A lot of blogspace has been already dedicated to the recent reservation fuck-up (yes, I am using the term, and it feels good) by the ‘honorable’ Minister for Human Resources & Development for the Union of India, the ‘venerable’ and ‘respected’ Mr. Arjun Singh. I don’t think I need to be clearer about how I feel about this whole affair.
Reservation per se, I am ready to accept on certain grounds and certain conditions.
Firstly, the entire provision must be a time-bound affair, not an ad infinitum proviso for those who have lifted their eyelids much after their forefathers were last abused in the name of community and caste. I appreciate that society is obliged to repay these communities in full for the tortures it inflicted on them for centuries, I accept that without as much as a whimper. But for long?
Secondly, there must be some factoring on the basis of the economic conditions of the family of the one seeking the reserved seat. Come now, if I happen to come from a family with an annual income in excess of Rupees Two lakhs per annum, happen to have a house, a car owned by my family, surely I am in no way disadvantaged. Then should I be permitted to claim that which is the right of those clearly lacking all this and more?
Finally, rather than numerically setting aside seats in the name of some community/communities, give them some leverage, maybe if one is admitting students on the basis of academic performance, grant them a 5 pc difference, but only if they happen to be economically disadvantaged, else tell them to stand in the general line. Sure, reserve seats, but only for those who have done exceptionally well, despite the adverse conditions at their residences. That way, one cannot be accused of compromising on merit alone, while still maintaining one’s lofty goal of social justice.
By now, you, my friend, will have understood that my ‘system’ of reservation rests solely on the premise of economic status, and not so much on the community-based approach adopted hitherto. Maybe this system is doomed to failure so long as the State is incapable of ensuring that each and every person is perfectly honest as far as his/her income is concerned. But there is hope. The Union Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram, is doing a stellar job of slowly but steadily reforming the archaic financial systems, to guarantee that accountability which this nation sorely needs.
Reservation per se, I am ready to accept on certain grounds and certain conditions.
Firstly, the entire provision must be a time-bound affair, not an ad infinitum proviso for those who have lifted their eyelids much after their forefathers were last abused in the name of community and caste. I appreciate that society is obliged to repay these communities in full for the tortures it inflicted on them for centuries, I accept that without as much as a whimper. But for long?
Secondly, there must be some factoring on the basis of the economic conditions of the family of the one seeking the reserved seat. Come now, if I happen to come from a family with an annual income in excess of Rupees Two lakhs per annum, happen to have a house, a car owned by my family, surely I am in no way disadvantaged. Then should I be permitted to claim that which is the right of those clearly lacking all this and more?
Finally, rather than numerically setting aside seats in the name of some community/communities, give them some leverage, maybe if one is admitting students on the basis of academic performance, grant them a 5 pc difference, but only if they happen to be economically disadvantaged, else tell them to stand in the general line. Sure, reserve seats, but only for those who have done exceptionally well, despite the adverse conditions at their residences. That way, one cannot be accused of compromising on merit alone, while still maintaining one’s lofty goal of social justice.
By now, you, my friend, will have understood that my ‘system’ of reservation rests solely on the premise of economic status, and not so much on the community-based approach adopted hitherto. Maybe this system is doomed to failure so long as the State is incapable of ensuring that each and every person is perfectly honest as far as his/her income is concerned. But there is hope. The Union Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram, is doing a stellar job of slowly but steadily reforming the archaic financial systems, to guarantee that accountability which this nation sorely needs.
4 comments:
Better yet, open competition for the seats, but government sponsored 'interest-free' loans for the economically challenged.
Vivek, I don't understand how you can justify reservation under any circumstances?
All seats should be "free seats"... but some reservation for physically disabled persons should be there.
It's disgusting that one person needs 98% to get into some good medical school and a dumbass BC person needs only 50%!
Shame on the Indian government! It's not doing anyone any good. BC's with 50% becoming doctors and engineers is bad for everyone because they will be incompetent and end up killing you and me by wrongly diagnosing us or by building weak buildings/bridges!
Education system should be based on marks alone. Who ever has the best marks gets into college... no reservation BS!
I agree that Bhramins treated non-Bhramins like shit in the past but tit-for-tit is not doing anyone any good. It's not good for the nation's future ...
Why do you think India's education is not well-respected in the world?
With reference to the third para of your comment, note that I have advocated a maximum 5 pc difference. It may amount to much, but it is the maximum difference I support. You will agree that as far as HSC marks are concerned, whether you get 95 pc or 90 pc, it makes no big difference on what sort of engineer or doctor you will become. Yes, if you have got 50 pc, it will be an indicator of things to come.
You will also have to comprehend that I am not advocating a communal approach to reservation. So the anti-Brahminism bias simply does not figure here. In fact, if you care to read my first condition, I have very clearly questioned the duration of the reservation programme, as also in the second point, questioned the credentials of those seeking reservation.
India is not the only country where reservation is practiced as a matter of policy. The USA also practices reservation, only choosing to term it as affirmative action. The educational institutions there also grant members of specific communities leverage merely because they are meritorious and belong to that specific community. However, I do not see any substantiative decrease in the standard of the educational institutions there. The mindset in our educational institutions has to change for our systems to be respected worldwide. Holding the reservation policy or for that matter any other unrelated policy responsible is simply turning our face away from the sun.
Reservations are being propounded by some giving the chief reason that disadvantaged sections of society do not have the same 'resources' to achieve any qualifying satndard as a 'more well to do' student.
Frankly speaking, this is the only line of argument in favour of reservation i somewhat endorse..
I fully agree with vivek's point of ensuring segregation of so called 'Backward classes' on the basis of income. It's rather quite obvious..
Infact, in the MANDAL commission report, there was only one member in the committee who was from a backward class & this was exactly the point he had argued for. Unfortunately, the report was accepted without giving due attention to this argument (obvious political undertones) & the after effects of this is what we are suffering from today.
I will not waste time dicussing the modalities of implementation of reservation ( if it has to be there)
My basic argument is very clear. The Government should get it's priorities right. Lack of good governance & effective social policies can be pushed under the carpet only for so long..
The government should stop bothering institutions of higher learning ( which are the only decent thing this country has to offer) & concentrate on the pathetic primary & secondary education setup in most parts of our country.
The politics in such issues cannot be missed by even the dumbest person on this planet. The Major ruling party would do well to remember the lack of a mandate for it in the elections. It could go the BJP way if it continues to abuse the power of office & play minority ( i use the word in all possible meanings)
politics.
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