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Opinion
The Reservation Hurricane
by MH
Ahsan
One common thing which binds our netas cutting across party lines is the issue
of reservation to the deprived classes. At least for the sake of hypothesis, as
in deriving a formula for a scientific corollary, for the moment we shall
believe that the classes for which reservation is sought needs the privilege. On
this premise, the current hot issue of providing reservation to candidates
belonging to OBC is reminiscing of the unrest that took place in 1990 as regards
implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations. The pages of reservation
books have invariably been filled with blood and flames; the result of lathi
charges and self immolations that followed the dark episodes of anti-reservation
struggle. History repeats itself and this time, again the government has a
mighty role in this encore of the agitation by a wider section of the student
faculty.
Notwithstanding so many factors amidst a troubled neighborhood with China
offering a healthy competition in terms of growth, India is witnessing
tremendous growth in her economic indices. At a time when India is catching up
with developed nations and powerful signals are taking over the once gloomy
nation, the idea of promulgating 27% reservation to OBCs has stirred the
hornet's nest. More so, the obstinacy of the government to get it implemented in
the current academic session has triggered lot of protests not only from the
students of institutions managed by Central government such as IITs, IIMs, AIIMS
etc, but also parents of the students seem to take an active participation in
what may be termed a 'movement'. The medical fraternity went to the extent of
refraining from active services in hospitals and cases of students expressing
their anguish in different forms are hitting the headlines of newspapers.
Amazingly a section of the OBC candidates have opined that the move by the
government to implement the reservation of 27% when the total would become
49.5%, would widen the gap between the students with respect to caste, which
would be detrimental to the interest of the nation. Though there are two
sections; one advocating the reservation and one against the reservation, the
latter seem to be in majority. The students across the nation feel that this
would eat into the prospects of meritorious candidates and the government is
hell bent to implement the recommendations with a myopic vie of vote bank
arithmetic. The announcement couldn't have come at a more inopportune moment
within matter of days when our Prime Minister known for his erudition in
Economics spoke about India's prowess in the Harvard University and that it
would be seen there is no compromise on quality of Education.
In the contest of reservation, Tamilnadu provides the maximum reservation of
69%. With reference to Dravida Kazhagam (DK), the organization in Tamilnadu,
which has been championing for the cause of social justice for the backward
communities, its leader Veeramani is right in justifying that reservations aid
manual workers and other workers, who toiled physical labor. The children of
these lower strata could not get the opportunity to sit as equals with students
of upper castes owing to poor educational and financial background in which
they were brought up. If this is one valid reason, other factors doesn't cut
much ice on the subject. Reservations are supposed to set the ball rolling
initially and once it starts; there is no need for a second torque. If this
continues incessantly for generations, the balance would be lost and a time may
arise, when the so called privileged classes become under privileged in due
course and thus another cycle starts.
There is a feeling among the legal intelligentsia that the amendment to Article
93 of the constitution to facilitate the admission to OBCs in Central Government
and Private educational institutions as well- contradicts the basic structure of
the constitution under Article 29(2), which prohibits discrimination on the
basis of caste for admission to educational institutions. Notwithstanding
jurisprudence, the proliferation of caste based politics in the area of
education and employment has created a general indignancy among present
generation of youngsters.
The ongoing strikes and protests by students and Doctors with the inclusion of
the announcement that students of IIS (Indian Institute of Science) would also
join the strike should provide a pointer to the Government to settle the issue
amicably. The announcement by the government to implement the reservation
gradually in phases may be perceived to quell the fears of the protesters for
the moment. Stern action and notices to terminate the services of Doctors has
had only lukewarm response amongst the agitators. Mounting reports of students
collapsing in hunger strike, burning of effigies and termination notices reflect
the mood of the students and the concerned. The apprehensions by the concerned
cannot be ignored and the decision to go ahead with the implementation at any
cost sans convincing the future stars of our nation may only lead to an impasse.
Lord Meghnad Desai, renowned Economist of UK had expressed his displeasure
towards reservations in the Indian system of Governance. Corporate Czar and
Wipro Chief Azim Premji has expressed that his selection of people would only be
on merit. On issue or reservations, Chief of Asia Development Bank (ADB), Ifzal
Ali has given his opinion that the purpose would fail its purpose of broad
basing employment, since the institution delivers only a handful of people.
P.C.Bhargava, Vice-President of National Knowledge Commission as also a
biotechnologist, interestingly who voted in support of the quota has been very
practical in saying that it has to be implemented in phases and in a period of
10 to 15 years it has be to phased out too. Mr. Bhargava and Infosys Chief
Narayana Murthy have stuck similar chords in expressing that instead of taking
the extreme step of reservations to the levels of premier institutes, focus on
excellent basic primary and secondary education are to be carried out in tune
with good Central schools. The IT mogul has thrown excellent light by suggesting
a study as to how far the reservation has really helped the backward classes in
the last 55 years.
At a time when poaching of talent is the norm of the hour as felt by the
Association of Scientific and Technical Officers (ASTO), the problem of 'Brain
Drain' is also to be taken into account. If the reservations don't serve the
purpose of building the nation by the concerned students benefited by
reservation, it indirectly results in a double whammy; the nation loses talent
and the meritorious students who otherwise would have gained the chance to enter
these prestigious precincts also stand to lose. Reservations on Economic
criteria don't seem to come to the fore, the issue which needs an impartial
debate inasmuch as days of caste and creed have waned and we are in an era of
globalization governed by economic compulsions.
The idea of increasing the seats has also met with a partial refusal in that the
Director of IIM, Ahmedabad has expressed his inability to increase the number of
seats as it's already full. Also, increasing the seats would automatically
accompany the theory that correspondingly, the reserved seats towards would also
increase in terms of percentage of total number of seats. Many questions remain
unanswered and the Pandora's Box of reservation needs an early closure to
mollify the apprehensions of meritorious students in such a way that a
decision is taken at the larger interest of the nation and budding youth power.
May 21, 2006
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| Opinion
The Week of May 21, 2006
War or Peace? Middle-East Great Game Approaching
Climax by Rajinder Puri
Unprovoked, Unwarranted Papal Assault on India
by V. Sundaram
Did Jesus Die in India? by Kusum Choppra
BJP Needs Reinvention by Dr. Subhash Kapila
The Da Vinci Tsunami by V. Sundaram
Whither South Africa by Kusum Choppra
Children of Secularism by J. Ajithkumar
Is Equality Really Possible? by TA Ramesh
Damned by Dam by VK Joshi
Think Tank Propaganda Machines & the Death of the
Free Press by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Are the Kashmiri Pundits abandoned Dregs &
Derelicts? by V Sundaram
And, the Way Up is the Way Down ... by Pradip
Bhattacharya
Ahalya: Incest and Temptation by Satya Chaitanya
Hinduism: A Holy Water Religion by Dr. V.
Sankaran Nair
Liberty, Inequality and Enmity of State-Sponsored
Quota Raj by V.Sundaram
The Reservation Hurricane by MH Ahsan
Reservations about Quotas by Usha Kakkar
Data Backup to Avoid Disasters by Ruchi Gupta
Police Story Kolkata Diary by Dr.
Prasenjit Maiti
The Witty Side by Melvin Durai
A Gallery of Failures by Deepti Priya Mehrotra
Geetli A Long Story by Kusum Choppra
Love, Struggle and the Poetry of Nepal
by Dr. Amitabh Mitra
Rama Suresh : The Rural Aesthete by
Aparna Sharma
Child Labor to End in a Decade? by Nitin Jugran
Bahuguna
Women and Worship by Humera Afridi
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