Indian-American professor criticizes reservation policy post crash
Dr. Rajeshwari Iyer, an Indian-American professor, has stirred up controversy after she linked India's reservation policy to the deadly Air India AI 171 crash that claimed over 270 lives.
She criticized the Airports Authority of India's hiring practices, saying they put "freeloaders" ahead of safety—a comment many have called out as casteist and insensitive, especially so soon after the tragedy.
Iyer's remarks have fueled a heated debate
The London-bound flight crashed into a medical college complex just after leaving Ahmedabad, killing nearly everyone on board plus several people on the ground. Only one person survived.
While investigators work to piece together what happened, Iyer's remarks have fueled a heated debate about whether reservation policies affect safety or if she's just using a tragedy to push her own agenda.