the American Founders' political theory, covering natural rights, natural law, state of nature, social compact, consent, and the policy implications of these ideas. The book is intended as a response to the current scholarly consensus, which holds that the Founders' political thought is best understood as an amalgam of liberalism, republicanism, and perhaps other traditions.
-
-
Wow! I learned so much from this book!
- By Mark W. Neville on 06-21-20
By: Thomas G. West
-
Worse than Nothing
- The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism
- By: Erwin Chemerinsky
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Originalism, the view that the meaning of a constitutional provision is fixed when it is adopted, was once the fringe theory of a few extremely conservative legal scholars but is now a well-accepted mode of constitutional interpretation. Noted legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky gives a comprehensive analysis of the problems that make originalism unworkable as a method of constitutional interpretation. He argues that the framers themselves never intended constitutional interpretation to be inflexible and shows how it is often impossible to know the "original intent" of any provision.
-
-
Impeccably Logical, Backed by 100 Specific Example
- By Amy Eaton on 03-17-23
-
The Agenda
- How a Republican Supreme Court Is Reshaping America
- By: Ian Millhiser
- Narrated by: David H. Lawrence
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ian Millhiser, Vox's Supreme Court correspondent, tells the story of what the six very conservative Republicans Supreme Court justices are likely to do with their power. The Agenda exposes a radically altered Supreme Court whose powers extend far beyond transforming any individual right - its agenda is to shape the very nature of America's government, redefining who gets to have legal rights, who is beyond the reach of the law, and who chooses the people who make our laws.
-
-
short but informative
- By Matt Gilbert on 10-04-21
By: Ian Millhiser
-
The Narrow Corridor
- States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty
- By: Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 23 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Liberty is hardly the "natural" order of things. In most places and at most times, the strong have dominated the weak and human freedom has been quashed by force or by customs and norms. Either states have been too weak to protect individuals from these threats or states have been too strong for people to protect themselves from despotism. Liberty emerges only when a delicate and precarious balance is struck between state and society.
-
-
Hugely disappointing book!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-16-19
By: Daron Acemoglu, and others