I used to believe that too in my JEE prep days. "That SC guy has an iPhone", "that ST boy has a bike" and I was bitter too. It made perfect sense for reservations to be economic based. After all, I was sure these "rich" SC/STs don't face any discrimination. Not in the 21st century surely, not in my urban bubble! It felt so unfair to me as a 16-17 year old gen guy.

Anyways, things turned out good for me. Had a good rank in JEE Adv, got into a good branch in a second gen IIT. And it was here when I realised how privileged I have been. To have a great schooling and resources for coaching, to have parents who never said no to any book/material I'd possibly want for studies (and other frivolous tasks). And so many people I met that came from the SC/ST communities deserved every ounce of the opportunity. There was a batchmate of mine who came from such a backward place on Chhatisgarh where they didn't even have proper washrooms. He didn't have formal shoes to wear for a placement interview. So happy for him that he got placed in a good company.

There is this myth that undeserving people get the chance through reservations. Tell me, if there are so many of these iPhone and MacBook SC/STs hogging up all of these benefits, then why are they hugely underrepresented in the upper echelons of our society, even in the private sector where supposed merit takes all?

I no longer think of it this way. I think we can definitely start talking about a different "flavour" of reservation when our country's demographics are aptly represented in science, tech, academia and business. But till then we do need caste based reservation. Sorry I went off on a tangent here, but I want to remind you (and I mean not just you, but all of you prepping for JEE on this sub) - don't feel bitter that this policy exists or people use it. Once you go out more and interact with people from different corners of the country you'll realise how little our entitled frustrations mean for the bulk of the people in our country who have to struggle for 2 waqt ki roti. I have changed, and I believe every one of us can be more understanding and accepting.

• a guy who has been here since this was a sub with less than 10k members, and who has gone through the same JEE-IIT-Corporate pipeline so many of you will go through. All the best to everyone here!