Merit without Reward? Examining the Impact of Reservation Policies on Educational Motivation and Human Capital Utilisation in India

India’s reservation policy has played a significant role in promoting social justice by expanding access to education and employment for historically marginalised communities. However, alongside its redistributive objectives, the policy has generated complex unintended consequences that remain under-examined in contemporary legal and policy discourse. This paper adopts a functional and person-oriented approach to examine how reservation policies influence educational motivation, perceptions of merit, and the effective utilisation of human capital, particularly among students in the general category.Drawing upon policy analysis, existing empirical studies, and theoretical insights from human capital theory and motivational psychology, the paper argues that prolonged competitive uncertainty, delayed career entry, and perceived imbalance between effort and outcome have contributed to declining academic motivation and aspiration among certain sections of youth. This phenomenon does not merely affect individual well-being but has broader implications for national productivity, workforce readiness, and social cohesion.The paper does not frame reservation as inherently unjust or illegitimate. Instead, it situates the debate within a broader inquiry into whether current policy design adequately aligns social justice with efficiency, dignity, and human flourishing. It highlights how an education system dominated by credential accumulation rather than skill development further compounds frustration by consuming productive years without assured economic or social returns.By acknowledging the experiences of students across social categories, the paper proposes a reform-oriented framework that emphasises capability development, time-bound support mechanisms, skill-linked education, and a more nuanced understanding of merit. The study concludes that recalibrating reservation policy through a functional lens—without undermining its constitutional ethos—can better serve both equity and national development goals.