Say 'Yes' to Reservation ..? Noooo

The proposed increase in OBC reservation from 22.5% to 27% in premier educational institutes in India has created the big students' uprising. The proposal seems to be politically motivated to garner up the vote share for congress in the election period.

It's government duty to provide equal oppurtunities for all its citizens to lead a normal life. A child from economically backward class has to face lot of challenges in family. When comes to competing with peer group in getting a good education, he/she stands in a disadvantage position. Historically reservation started to supplement this difference. Few percent of seats in educational institution are reserved in quotas for different segment of the people.

Mind my words usage when describing, it is economically backward class and it's not caste. This is the place where politics has enter into reservation policy. Linking caste with class is the historical blunder. It's like generalising people based on their sun signs- say Taureans are soft hearted people, lets reserve 15% of management seats for them. Funny, isn't it? Giving reservations based on the caste itself is a joke, besides that these stupid politicians keeps on increasing the quota.

The creamy layer idealogy essentially means there are different segments of people in same caste in different economic classes. When you prefer caste based reservation system, the whole idea of supplementing those disadvantaged people in their challenges gets defeated. So, what can be the possible solution?

Lets take the good points in arguments of those for and against the reservation. Lets develop a situation where consensus in a good reservation policy be arrived at. My take would be - lets categorise people based on their economy and livelihood. Propose reservation based on economic classes. Update people's status based on constant feedback and update their status. It's not that impossible. Indian census does this segregation and lets improve on the system. We have the all the essential system in place, refining the system based on consensus is what is needed.

If fifty years of reservation policy has not been able to achieve anything then have we to wait another fifty years? Let the reservation be based on the economic divide, on income. Are not a poor Brahmin or a Kshatriya or a dalit entitled to the same education and same reservation. The basis should be the annual income and not the birth.

So long as the class and caste divide is in the books and in the law, it will be present in the society and in the minds. Ironically the whole concept of reservation was conceived to remove this very class and caste divide.

Ancient texts and laws do talk about system of dwija or the twice born who were considered to be higher in the hierarchical ladder. Dwijas were "dwijas" because it was inscribed in the system, the law recognized it. The sense of thinking works on what the brain hears, sees and reads. A new born baby doesn't know what a dalit is till he is made to understand the meaning in subsequent years.

India has many other serious problems which need attention, and surely caste and class doesn't figure in it. One week ago there was no such frenzy on the reservation system, but then in his world who likes to live peacefully? Attention craving, personal gain and identity crisis have prompted many an incident in the past which the world could have done without. The recent HRD ministry's action is one such instance.

One's curiosity regarding the reasons which provoked Goswami's immolation and immortal action now perhaps stands answered.