There is something disturbing about the shrill reaction to the call for quotas in Indian cricket. When Udit Raj, perhaps one of the lesser-known Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, made a call for caste-based reservations a few weeks ago, most public comments online used the same expletives Virat Kohli used on the pitch in his early days.

But it was not just the trolls who chose to pan the idea. Times Now labelled it a “bizarre demand” and called for more vitriol with the hashtag #QuotaNoBall. Jokes about Dalit cricketers sweeping the pitch (as opposed to playing the sweep shot) began doing the rounds – a cruel pun given that a large majority of people from the community sweep city streets.

On Tuesday, Ramdas Athawale, a prominent Dalit leader and now minister of state for social justice and empowerment, backed the request and jumpstarted another press cycle. While it’s not certain whether these demands have been timed with the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections in mind, the lack of a rational debate on this subject is worrying. It may have to do with the under-representation of Dalits in the English language newsrooms in Delhi and Mumbai.

Mainstream opinion in India paints quotas in professional sport an absurdity; A needless political interference. After all, the word “sport” conjures images of excellence of mind and body, unmatched physical prowess and ultimate meritocracy. Quotas in sport are not a novel idea, though.

Transformation targets in a bid to bring inclusivity

The racial quota system in South Africa is perhaps the most prominent example in recent times. Under pressure from the government, Cricket South Africa has been set a “transformation target”. Their solution? Of the 11 players in the national team, a minimum of six players must be of colour, and at least two must be black African. The aim is to “make cricket a truly national sport accessible to all”. Over the years the quota system has left many disgruntled, with Kevin Pietersen being among the most famous cricketers to have left to play for another country. And for players of colour who make it to the national team, there’s the ignominy of being a mere “quota” number. Many have also criticised this system because it has not focused on the grassroots level – it merely expects world-class black cricketers to emerge without adequate opportunities in school. But this policy has forced the federations – rugby follows a similar quota system – to dig deeper and contribute to the country’s process of bringing about inclusivity.

In his book A Corner Of A Foreign Field, Ramachandra Guha, one of India’s best-known historians, tells the inspiring story of little-known Dalit cricketer Palwankar Baloo, who was noticed for his bowling performance almost a century ago in what was then known as Poona. Despite his showing for the Hindus, one of the teams in the Quadrangular tournament, he was not considered captaincy material as that would have upset the social order. What he did earn, though, was a lot of respect from BR Ambedkar, the champion of India’s Dalit movement.

Every section of society requires plurality and diversity

Caste-based reservation has actually been a bone of contention in India almost since the time Ambedkar drafted the Constitution in 1950. Over the decades, we have had several debates over the inclusion and exclusion of various castes and communities. It has almost always revolved around education and jobs. But plurality and diversity are important in all walks of life, and in every section of society. Take, for instance, what the New York Times’ public editor Liz Spayd wrote in a recent column calling for diversity in the newsroom: “The Times can be relentless in questioning the diversity at other institutions; it has written about the white ranks of the technology sector, public schools, police departments, Oscar nominees, law firms, legislatures, the major leagues and the Ivy League. Fixing its own problem comes less easily.”

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Sport can play a unifying role in society – the kind that often goes beyond our imagination. Think Nelson Mandela during the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. In perhaps one of the most defining moments in the world of sports and politics, he decided to don the Springboks jersey, which was once a hated symbol of white supremacy, before a crowd of 62,000 people, mostly white. Madiba endeared himself to the whole nation and also gave Clint Eastwood the subject of the film Invictus.

In recent years the most famous beneficiary of India’s job reservation system is MS Dhoni. Kharagpur station’s most famous ticket examiner landed the job because of a sport quota in the railways – something that allowed him to focus on cricket and realise one of modern India’s most romantic sporting legends.