CJI Chandrachud: Correcting historical wrongs goal of any constitutional system

Underlining the role played by affirmative action in correcting “historical wrongs”, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud called for rejecting the arguments of “caste elites” that “just because affirmative action is being provided, structural issues of discrimination don’t exist any more”.

“Even the slightest success of affirmative action is used by the caste elites to dismiss the issues around caste inequalities. Arguments are advanced that just because affirmative action is being provided, structural issues of discrimination don’t exist any more. Such binary narrations must be rejected,” the CJI said while delivering the keynote address at the sixth international conference on ‘Unfinished Legacy of Dr B R Ambedkar’ at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

“Throughout history, marginalised groups have been subjected to horrendous wrongs. From the brutal transatlantic slave trade to the Native American displacement, to the caste inequalities in India, to the systemic oppression of women, LGBTQ+ individuals and minority communities, the annals of history are stained with instances of profound injustice,” he said. “Remedying historical wrongs ought to be the goal of any constitutional system,” he said, adding that “representation is only one way of” achieving this.