A call for balance: Reservation, reform, and the right to opportunity

Education has always been regarded as the great equalizer. the one tool through which individuals, regardless of their background, could shape their future. with this belief, I pursued my academic journey with dedication, completing both my Master (M.A) and Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.). As a member belong of the Rengma community, which is small and often left unheard, I knew that I would have to work twice as hard to make a place for myself in the competitive world.
Throughout my School, college and university, I consistently performed better than many of my peers (although not as a Topper). My marks, attendance, and involvement in academic life all reflected my commitment. I stayed up late preparing for exams, sacrificed time with family, and pushed myself every single day, not because I was competing with others, but because I was competing with my own limitations and dreams.
Yet today, I find myself disheartened and disillusioned.
Many of those who scored significantly lower than me in school, college, and university exams are now holding secure government jobs. They have moved on with stable careers, while I am still struggling, submitting application after application, sitting for exam after exam, and waiting for that one opportunity to prove myself.
I do not blame them. Nor do I oppose the idea of reservation.
Let me say this clearly, I am not against the reservation system, I fully understand why it exists. India’s caste and community-based disparities have historically excluded many from opportunities, and reservation is one of the ways to address that injustice. It is a constitutional provision that has uplifted many and rightly so.
But when a system becomes rigid and starts benefiting only those who have already risen above their challenges, those who now have economic strength, good networks, and access to coaching and guidance it begins to create a new kind of injustice, A silent one. and unfortunately, people like me are at the receiving end of it.
The Rengma community, like several others, is often overshadowed by larger, more politically influential groups. We don’t have strong representation in decision-making spaces, and we lack the socio-political leverage to demand what is due to us. Many of our young people are highly educated, yet unemployed. They are losing faith not just in the system, but in the very idea that hard work matters.
And the emotional toll is not small. Imagine putting in years of effort, only to realize that your qualifications don’t carry the same weight as a certificate of category. Imagine feeling invisible not because you haven’t done enough, but because the system doesn’t recognize your struggles.
This is not a call to end reservation, this is a call to reform it.
To make it more dynamic, more just, and more inclusive.
To ensure that it reflects the current ground realities, not just historical narratives.
We need a reservation policy that includes parameters like income, geographic remoteness, and educational disadvantage factors that cut across community lines. We need a system that identifies and uplifts the actually marginalized, not just the technically eligible.
Our youth deserves better. Our efforts deserve recognition. And our voices deserve to be heard.
I still believe in education. I still believe in fairness. But above all, I believe it’s time for a conversation on how we can build a system where no deserving individual regardless of community is left behind.
This is not a complaint. It is a truth.
This is not an attack. It is a plea.
And this is not anger. It is a cry for justice.
A Shyerhunlo Lorin