May 11, 2006 09:02 PM
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(Updated May 11, 2006 09:05 PM)
“In India, it would seem, everybody belongs to a minority. Poverty is not the exclusive characteristic of the scheduled castes and tribes. If social justice has to be equally meted out, the needs of the poor among the so-called upper castes will necessarily have to be met. The poor among all castes and classes have a problem have a problem. They can’t afford to send their children to school.”
That was Mr. M. V. Kamath in his article, “Reservations & Social Justice”. Few people would counter the impregnable logic of his statements about poverty and needs of the poor. Yet, most governments have conveniently denied looking at the issue of reservations from the standpoint of income, or of merit.
A MATTER OF DEFINITION
It all started in the 70s with the preposterous proposals of the Mandal Commission encouraging quotas in aided and unaided educational institutions. As a consequence of the turmoil that followed, people did move the Supreme Court. But unfortunately, no one had bothered to define the so-called backward classes and castes. According to the then Chief Justice V. N. Khare, “The Constitution doesn’t define OBC, it’s a government interpretation.” Then came the concept of the “creamy-layer” among the lower castes. But we have never had an official and rational code pertaining to the classification of castes as higher or lower.
In a political system so tentative and susceptible to mutilation, it’s not difficult for leaders like Ram Jethmalani to twist a few sentences into watertight arguments in favour of reservations. Such leaders have been twisting and deforming the Constitution ever since we can remember. The architect of this tragedy, V. P. Singh did resign, but only after having wrought long-lasting damage.
And yet, no government has so far proposed to make amendments in order to reduce the influence of – if not abolish– the “Reservation Raj”. In the year 2000, the NDA leaders mumbled incoherently about reviewing the Constitution, but the idea disappeared quickly, leaving behind an enormous void of reformers.
Our leaders might have got away with it, but the highly eccentric proposal by Arjun Singh – towards increasing the quotas in central universities to an alarming 49.5% - is the last straw.
We must make ourselves heard – now or never.
HISTORICAL WRONGS
According to the Hindu Vedas, caste originated with Brahma, the creator (Brahmins sprang from his mouth, Kshatriyas from his biceps, Vaishyas from his thighs, and Sudras from his feet. Below them were the untouchables, who had not emerged from the divine entity.). Thus, it is a religious duty of a Hindu to believe in the hierarchy of caste.
But the origins of this hierarchy were anything but divine. In fact, this hierarchy was an ingenious method devised by Hinduism’s Aryan founders to enslave India’s dark, Dravidian population. The Indian word for caste, Varna, means colour. Many outcastes have dark skins, a graphical proof of the unjust criterion of classification in the caste system.
It was not until reformers like Mahatma Phule and Dr Ambedkar intervened, that the so-called upper castes stopped committing atrocities against the lower ones. The present day quotas are compensations for those atrocities. That’s another fact attributed to the age-old Hindu law – a Son must pay for his Father’s mistakes. This provides yet another cast-iron argument in the favour of reservations.
All that is, of course, against the Constitutions policy of Secularism. The Indian Government has no official faith. Putting caste above merit for these reasons is a serious miscarriage of “Secularism”. But it takes no more than a few unscrupulous bastards to mutilate the postulates of secularism.
“RESERVED” FOR THE CORRUPT
Years of experience have shown that reservations are no solution. They neither bring about uplift of the backward classes nor ensure a secure educational future for the beneficiaries of the quotas. Thomas Sowell, an American intellectual who is opposed to affirmative action has done considerable and useful research in the book, “Affirmative Action Around The World”. The causes for the problem on reservations have been highlighted in the book as:
Caste violence still occurs.
Unfilled Seats – the reservation system is anything but just and efficient.
Underrepresentation of the BCs in the intelligentia – accorded to the large number of dropouts from the central universities.
Economic Causes.
Dominance of some classes among the OBCs – quota within the quotas.
They say experience is the best teacher. But trust our leaders to neutralize even the most obvious proverbs. Dr Ambedkar, who was always against perpetual reservations, made an appeal to the Government to find a way to do away with the reservations, he knew that they would be a hindrance in themselves to the social uplifting of the masses.
But the powerful will do anything to remain in power. What better device can be found to divide and rule the country?
LASTLY,
This situation reminds me of a dialogue from the blockbuster Rang De Basanti – “Jo log ooncha sunte hain, unhe dhamake ki zaroorat hoti hai.”
Putting such dialogues into practice may not seem feasible, but it is definitely worth a try. We students are no fools to believe in the integrity of our judiciary. We are no idealists to believe in the honesty of the government we elected. People would react to such situations in different manners – some would sit back and cry, some would sit back and complain, and some would volunteer to be decisive and actively protest against the unjust system.
So let us all be decisive and decide the category to which we would like to belong. Let us all be willing to take the responsibility to reform – not to record and photograph, but to create and project. Let us endeavor to define and present a rational code of ethics, to create a society and economy that brings out – and rewards – the best in every individual.
Let us all act while we can. Otherwise it will only remain for us to accept our lot in humble resignation.
