An Indian-American Professor, Rajeshwari Iyer, has ignited a controversial debate on the internet by linking the Air India crash that led to more than 270 fatalities to India’s reservation policies.
Iyer, educated in India, shared a job posting from the Airports Authority of India for air traffic controller positions, stating, “Even the role of ‘Air Traffic Controller’ has reservations. In India, those who exploit others are valued more than security.”
The statement was made a day following the crash of flight AI 171, which was headed to London and went down in Ahmedabad shortly after departure.
Iyer also said, “Including Indian citizens, we lose many British citizens too. 241 died in a plane crash. What a pathetic system (sic).”
While numerous internet users backed her, some criticized her for supposed caste bias and for exploiting a national calamity to advance her ideological beliefs.
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Certain internet users highlighted previous air accidents involving professionals from non-reserved categories, disputing her assertion that reservation-based hiring was at fault.
Last year, Iyer, a graduate from renowned institutions like NIT Puducherry and IIT Delhi, ignited a similar debate with her assertion that Brahmins are the most oppressed group in India.
In September last year, Iyer wrote on X, “Brahmins are less than 2% of the population. They are the most exploited and abused among all Indians. Still, 60% of all Nobel Prizes won by Indians were Brahmins.”
