CHENNAI: Reservation is based on the principle of compensating in the present for a historical wrong and should be viewed in a positive light, said Sukhadeo Thorat, chairman of the University Grants Commission, here on Sunday evening.

Delivering the 32nd Frank Moraes Memorial Lecture organised by the United Writers' Association (UWA), he reiterated that the problem of the historical deprivation of the lower castes should be seen as a problem of Indian society, rather than that of specific communities.

The widespread debate on the issue of reservation for the dalits and OBCs in the private sector and institutions of higher education was proof of a vibrant civil society. The caste system was the result of an artificial system that distributed rights unequally among groups of people, he said. Legislation against caste-based discrimination had not wiped out the practice in nearly 50 years. Economic exclusion continues to operate through the market and this leads us to the need for interventionist policy. The common thread that ran through international responses to address the problems of marginalised groups was legislation for equal rights and provide for equal opportunities in various institutions, including those of education, he said.

In this case, at least, data is not required to prove that society is stratified and Tamil Nadu has pioneered the implementation of proportional reservation, he said.

Mr. Thorat later distributed the UWA Outstanding Intellectuals of 21st Century Awards to some 25 leading members of various professions.

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