communities, it was apprehended, could foster a similar political isolation on community lines that was spelt out in the creation of Pakistan. But the reservations for scheduled castes and tribes were justified as a protective economic measure that would ensure equal opportunities for backward classes. She, thus, argues that the idea of secularism in India has not ensured equal treatment of various communities. The minority religious groups, she argues, have been barred from any claim to inequality in the plea of national integration
