Explain John Rawls’s ‘veil of ignorance’ and ‘difference principle’. Apply them to evaluate the constitutionality and ethics of reservation in promotions.
Subtopic: Section A · World moral thinkers · Rawls
How to structure your answer
Define: veil of ignorance — choose principles without knowing one's social position; difference principle — inequalities justified only if they benefit the worst-off.
Illustrate: reservation in promotions across Group A services.
Apply: Indra Sawhney 1992, M. Nagaraj 2006, Jarnail Singh 2018, Janhit Abhiyan 2022.
Conclude: Rawls supports reservation as justice-as-fairness; quantitative data and creamy-layer test refine application.
Written within the word limit
142 words · target 150 words · 9 min
Definition: Rawls's A Theory of Justice (1971) imagines the original position behind a veil of ignorance, where rational agents — unaware of their caste, class, talent or gender — choose principles of justice; the difference principle permits inequalities only if they benefit the worst-off.
Illustration: Reservation in promotions for SC/ST Group A officers can be defended as justice-as-fairness: behind the veil, no one would risk being born into a historically excluded community without compensatory access to senior office. Indra Sawhney (1992) introduced the creamy-layer test for OBCs; M. Nagaraj (2006) required quantifiable data on backwardness, inadequate representation and administrative efficiency; Jarnail Singh (2018) eased Nagaraj for SC/STs; Janhit Abhiyan (2022) upheld the 103rd Amendment's EWS reservation 3-2.
Application: Rawls supports reservation in promotion in principle; the difference principle demands that creamy-layer exclusion and evidence-based quantification refine application so the benefit reaches the genuinely worst-off, not the already-arrived.
What an examiner expects to see
- A Theory of Justice 1971 — two principles (equal liberty + fair equality of opportunity + difference principle)
- Original position and veil of ignorance
- Maxi-min decision rule under uncertainty
- Indra Sawhney 1992 — creamy layer in OBC reservation
- M. Nagaraj 2006 — quantifiable data + inadequate representation tests
- Janhit Abhiyan 2022 — 103rd CAA EWS reservation upheld 3-2
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- Reservation in promotion in SC/ST cadres post-Jarnail Singh 2018
- EWS 10 per cent reservation (103rd Amendment 2019)
- PESA-FRA areas — substantive equality through scheduled-area autonomy