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🇮🇳 National (All India) SOCIETY

Is removing surnames a better long-term strategy for ending caste-based reservation than continuing reservation indefinitely?

Aman Shakya Aman Shakya · Noida Published 24 Aug 2026
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📰 Context & Evidence

Caste-based reservation was created to address historical social discrimination and unequal access to education, employment and opportunities. However, a long-term debate is whether India should continue treating caste as a formal category indefinitely or work toward a society where caste no longer determines people’s opportunities. One proposed approach is to remove caste-identifying surnames and adopt a caste-neutral naming system, such as using a person’s first name followed by their father’s first name. The idea is that reducing the visibility of caste in everyday life could gradually weaken caste consciousness and discrimination.

💡 Author's Reasoning — "Why am I asking this?"

Surnames can sometimes reveal caste and reinforce caste-based identity. Replacing surnames with a caste-neutral system, such as using the father’s first name, could reduce the visibility of caste in everyday life. If caste discrimination declines over generations, could this eventually make caste-based reservation unnecessary?

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