Court backs affirmative action program for lower-caste students

India's top court yesterday upheld a government program reserving more than a quarter of seats at the country's top government-funded schools for members of the lower castes.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled that lower-caste students belonging to financially well-off families should not be allowed to benefit from the program.

A complex hereditary system divides Hindus into castes, and those on the lower rungs of the ladder still face discrimination, even though the system was made illegal nearly six decades ago.