Several people were detained in the Indian capital on Friday after thousands of protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar to demand that government job and education quotas be determined by economic need rather than caste.
Police had authorised the demonstration at Ramlila Maidan, but protesters instead assembled at Jantar Mantar, prompting police and Rapid Action Force personnel to intervene.
Authorities detained several demonstrators for allegedly violating restrictions on public gatherings in the area.
The protest was organised by Reservation Hatao Andolan, with demonstrators carrying posters and saffron flags and raising slogans against the existing reservation system.
Protesters called for economic circumstances to be taken into account when determining access to government assistance.
“Support should be available to poor people regardless of their caste,” a demonstrator associated with the Akhil Bhartiya Kshatriya Mahasabha said, according to PTI. The protester called for help with education, coaching and related expenses.
Some demonstrators also sought an income-based system to determine priority within reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
Another protester said the demand was not to remove assistance for economically disadvantaged people, but to ensure that benefits such as scholarships, fee assistance and coaching reached those most in need.
The demonstration comes after the central government told the Supreme Court earlier this month that it opposed introducing income-based sub-quotas within the existing SC, ST and OBC reservation framework.
The government has argued that caste-based reservations address historical and social disadvantage rather than economic hardship alone.
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