Reservation policy is the weapon of last resort in Indian politics. Quite akin to a nuclear strike, it leads to an uncontrolled chain reaction; the last time this weapon was wielded by an Indian prime minister, it changed the face of Indian politics.

VP Singh sought to position himself as a messiah of backward classes via the Mandal Commission’s implementation, but his efforts were upended by emergent caste satraps like Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and HD Devegowda.