Apr 11, 2006 09:45 PM
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(Updated Apr 11, 2006 09:45 PM)
1990- The then PM V.P.Singh announces implementation of Mandal Commission report granting reservation for 32% OBC in Govt Jobs. Protests break out all over India, with many setting themselves ablaze. The Supreme Court orders a stay on the issue, and some time later its implemented through the back door.
2006- The Hon Education Minister Mr. Arjun Singh announces implementation of 20% reservations for OBC/s in IIT’s, IIM’s and any unaided private institution. Of course this doesn’t apply for minority institutions, but that’s an altogether different issue.
16 years have passed from one Singh to another, India has undergone globalization, become a force to reckon with in the field of IT, got used to coalition Govts, undergone a mini telecom revolution too, and inspite of many problems has changed some what for the better.
What has not changed is the attitude of our political leaders to indulge in cynical vote bank politics irrespective of the consequences the nation has to face. I was a student in 1990, and actively took part in the Anti Mandal protests. I think that was the last time I have seen students actively taking part in any form of protest.
Who is Arjun Singh ?
He is a senile 80+ political leader who lost his deposit and ended up fourth when he last contested the elections from his home town in M.P. Forget about representing India, that guy cant even represent his home town of Satna in MP. In his own state he is a political no body. But thanks to his ability to be a Gandhi family chamcha. he ended up becoming the Minister for Human Resource Development. What an irony a political dud and a guy facing corruption charges on many counts, is entrusted with the task of building human resources in India. No wonder there is brain drain.
His first year and a half was spent in Detoxification of Text Books, trying to rewrite the books, which were allegedly filled with communal content. Fair enough, but problem was after a point, it was difficult to decide what was communal and what was not. And that led to clashes with experts in the field of education. So aided by his Marxist cronies, he went on a drive to kick out any one who didn’t toe his line.
His secular line has few takers in his own party itself, and with his Tughlaqian venture of re writing text books failing, he hit upon a new brain wave to resurrect himself. And so the messiah of OBC’s was born, and he came off with brilliant tactic to reserve seats in IIT, IIM and all unaided private institutions.
Well many time I often hear about how we must do justice to oppressed minorities and so reservations are a must. Well I don’t have any issue with that, and maybe we do need reservations, but consider these issues.
Not helping really needy: My question is simple, why should the children of doctors, IAS officers and other professionals avail the benefits of reservations? Let the benefits accrue only to one generation. If a person become a doctor through reservation, fine, but why should his children and grand children and great grand children also avail the same benefits. You became a doctor through reservation, as due to some constraints you would not have competed with others on same level. But your children have no such problem, they have all facilities which you didn’t have, so why should they get the benefit of reservation. The fact is the beneficiaries of reservation have become an elite circle of professionals/ bureaucrats/officers, but not the really poor and needy. So the very purpose is being defeated here.
Poverty has nothing to do with caste: One of the biggest myths perpetuated by the bleeding heart liberal crusaders, is that all forward caste people are well off. Do these so called liberals know that many Brahmins are wallowing in dire poverty? Many of the farmers who are committing suicide all over the country belong to the so called “forward castes”. Poverty is endemic all over India, and it has nothing to do with caste. I know of many brilliant students who could not make it to a professional course, because they belonged to a so called forward caste, and neither were they rich to join a private college on donation. So please stop propagating the myth of rich forward caste and poor backward caste.
Who is an OBC ?: When reservations were first formulated they were done so keeping in mind, the disadvantaged groups like SC/ST and BC. Problem was in order to get more votes, our political leaders started to declare every caste as a backward caste just to win votes. This has given rise to a comical situation, where in every caste group with their self styled spokespersons wants to be listed as a backward class just to get the benefits of reservations. And if one takes a look at what Mandal defines as OBC, it comes up as so complex and idiotic. Thus X might be a backward caste in UP, but in Gujarat it would be taken as a forward caste. Yadavs are considered as a backward caste, but they are the most dominant community in UP, Bihar. In Karnataka, the two dominant communities of Vokkaliga and Lingayat are taken as backward castes. These are just some of the examples. The fact is that in the absence of any credible benchmark for defining backwardness, we have political leaders declaring each and every caste as backward just for short term electoral benefit.
Merit is not elitist: Courses like Medicine and Engineering have certain standards attached to them. For heavens sake you cant admit a duffer to a Medical course, just because he/she belongs to X community. If you are so intent on providing benefits to those communities , put a minimum standard please. If cut off mark for Open Category is 50%, make it 40% for reserved communities. But 50% for Open Category and none for reserved category? Gimme a break. Merit is not an elitist tool, damn it, every where certain standards are prescribed, and you need to conform to the standards. Are you going to be treated by a doctor who knows nothing about his subject? Would you allow your house to be built by some one who doesn’t know the ABC’s of construction? Would you entrust your money with a banker who doesn’t know the difference between current and saving’s account? Why because that’s the least you expect from them. Merit doesn’t mean that the person has to be a whiz kid,but for heaven’s sake it doesn’t mean that person should not even have the minimum knowledge. A guy gets admitted into a medical course with just 10% marks, you seriously think he will be a decent doctor.
Reservations were meant only for 10 years, and this was what even Dr.B.R.Ambedkar meant them to be. But they are being extended every time just for the sake of vote bank politics. If after 50 years of reservations, you still have not been able to get people rid of their backwardness, that means some thing is seriously wrong with this policy or with the implementation. But looking into where reservations went wrong, would be too much for our political jokers, so they make it simple, keep on extending it, and add more and more communities as backward.
