When I was still in school in 1990, 20-something Rajeev Goswami, studying in Delhi University, poured oil and set himself on fire amid a crowd of supporters. Like many other upper-caste students at the time, Goswami was protesting the proposed 27 percent quota for backward classes in government jobs. His shocking act — self-immolation — won sympathy all around, triggering a spate of similar, horrifying suicides but an anti-reservation movement was bound to fail. Morally, it’s hard to disagree with affirmative action to rectify historical wrongs that have kept so many crores disenfranchised by casteism. Still, it took courage to take a stance for his own lot, who, despite caste privilege, were struggling to get by as well. Goswami died in his 30s, in obscurity, his sacrifice a footnote in contemporary Indian history.

There’s no heroic recklessness — Goswami-style — going on at Jantar Mantar right now; rather, a range of polite and steely-eyed youth staying put,........

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