This book examines the principles underlining the policies of affirmative action evolved in two non-homogeneous and multi-ethnic societies-India and the United States. Despite the fact that the governments of India and the United States have, for over 50 years now, adopted a series of measures to overcome discrimination based on caste and race respectively, the author maintains that there is as yet no comprehensive account of the grounds on which they have been intellectually justified. He, therefore, analyses the various arguments which have been presented to justify reservations in India and affirmative action in the United States.