Reservation_Issue

On August 30, 2006, a law was proposed by Human Resources Development minister Arjun Singh to require central institutions to reserve 27 per cent higher education seats for the socially and educationally backward within three years while adding seats to protect the prospects of unreserved candidates. The bill was based on the recommendations of the Mandal Commission (2005). Other Reservations- As if Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBC’s were not enough, we had some more categories such as the NRI quota, management quota, extra-curricular activities quota, sports quota, then reservations for disabled army personnel and their kins/widows/divorced/physically challenged, we even have reservation for ex-students of an institution from previous years who get seat in higher courses despite scoring lower than the minimum required marks. So who is left' Views in “favour” of Reservation- Generally, SC, ST, OBC or other reserved categories people are financially weak. Major portion of this population lives in villages, for example, major part of SC population lives in backward villages of U.P, Punjab, M.P, Bihar, Orissa, etc. and major part of ST population lives in states like Mizoram, Assam, Tripura, M.P etc. Some of these backward villages do not even have proper drinking facilities; electricity, school (education), hospitals, roads etc are just “dreams” for them. Their per capita income is very low, cyclical employment is high, dependence on agriculture and allied activities is high, and finally, productivity is very less because of lack of initiatives taken by state government. They do need some help, yet it is also true that reservation is not the panacea but up to a certain extent is very useful. Those needy people who get this golden opportunity and used it for their betterment are now very successful and they are serving our mother country with the core of their heart. If we must talk about “India Shining” in real terms, then we must consider people those who are living below poverty line or have very less per capita disposable income, and their problems of lack of employment opportunities and basic infrastructure. The problem in India is far more complex considering the backwardness in most parts of India and the diversity in religion and caste. India is a country where wealth distribution is highly unequal. Poor children beseeching for alms at traffic signals where gleaming Marcs purr is still a common sight. Many political parties support reservation (no doubt to increase their vote bank). But now the parties, while supporting reservations, have called for excluding the 'creamy layer' from availing of its benefits. The 'creamy layer' is used in reference to members of economically advanced population belonging to any caste. Reservation is not bad if it is really used for the purpose for which it was created. If a person belongs to SC or ST or OBC category but his parents have a very good government job in any metropolitan city with a good annual salary, then that person should not be eligible for the “reservation”, because he has all the basic facilities to develop his intellectual level. Reservation is alright if it is for the needy persons. Views “Against” Reservation- As students from some of India's most prestigious educational institutions continue their protests against reservations, it becomes clear that the agitation has not been spontaneous, but a highly organized and orchestrated phenomenon. People believe that reservation is another partition of India and is a cure worse than disease, and does not act to end discrimination. It acts as an antidote to an exploitative and unjust social structure known as the caste system. It fosters discrimination and sow the seeds of division in people's minds -- all this in the name of empowering and protecting the deprived sections of the society. Such division is against the cardinal principles of democracy. Reservation is not an atonement of our past sins and should not be used to compensate for the damage inflicted in the past. It is still a bitter fact that certain sections of the society are exploited and deprived of their rights. Although significant progress has been made in empowering the lives of such oppressed, there are still many horrific incidents happening across the country. We are still living in a highly unjust social structure. However, instead of eradicating this injustice, we are further dividing the society and creating splits. We are trying to heal our past wounds by inflicting new ones. Unlike in the US, the reservation policy in India does not strive for equal opportunity. It rather acts as a catalyst for further division. Giving special privileges to someone merely on the basis of their birth into certain castes or tribes is unjust. People who have benefited from such biased treatment would advocate for more and foster caste sentiments in the minds of others. Those who have lost the opportunity in spite of having good credentials would start feeling bad about their upper caste credentials. The benefits are so many and so palpable that the reservation policy has created a vested interest in backwardness. It seems people want to be considered 'backward' rather than 'forward' in modern India! The more backward you are the more advantages you get. Reservation is now used as a tool for gaining more benefits. The area of reservation has been steadily expanding and newer backward groups and sections of society are mushrooming. Several castes and their leaders constantly strive to prove their backwardness in order to sneak into one or the other reserved categories. Some political groups have even started identifying themselves with a particular community or caste to garner their support. We have also started seeing demands for reservation based on religion. The demand for separate reservation for Muslims and Christians is one such example. Some people believe that only the persons belonging to the there own community can protect their interests and aspirations. Only a schedule caste leader can help another scheduled caste person, only a tribe can help another and so on. However, an important and notable aspect is whether these reservations actually reach the people for whom they are really intended' Does reservation empower the deprived sections of the society or is it being misused' Since reservation is meant for the deprived, showing such privileged treatment to the 'creamy layer' from among the 'backward' castes defeats the whole purpose. In fact, people from these creamy layers steal the reserved seats from their other backward counterparts for whom these reservations would have actually made a difference. We should aim for a society where everyone is equal. For that, we need bold statesmen who can fight for the cause of equality and make the people realize that division and discrimination based on caste, creed, religion or sex is only going to harm their own interests.