Thursday, April 13, 2006

I'm against the whole concept of reservation

While listening to some of my friends on reservation, I got the opinion that many of them are against only the percentage or its implementation, but very few question its own principle. We have been so schooled that we are made to think that "Reservation is indispensible". I see that many of my friends find it so hard to rethink the whole concept.

Some of them argue that there must be reservation atleast based on economic levels, sex or physical ability. Even I was tempted by this seemingly convincing argument. After all, I'm highly sentimental and particularly I'm very sympathetic towards physcially diabled people. So, should I make an exception?? After, thinking logically, I feel the answer is NO. There should not be any reservation of any kind. Why?

Suppose, our reservation practice is ideal and we really find a downtrodden person and want to elevate him. Say, we give him a position of a civil engineer. Since, he was not qualified in the first place, he might not be able to compete in the exams. Ok, lets make further concession and allow him to pass, seeing his pitiable conditions. Since, he was not qualified in the first place, he might not get jobs that his peers would get. Again, we make concessions and give him a job and so on. This process continues for life and we made that guy a slave to our whims. He becomes forever dependent on us and all his self-respect is gone. what would be left of him?

But, worse, what if that guy designs a bridge? Since, he never came by meritorious means there is a high probability that his designs will be sub-standard. Thus, there is a greater chance for its collapse and if it collapses what happens? We 'uplifted' one guy and pushed down a whole group of people in the form of accidents and death. For his upliftment, the entire society gets punished!!! This is not an hypothetical story... It happens in everyday INDIA.

Thus, after his admission
1. If he is not allowed to pass - both the instituion and his resources and time are wasted
2. If he is allowed to pass and doesnt get a job, the instituion's recruitment standards get lowered and he is doomed
3. If he gets a job, the entire society is put in a danger

Whatever be the case, his admission is a lose-lose situation for everyone.

If s/he were a doctor, s/he could put so many life's in danger through improper medication and inability to stop diseases. If s/he is a teacher s/he could put the career of so many students in peril. If s/he is a researcher, nation's R&D gets impaired.... Now can you begin to see why we have so many problems around us.

Now, ironically the backward sections of the society are more in danger, because of their lack of choices. The economically forward people have a choice of good doctors, good teachers and sometimes even good road (like the Mumbai-Pune expressway). Or they can even leave the country. But, the poor and downtrodden have to deal with all these sub-standard doctors, engineers, teachers, administrators and their lives are doomed.

Thus, reservation is one of the cause for India's rural in-development. If people really care about the poor, downtrodden and the illiterate, we should work really hard to remove the whole concept of reservation.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

if only you could convince the politicians...i dont see how the reservations can be taken off as long as u have the decission makers are dependent on the votes of the large constituents of reservations...unless people dont want reservations for themselves. Hope atleast institutions like IIT, IIM and private industry and army are spared

Rakesh
www.Indiagram.com

sainathkm said...

hi Rakesh,
we believe this can be a platform for the blogging community to raise our voice or atleast to inform others that what ever is going on is not right. We the people have to react to this.
Regards
sainathkm
a VAR Member

Anonymous said...

We only have to see the trend of where things are going to know what will happen. The government has already passed a constitutional amendment saying that private schools have to give qoutas to SCs and Sts even if the government does not aid the school.

There will be no escape whatsoever for any student if this passes, and soon people will be pushed out of private sector too. Arjun Singh and company have already said so several times in the past.

The only way we can change things is if we keep blogging, smsing and protesting against it. Another way is through letter writing campaigns like they do in the US. Write letters to the editor in vernacular languages as well as english, and have an online website for facts and information.

Sincerely,

Sahil Manekia

CyberRowdy(Q8TechDrive) said...

why should we suffer for someone else? its kinda really ridiculous.......its positive discrimination...and coz of the votebank politics shit, no one wants to stop this....reservation is good, but only for poorest of the poor, regardless of caste or religion....now all the governments are trying to please the organized minority to get the votes and stay in hot seats...

Anonymous said...

I would cent percent agree to q8techdrive. I m in full support that govt should provide aid and education poor ppl irrespective of caste/creed/relegion.
If india has to be india one shining. it has to be caste free india.. All this is promoting castism.

CyberRowdy(Q8TechDrive) said...

now those low caste, people are in all high postions and when we go anywhere to get something done, they have a mentality like "wait there you &^^&%^%" you guys made us wait like this and this is the reply to that...

reservation, curse on India....

they have reservation for every shit.....application forms...fees...train tickets(50% only for low caste for attending interviews)....

KD said...

Yes Gautam the education standards have gone down, because of this reservation thing. i have passed from a sikh minority institute though i did not apply for sikh minority seat. but the facutly in my college, sikh faculty was biggest concern when it came to standards but nothing could be done.
Also wat our great country leaders thought about increasing the number of seats so that general category candidates do not suffer. Do they ever thought to increase the number of jobs so that general category candidates do not suffer.
Also i would like to add to this. already IIT,DCE,RECs are suffering with facutly issue. There is lack of good professors everywhere in country cuz it wont pay as a IT company pay u. So rare ppl would go n seek teaching as a career opportunity. I wonder how this problem is going to be handled

Balaji said...

Good teachers stay in IIT just becaz there are good students. I've an uncle who studied at Urbana Champaign (ranked 4 for Comp Sci.), but returned back to India and offered to work at an IIT (and currently the head of CS Dept), just becaz there were good students.

Even I would like to do the same, when I finish my PhD and return to India, to work in an IIT (if I get it). But, if I have half the class as dumb students, then I dont think I can motivate myself to spend at that place sacrificing a $100K+ job.

Anonymous said...

It is all "vote bank politics". In my opinion reservation is needed although the percentage is debatable. First thing we have to do is to remove the so called "creamy layer " from enjoying the reservation. Without that even if you give 100% reservation also the condition of the Dalits is not going to improve.

Anonymous said...

I have read articles from both sides of the wall. At the end, i am sad that indeed there exists a wall. A wall built out of skin, genetic disposition and lifestyle. Today we need to break this brlin wall..

We need to change the thought process on uplifting the society. Key strategies like Empowerment, affirmative action (True sense) need to brought in place and they should apply on a broader set of economically weaker population, Not based on color caste or creed. Darwins theory applies all around, It is survival of the fittest and that is why empowerment is the key to this problem. Rest all is rigmarole..

navedevil said...

I think government only says that india is one where all are same so why the hell they themselves differentiating on the basis of caste and relegion and giving someone more oppurtunities and just trying to waste human resoure from general students.

navedevil said...

I think government only says that india is one where all are same so why the hell they themselves differentiating on the basis of caste and relegion and giving someone more oppurtunities and just trying to waste human resoure from general students.