Better off..
Posted on April 11, 2008 by Lee
On the other hand, you won’t find politicians here trying to screw people over and over again by reserving seats just to favor a particular ‘caste’.
This can happen only in India where a 60 year old rule not only exists, but is also extended to supposedly enhance the education system, and is upheld by the highest court of justice in a land of 2 billion multi-cultured people.
No wonder people leave. Why blame them. While the heads of the nation are greedily counting votes, the actual ‘creamy layer’ is walking away in disgust.
Can we stand up and fight? Can we show blood?
Filed under: Do the right thing
there will be blood…………
I care to differ. This america that most people turn to also has its reservation policies. And we as foreigners are the most unwelcome amongst the lot. A better solution would be stay back at home and do something about the situation rather than taking accept defeat and escape the situation. I think reservation is necessary in India with it having a 40% OBC population(courtesy a 2005 survey done by National Sample Survey Organisation), because this is an opportunity for them to get to the top. If we keep the existing system, the creamy layer (mostly from the forward caste) keep dominating the scene which is not fair to the other castes. The forward caste is affected and hence have a right to complain. I do not completely agree with the governments way of dealing with this situation. Without building a good foundation in the schooling level, reservations in the PG level will not bear as much fruit. The people from backward castes will be competing with students who are better than them because of the opportunities and resources at the creamy layer’s disposal. Hence some means of raising the level of schooling eduacation is required. I’m not a formerly disgruntled OBC, SC/ST fighting for rights, I am a forward caste student from Tamil Nadu. I have been facing the brunt of reservation for years and that too at almost 70%. Some kind of reservation is required if we want our dhobi’s sons to come up and be the next manager, engineer or doctor.
What about that dhobi who is not an OBC?
What about the other 60% population who have come up on their own merit and not because they were christian, muslim or hindu?
Leave alone the PG level, what about reservations in the private sector? What next - reservations for the burial caskets?
After 60 years, is there still such a thing as ‘resources at creamy layer’s disposal’?
They have said they are reserving seats. Do you think they will reduce the fees for this reserved category, which they just increased by 150%?
Do you know how easy it is to get a fake caste certificate made?
I’m just asking you questions which are VERY easy to answer by a common man.
Saying that one is okay with reservation just because we can’t do anything about it is equivalent to passing on the buck - same as the line that mentions that we must get back at home and do something about it. Geography has never mattered in moving mountains. One voice is all it has taken to create history.
Some action is needed to undo the practices of centuries wherein a large majority of the population was suppressed.
But unfortunately as most things that are done by our politicians, this action has less to do with actually making any difference than to leverage electoral gains….
To improve conditions for the OBC’s, we have to improve our primary and secondary schooling standards…Unfortunately our government and politicians believe in easy fixes….
@ Paro : You know what…. I have the distinct feeling.. that they will make reservations for primary and secondary school education too…. in ADDITION to this.. so that the future of mediocrity from birth to death is maintained.
I wouldn’t put it past them to pull off a stunt like this.
I would love to argue this topic out here. But prey, was this the purpose of this blogpage? Honestly, after all those beautiful posts by you, I was shocked to see something like this here.
All these things aside, I beg to differ with both the arguing parties here. The truth of it is, the media has potrayed this issue in such bad light that I don’t blame anyone who actually is taking a stand, for or against, in this issue. It has been made out to be such a black and white topic that it is heartbreaking for me to see that no-one seems to look at the real situation here. It has oddly begun to look like a Manchester United vs Arsenal fan bantering where no one is ready to admit any ground to the other.
And comparing the issue with the ‘freedom’ given in other places is utter non-sense. Don’t even get me started on the topic of American idea’s of ‘freedom’ and how ‘ridiculous’ the indian political class is. India has it’s own issues which are not comparable to any faced by any other country so comparing things with other democracies is counterfactual.
Sorry for that rant. I still think this post shouldn’t be on this blogpage.
The purpose of this blogpage -
1) All mine.
2) To express my views and advice. People are free to take it or take a hike.
3) I’m not God. I don’t make the rules. I could very well be wrong. But I’d love to make my voice heard.. that’s the least I can do as a microcosm… that too, alienated.
How many people have you come across who say, “Oh well, what does it matter to me now that I am here?” Well, if you haven’t, here’s a reality check - even you would have thought of it sometime.
It’s not about being clueless after a while.. ignorance sets in, and I’m trying to get it back into the realm of perspective. Ask me again what this post is doing here and I will reply with the SAME line above.
Life is all ha-ha-hee-hee when we discuss which toothpaste to buy or where to go for a midnight case of beer, but why are deeper issues cast aside or pushed under the carpet just because we are on the outer edges? One cannot keep shut just because the media portrays a single point of view. It’s up to us to think. And act.
Sorry for this reply to your rant. I felt I had to make my stand clear. I’m all for debate. And I won’t keep my mouth shut just because I think it’s hopeless.
“And comparing the issue with the ‘freedom’ given in other places is utter non-sense.”
And oh yeah, ask anyone who is here about why they chose to come here and you get the same standard replies:
- Quality of life
- EQUALITY
- EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
- open community
- blah blah blah
-…….
Ever wondered how some things make us or break us?
The last thing I want to do is glorify one country while putting down the other. But that does not mean I will not point out basic human tendencies to choose one system over another.
@ Abishek Sridharan
YAR ( Yet another rant)
I hope this is not the kind of reservation you had in mind when u said some kind of reservation is required. Its for all of us to see that this policy has never actually helped people who are actually at the lowest level in our society. Their situation has not improved at all. In villages even if they have a policy for free education children can’t goto school because a) The resources like reading writing material don’t reach them. b) They have to start working so that they cant start earning for there family. So we should find a way to help them and not the ones who are being helped now.
Only rich OBC SC get to use this reservation facility. But their mentality never changed. So they get to top positions everywhere and then try to make money by all means. this trickles to lower level and whole system gets corrupt.
I digressed from the original discussion here. So coming back to that lets take a simple example.
In India in all highly ranked medical schools each Specialization (MD) has seats like 1 or 2( never more than 5). right now 50% is reserved for sc’s so if other 27% goes to obc’s we won’t have any md’s from general merit at all. So even if you have money to goto best doctors in the country they wont actually be the best. You’ll loose that choice which can affect your whole life. What do you say about that? Will you be comfortable? Lets say a bridge constructed by lesser qualified architect with flawed design because he was not bright enough but still got through architecture school collapses and takes so many lives. Will government will take responsibility for that? Ofcourse no. these things can directly affect people’s lives. Its not something from which anybody can be unaffected . i can’t see how reservation can be justified.
@Noname: I absolutely agree. This is not just about the general category not getting their deserved seats, it’s going to affect EVERYONE tomorrow - your parents, you, your children. It is going to slowly reach out to everyone and lower the standard of services.
Brilliant point of view.
There is a saying - people get the government they deserve. I would like to add something to I already said in my comment earlier written for “Reality Check”. Along with clerkship comes the apathy towards everything. Walk on the streets of India and you’ll see what I mean. Unfinished jobs, carelessness in almost everything being attempted everywhere.
Caste system is a difficult subject to voice opinion on so easily. But I am confident that the problem isn’t the “reservation” but it is the “selfish policies”. In a society, there are two main categories of people, one is called as a bulley and the other, the lean. The bulley class happened to be the current “reserved” class because that category reached positions which are responsible to make and break laws. Things were made to look good for those people, and we kept misinterpreting too. Society openly calls them “backward” and we expect moving forward on such grounds? think again..
In the end, it is the caste system that will destroy India. No matter whom it favors.
@pilon : ‘Along with clerkship comes the apathy towards everything.‘ …. I agree, with a heavy heart.
‘Society openly calls them “backward”‘ ..that’s what!!