HYDERABAD: Pointing that both the Union and state governments are increasingly relying on contractual and outsourced recruitment to circumvent reservation policies, retired Supreme Court judge, Justice B Sudershan Reddy on Sunday observed that quota system should be introduced in the private sector as a legal safeguard against discrimination.
Justice Sudershan Reddy made these remarks at an event titled, “Celebrating the 75th Birth Year of Prof Sukhdeo Thorat — A Life of Ideas: Unveiling Three Scholarly Gems in Honour of Prof Sukhdeo Thorat”, where speakers lauded Prof Thorat for his contributions.
The event was organised under the aegis of the Special Officer of ‘Buddhavanam’ and noted journalist, Mallepalli Laxmaiah, at the Centre for Dalit Studies here in the city.
Quoting freedom fighter Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, Justice Sudershan Reddy said that “caste restricts opportunity, restricted opportunity constricts ability and constricted ability further restricts opportunity.
He also recalled his experience of having worked with Prof Sukhdeo Thorat, the former UGC chairman, as part of the Independent Expert Working Group studying the Socio-Education, Employment, Economic, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) survey.
Meanwhile, Prof VS Prasad highlighted that Prof Thorat had conducted social experiments such as submitting identical job applications under names associated with upper castes, Dalits and religious minorities to study hiring bias in the private sector.
“These studies revealed that upper caste applicants were more readily shortlisted, while Dalits faced significant barriers,” he said and emphasised that Prof Thorat’s conclusions were grounded in evidence and free from personal bias.
Dr PV Ramesh noted that Prof Thorat successfully synthesised Dr BR Ambedkar’s ideas within academic research.
Describing him as an inspiring mentor, he stressed that Prof Thorat’s influential works should be translated into regional languages to reach a wider audience.