How the Savarna construction of reservation vs merit binary has stalled progress of Dalits across sectors

The Constitution of India provides equal rights to all its citizens, but the oppressed sections of society, despite constitutional safeguards and rights, have minimal representation in political and governmental bodies. In a casteist society like India, political parties are also majorly dominated by upper caste elites, which helps them in preserving status quo. However, in order to promote and position Dalit leadership in political parties and governments, one needs to go beyond the ‘political democracy’, and work to establish what Ambedkar says in his famous text Annihilation of Caste: “[D>emocracy is not merely a form of government. Sagar, a reporter with The Caravan, says that Haldhar Shethy, a Dalit lawyer who has been associated with the Congress since 1985, told him that “he never got a high position in the party or a ticket to contest the assembly or parliamentary elections.” “Padhe likhe SC jo hotey hain party mein unko samman nahi milta.." Further, he also said that Dalit leaders from other parties that he spoke to expressed that they had faced similar issues as well. On the contrary, it appears that caste favouritism and the social exclusion of Dalits and Muslims have infused private enterprises even in the most dynamic modern sector of the Indian economy”.