Since childhood I was always told that there is no substitute to hard work, our leaders are surely trying hard to change that. Yes I am talking about the decision of our Government regarding reservation in IITs, IIMs, DU etc. It grieves my heart that our leaders are forsaking us just for being in a position of power. The feeling is almost like that of a hurt child whose parents have chosen a favorite among their two children and decided that the other one is worthless. I am a firm believer of “doing everything for survival” but it disgusts me that our politician have chosen to play with the future of crores of Indian students and quite possibly that of our country just to prolong their sagging political career.
For those of you who are wondering why am I agitated about reservation in selected elite institutions—well first reason is that these institutes are the jewel in our educational system. These are the only institutes renowned worldwide for their excellence. And if you think above caste politics, these reservations do compromise on the quality of these institutes. Second reason is that it does not stop here. As it is worded, the 93rd Constitutional Amendment, inserting Clause 5 in Article 15, empowers the government to make any law for OBC/SC/ST reservation in private "educational institutions". Which basically mean tomorrow some other political entity can introduce reservations in private schools too. Parents beware, your kid, for whom u have dreamt a bright future, may not even be able to go to a school, let alone a college.
What are our options? Leave our motherland and go somewhere else where merit is the criteria for distinction rather than the family into which you were born? How many of us can afford that? And more importantly why should we do that? Are we not citizens of this diverse country, don’t we have the right to survive/serve in our own country….if yes why is it being made very tough, if not downright impossible, for us to live even on hardship?
The other option which I believe is quite simple and yet powerful is to take proactive interest in the election of those who will govern us. We can’t choose our parents but we can at least choose who will rule (if that is correct word) us. Why do we abstain from voting? It is our apathy against election process that has given these short sighted politicians power to run our lives in the first place. If we would have exercised our electoral rights, we would have been able to select leaders (in true sense) who would have risen above such petty politics and concentrated on broader issues and brought reforms (much like Mr Manmohan singh and Sonia Gandhi were proposing before showing that they are mere politicians)
I think I should also clarify my stance over here. I am not against the upliftment of any section of society. I am fortunate enough to have friends belonging to OBC who refused to avail this quota and secured admissions in colleges on their merit and I am really proud of them. But I sincerely don’t believe that reserving seats like this is the way to do it because I don’t think this will shorten the bridge between classes but only throw the future of this country into a chasm from which it will be impossible to recover.
PS – Mr PM I hope you don’t have plans to force American Government to make reservations based on caste in their 65000 H1-B cap too. I plead with you to spare at least some place for us to go. I assure you that with the technological advances we will do our best to be born with proper surname in our next avatar as human. Have pity on us just this time.
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7 comments:
Prince
You have raised a good point. I am with you on probable solutions. If I may add, if we want change we have to work for it. I have realized that you are perfectly normal if sometimes you can't sleep looking at grim situation. But this is the case with all the intellectuals who can understand whats happening. Without getting into specifics of each side of Indian politics, I would like to say this is more harm is done to society with intellectuals not taking actions than buttheads working on something. Starting with small steps would be best way to learn running. Taking part in election process and making people around you aware and motivated with what you think is the best way to start.
So good luck with blogging my friend.
Raje
thnx for the comments Raje. I completely agree with your view to get a change we have to work for it and to that effect I am heartened to know that that 5 IITans are launching a political party called "Paritrana" .
I sincerely believe that literate candidates will be able to manage the country than those politician whose sole aim to remain in power by hook or by crook.
"It’s always better to teach someone how to fish, rather than feeding him with the fish". To set up a Job Quota in Pvt. Sector will be a one big mistake that could possibly be endorsed, from an economically rising country like India, of which I am very much a proud citizen; however not a resident though. I am disheartened to see the entrepreneurs like K Narayana Murthy of Infosys and Kumaramangalam Birla of Aditya Birla Group favoring of Job quota in Pvt. Sector (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1464787.cms). I'd have appreciated rather, if they could possibly think of infusing more of their share of money for the education of backward classes. It may be noted that I am not against the backward classes earning their desired bread, but am more optimistic in making them deserving and competitive enough to earn their bread with their full pride and self-esteem and therefore they could possibly pass their education to their generations to come. As it is, having a job quota in Govt. sector hasn’t helped India grow out of its image of over-bureaucracy, and people enjoying the legacy of being just a backward class. I mean no offence though. One V.P. Singh and one Mandal commission was more than enough I believe, to not let deserving people get jobs worth their qualifications. We don’t want more such acts, period! India is competitive and will compete on a fair ground, be it at “inter” or at an “intra” level.
“The move to extend reservation to the poor among the forward castes not only goes against the basic concept of affirmative action, it also violates the spirit of the Constitution.”[The Hindu: Tuesday, June 24th, 2003]
Introducing job quota will only result in yet another trail to the already existing over-bureaucracy in our country and will also become one issue for the political parties in the coming years, should this Bill get accepted; and therefore may be a bane rather than a boon to the societies at large. Understanding that the backward classes may not have sufficient funds, or opportunities for their education, and for such purposes, I'd appreciate if we invest money to educate them and help them finance their education. To my knowledge there is no research that claims “Backward classes are not as capable as a general class”, so why such stratification…only for few people’s political motifs…alas! We are pacing up in the 21st century and in neck to neck race with the US, UK, Canada, Australia and other developed nations; and to be consistent on the international race, we need to come out of our caste-religion-class system; however should this bill get accepted, I wonder if this will ever happen. So as to say, it will indeed take us back to the square one. Such mentality will only act as a termite; and possibly we would see the drawbacks after 20 years on a large scale where the literacy rate would still be proportionally low at an international standard and Indian standard as well.
Fyodor quotes “Poverty is not a vice, that’s a true saying. Yet, I know too that drunkenness is not a virtue, and that’s even truer. But beggary, honored Sir, beggary is a vice. In poverty you may still retain your innate nobility of soul, but in beggary-never-no one. For beggary a man is not chased out of human society with a stick, he is swept out with a broom, so as to make it as humiliating as possible; and quite right, too, forasmuch as in beggary I am ready to be the first to humiliate myself.”
The whole idea is “Provide Education; finance their education, provide more exposure, make them a part of one general and only class; and therefore scrap such stratification where the backward class is offered a job in sympathy, in pity” No, never such mistake happen in this era at least! It’s a fair competitive world; let everybody become such and fit to the needs of the world. Let the Indian Govt. provide them the education free of cost without any financial burden and improve further step-by-step that will lead them to any job, be it in the Govt. Sector or Private Sector. After all, at the end of the day it is going to be "Survival of the fittest "and" the luckiest".
I hope people realize the intricacies of such Bills, and rise before it’s too late.
manishmadan08@yahoo.com
Manish Madan
I agreee with ur views but just hope that can i ever make it big like my few SC/ST class mates made it..
1 Example:
43% aggrt in BE, 26 backs, nvr present in cllg, had entered thru ST quota,is a convertee christian but uses ST quota, says proudly "I DONT NEED TO STUDY" , we slog, he spits on the question paper in exam, got into OAS(Orissa Administrative Service) thru quota, promoted by ST quota in one year.Now aims at IIM for admission. Wants to get into Microsoft.
I dont want to say that the govt wants these bastards to get themselves developed and we shld work hard?..
Hi,
Manish, I could not have put the thougts in any better words than that u have done !!! Its really pathetic that the solutions as outlined by you though known to every unbiased intellectual are not implemented as they do not seems to have any political mileage !!
even I am os the belief that schemes such as these alienate the SC/ST/OBC more than they integrate as they give rise to a feeling of hostility as shown by anonymous post above.
we should however understand that the fight is against the system rather than the people who benefit from reservation and therefore we should stop these politicians to take advantage of entire Indian population ( regardless of caste and religion !!) for their own mean ends !!
The heat is on in India, and I can feel it right here in Canada. Therefore being a responsible citizen and human being, I feel necessary to put my points forward; there I shoot buddy:-
Before I start my article, I'd want to know:
1) WHATS THE STAND OF THE SC/ST/OBC for SUCH MOVES?
2) DO THEY HAVE SOME OR ANY DIGNITY???
I wonder sometimes with the utmost hatred towards the old stinking men/politicians that think themselves to be worthy of running the country. What amazes me more is "despite each one of us agrees to let the talent prevail", what makes the SC/ST/OBC to sit like beggars and accept the PITY from the government. Mind you, I have no disrespect for them, but look at this way...the Indian Govt. itself is making a mockery of the backward classes by offering such pity and classes in question accepting such amendments makes a much bigger mockery for their respective classes and forefather’s knowledge and intellect!!! In the hunger of vote banks, the politicians are creating hatred, hiatus amongst the general and the classes in question. Our govt. is taking a leaf from the same tree which we had 50 years back from the British: "Divide and Rule".
The Govt. wants to label the backward classes as non-intellect, impotent or just morons who are offered a job ahead of anybody else just because they have a certificate of a backward class and can’t find a job on their merit. When will such politicians fade of from the system or enter their graves respectfully, if they ever wish to!!! Where are the young guns like Mr. Rahul Gandhi, Mr Scindia et al now? I assume them being of our generation, and not just being cockpit politicians and taking such foolish decisions…or let me know, I shall come back from Canada and hold the reigns of my country much more worthily and effort fully enough.
Should I've been from so-called backward classes, I'd never ever accept such pity/mercy from anyone; and indeed get a job based on my talent only. I'd deny myself to get this pity and rather compete with the general class where everybody is slogging to make his/her own mark.
Being from a general class makes me no distinct human being from anyone on this planet, and therefore, for sure I'd live and die happily seeing no caste system in India anymore and all being one and the same!!! The so called morons like V.P. Singh needs to be told not just by general class but also is a time for the classes in question to wake up to their dignity and eradicate such a thought even and accept pity like this and tell the Govt. to get lost. What needs to be addressed is, if the Govt. really wants to do something; would it be willing to provide financial aid and an exposure towards the education. That’s the call of the masses.
Manish
manishmadan08@yahoo.com
Finally, after my arguments are done for now, again I'd want to know:
1) Now, WHATS THE STAND OF THE OBC/SC/ST for SUCH A MOVE
2) DO THEY HAVE SOME OR ANY DIGNITY???
ps: is it possible to file a PIL(public interest litigation) from abroad??? In case, if anyone knows, pl let me know, I shall really look forward for the support from my fellow Indians and rest I'd follow up. Thank you.
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