Should We Have Reservation ?
Reservation for backward communities is both a social and economic issue. It is a social issue because it creates a difference among the different communities. Instead of reducing caste barriers, it further increases them. It is also an economic issue as it will affect the quality of education provided in educational institutions and thereby affect the quality of workforce employed by firms.
The recent controversy about reservation arose when the current Human Resource Development minister, Mr. Arjun Singh, decided to increase reservation for other backward classes (OBC’s) in educational institutions. As a result of this proposal, the total amount of seats reserved goes up to 49.5%.
The Constitution of India gives power to the government to undertake reasonable discrimination in order to uplift the backward classes. However, this proposal by the government is a ‘radical’ one rather than a ‘reasonable’ one. This policy, if passed, will drastically reduce the number of seats for the general category in educational institutions like the I.I.T’s, I.I.M’s and other prestigious institutions. Thus caste will be given more importance as opposed to merit.
In India, the policy of reservation has lost all logic and has now become a mere political tool. Seats are reserved on the basis of caste rather than other criteria like the income level, opportunities provided etc. This is because the political parties use reservation to entice people from these communities to vote for them. Thus reservation has now become a means of dividing society rather than uniting it.
Reservation is being used as a political tool. This is clearly visible in the way the reservation policy has evolved in India. Seats are not only being reserved in educational institutions but there are proposals to reserve jobs in both the public and private sector. This idea is ridiculous because reserving seats in educational institutions means that the people of the backward community who will enjoy this opportunity will be at par with the general category people and thus there is no reason to have jobs reserved for them.
Also, contrary to logic, the reservation in India has been increasing over time. Reservation should decline over a period of time because people of the backward communities, who enjoy this reservation, should progress in their life and thereby work for the upliftment of their own community. As a result, the required reservation should reduce over a period of time as people who have benefited from it will improve the condition of their community.
The creamy layer is a major hindrance which affects the effectiveness of the reservation policy. The ‘creamy layer’ refers to the elite or privileged class among each caste which takes advantage of the special provisions made for the upliftment of that community. As a result, it is this creamy layer which benefits rather than the real backward people of that community.
The debate for reservation of seats is not a debate which can be discussed only on parameters of merit and caste. I am not opposed to the idea of reservation, but it is important that the reasons for this reservation should be correct. It must not be based on political considerations; instead we must focus on communities which most desperately need this opportunity. Reservation of seats is all about providing opportunities and thus these opportunities must be provided on a priority basis to the people who most need it and also ensure that the creamy layer does not take undue advantage of these policies.
Reservation must be provided on the basis of opportunity rather than caste or class. The aim of reservation must be the upliftment of backward communities by providing them opportunities to improve their standard of living. The very reason that these communities are backward is because they lacked the opportunities to grow and develop. Thus the government must strive to provide this opportunity to these people rather then using reservation as a political weapon.
By using reservation as a political tool, the Congress party, has itself gone against the principles laid down by our founding fathers. It has totally forgotten the ideology of Gandhiji, Nehruji, Sardar Patel and others, who envisioned India as a country where caste should have no importance. As opposed to this ideology, this reservation policy has made caste the most important thing in Indian society.
If the government is so hell bent on ensuring equal opportunities, then why doesn’t it try to provide equal opportunities at the school level? If students are given the opportunity to get equally good education in schools, then there will be no need to reserve seats at the college level.
The Congress party has often accused the BJP of dividing the country on a communal or religious basis. But with this new reservation policy, isn’t the Congress doing the same thing. It is actually dividing our society on the basis of caste by giving more emphasis to caste as opposed to merit. Thus the Congress is more responsible for dividing the country as compared to the BJP.
The solution to this problem is not so simple. On one hand, the government has to work for the upliftment of the backward classes, and on the other, it has to ensure that merit doesn’t become redundant in the admission process. Thus we need a mechanism through which we can work for the upliftment of the backward classes without hurting the interests of the general category students. One possible method for this is to increase the number of seats as both the needs of the reserved and general category will be met.
We, as students, must agitate and protest against this absurd reservation policy. We are not against other people of lower caste but what we oppose is the hidden intent of the government behind this policy. It has been over a decade since the recommendations of the mandal commission were implemented. It is important that the government study and analyze the impact of the already existing reservation before it introduces reservations for other communities. It is also important for us to create awareness about the ill effects of this reservation policy and also spread awareness regarding other possible solutions like affirmative action.
The recent controversy about reservation arose when the current Human Resource Development minister, Mr. Arjun Singh, decided to increase reservation for other backward classes (OBC’s) in educational institutions. As a result of this proposal, the total amount of seats reserved goes up to 49.5%.
The Constitution of India gives power to the government to undertake reasonable discrimination in order to uplift the backward classes. However, this proposal by the government is a ‘radical’ one rather than a ‘reasonable’ one. This policy, if passed, will drastically reduce the number of seats for the general category in educational institutions like the I.I.T’s, I.I.M’s and other prestigious institutions. Thus caste will be given more importance as opposed to merit.
In India, the policy of reservation has lost all logic and has now become a mere political tool. Seats are reserved on the basis of caste rather than other criteria like the income level, opportunities provided etc. This is because the political parties use reservation to entice people from these communities to vote for them. Thus reservation has now become a means of dividing society rather than uniting it.
Reservation is being used as a political tool. This is clearly visible in the way the reservation policy has evolved in India. Seats are not only being reserved in educational institutions but there are proposals to reserve jobs in both the public and private sector. This idea is ridiculous because reserving seats in educational institutions means that the people of the backward community who will enjoy this opportunity will be at par with the general category people and thus there is no reason to have jobs reserved for them.
Also, contrary to logic, the reservation in India has been increasing over time. Reservation should decline over a period of time because people of the backward communities, who enjoy this reservation, should progress in their life and thereby work for the upliftment of their own community. As a result, the required reservation should reduce over a period of time as people who have benefited from it will improve the condition of their community.
The creamy layer is a major hindrance which affects the effectiveness of the reservation policy. The ‘creamy layer’ refers to the elite or privileged class among each caste which takes advantage of the special provisions made for the upliftment of that community. As a result, it is this creamy layer which benefits rather than the real backward people of that community.
The debate for reservation of seats is not a debate which can be discussed only on parameters of merit and caste. I am not opposed to the idea of reservation, but it is important that the reasons for this reservation should be correct. It must not be based on political considerations; instead we must focus on communities which most desperately need this opportunity. Reservation of seats is all about providing opportunities and thus these opportunities must be provided on a priority basis to the people who most need it and also ensure that the creamy layer does not take undue advantage of these policies.
Reservation must be provided on the basis of opportunity rather than caste or class. The aim of reservation must be the upliftment of backward communities by providing them opportunities to improve their standard of living. The very reason that these communities are backward is because they lacked the opportunities to grow and develop. Thus the government must strive to provide this opportunity to these people rather then using reservation as a political weapon.
By using reservation as a political tool, the Congress party, has itself gone against the principles laid down by our founding fathers. It has totally forgotten the ideology of Gandhiji, Nehruji, Sardar Patel and others, who envisioned India as a country where caste should have no importance. As opposed to this ideology, this reservation policy has made caste the most important thing in Indian society.
If the government is so hell bent on ensuring equal opportunities, then why doesn’t it try to provide equal opportunities at the school level? If students are given the opportunity to get equally good education in schools, then there will be no need to reserve seats at the college level.
The Congress party has often accused the BJP of dividing the country on a communal or religious basis. But with this new reservation policy, isn’t the Congress doing the same thing. It is actually dividing our society on the basis of caste by giving more emphasis to caste as opposed to merit. Thus the Congress is more responsible for dividing the country as compared to the BJP.
The solution to this problem is not so simple. On one hand, the government has to work for the upliftment of the backward classes, and on the other, it has to ensure that merit doesn’t become redundant in the admission process. Thus we need a mechanism through which we can work for the upliftment of the backward classes without hurting the interests of the general category students. One possible method for this is to increase the number of seats as both the needs of the reserved and general category will be met.
We, as students, must agitate and protest against this absurd reservation policy. We are not against other people of lower caste but what we oppose is the hidden intent of the government behind this policy. It has been over a decade since the recommendations of the mandal commission were implemented. It is important that the government study and analyze the impact of the already existing reservation before it introduces reservations for other communities. It is also important for us to create awareness about the ill effects of this reservation policy and also spread awareness regarding other possible solutions like affirmative action.
posted by avneeshlaw at 8:14 AM
1 Comments:
Hi,
I am a Phd student at a US university and am currently researching on blogs and politics in India. I just wanted to know, if you would be willing to answer a few questions around your blogging activities.
I would be really grateful for your cooperation. Please reply back at phdblogger@yahoo.com.
Thanks,
Madhu
Post a Comment
<< Home