Falling Over Backwards (Harper)

Key Features The book examines the issue of reservations in India, and as such is extremely topical and controversial The author, a number of whose books have been bestsellers, is one of the most prominent intellectuals in the country The book is being launched with three other titles by the same author and will be backed by a multi-city author tour to promote these About the Book: Falling Over Backwards: An Essay on Reservations and Judicial Populism Reservations in jobs and education have always been a contentious issue. Ever since Prime Minister V.P. Singh unleashed the Mandal Commission report in 1989, the issue of reservations has been hotly debated across India's social and political spectrum. But have reservations really served the purpose they were intended for? In Falling Over Backwards, Arun Shourie, with characteristic attention to detail and meticulous research, points to 'the truth about reservations: that they are a sleight of hand of the politician'. He also takes apart pro-reservation judgements of the Supreme Court and, in the process, bares the larger danger they portend, the danger to the one dyke that has saved us thus far, the doctrine of the Basic Structure itself. Tracing the history of reservations from the Constituent Assembly debates to the latest judgements, Falling Over Backwards is a stinging rejoinder to those who advocate reservations as the panacea for all the ills that plague the nation. About the Author: Arun Shourie Scholar, author, former editor and minister, Arun Shourie is one of the most prominent voices in our country's public life and discourse. Reviews 'Methodical research rarely lends itself to passionate writing. But in Falling Over Backwards, Arun Shourie seeks to combine facts, figures, statements and judgements with the argumentative rhetoric of a propagandist. The result is an eminently readable book'- The Hindu