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Turning backwardness into privilege

Source: By G Ramachandram: The Free Press Journal

The Article 15 (1) of our constitution says The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on
grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth . However, nothing shall prevent the
State from making any special provision, by law for the advancement of any socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes The
States affirmation action to uplift the poor and backward is known as the policy of protective
discrimination. The purpose of reservation is to give opportunity to the socially and educationally
backward people to raise their social status and empower them. Now, after seven decades of
reservation, it is high time we questioned the rationale behind the reservation.
The agitation by Patels for reservation in Gujarat is an indication of the reservation policy going
astray. Ironically, they were the first community in India to launch the anti-reservation movement
against the Dalits and OBCs in 1980s, even before the Mandal Commission recommendations were
implemented by VP Singh government in 1990. As per the RBI statistics, a fifth of 7, 60,000 micro,
small and medium enterprises have gone sick. And the Patels say the caste-based reservations have
deprived them of jobs and benefits. They want the government to scrap the quota system for SCs,
STs and OBCs altogether or ensure the benefits of affirmative action also accrue to them.
The problem in Gujarat is different. The Gujarat government is denying the teaching of English till std
V in government schools. The fallout of this shortsighted policy is that the students are denied the
opportunity to acquire proficiency in English. Consequently, the great software and service sector
boom, seen across the major cities in India, is missing in Gujarat. Though Gujarat has three major
cities among top 10 cities, in terms of population, there is no significant presence of Software giants
like Infosys, Wipro, Accenture and Tata Consultancy Services in Ahmedabad and Surat the
epicenters of the quota stir-compared to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and elsewhere, who basic ally
consider spoken English as a required skill.
The youth wants to claim something that they perceive others- low caste people- are entitled
to. They feel that the quota system has deprived them admissions and jobs based on merit in
professional courses and government jobs. And the dwindling job opportunities in private and
corporate sector is turning them to seek government jobs, more lucrative and stable, which are
denied because of the quota system. The reservations do not ensure equality of opportunity. But the
politicians, for electoral gains, promise to extend the quota system of OBCs to more communities,
like Jats, Gujjars, and Marathas, who otherwise are forward communities. The flaw in the
reservation policy is that it perpetuates the social inequality, while giving undue advantage to the
already benefited among the so- called backward classes. If reservation has elevated the first
generation people socially and educationally, then why should successive generations need the
same benefits? Why should the children of Paswans, Lalu Yadavs, Mulayam Singhs and the like, who
are so well off, continue to get the benefits of reservation?
The caste based reservation has only resulted in abuse of the quota system. It is not actually
benefitting the people who need it. For instance, in Maharashtra, most of the benefits to dalits are
grabbed particularly by dalit community Mahars the clan to which Babasaheb Ambedkar belonged

to at the expense of other dalit communities. The Mahars consider themselves Brahmins among
the fellow dalits and do not enter into any social relations with non-Mahars.
The Muslims are very backward, socially and educationally, as compared to the so-called backward
castes among Hindus. Yet they are denied the benefits of reservation in educational institutions and
government jobs. Vice President Hamid Ansari was right when he said that the default by the State
in terms of deprivation, exclusion and discrimination is to be corrected. Addressing the All India
Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat on August 30, he exhorted, corrective strategies have to be sought
on category, differentiation admissible in Indian state practice and hitherto denied to Muslims,
while reminding the Muslims to look inward.
The reservation policy has outlived its utility. It has seriously compromised the merit and quality of
public services. It has turned the backwardness into privilege. The people who are benefited by the
quota system have developed vested interests. It is not only undermining the merit, but also making
the youth complacent. The backwardness, after all, is a disadvantage. It is an insult to the intellect to
determine backwardness on the basis of caste or birth. If the youth have to develop a healthy
competitive spirit and aspire to reach high goals, they must realise that hard work and perseverance
alone can help them. It is important to raise self worth and dignity of the individual.
If reservation cannot be scrapped immediately, at least the government should stop pampering the
people who are already benefited by it. Let the reservation be extended only to those people whose
parents are really poor and backward, irrespective of caste and religion, pending abolition of the
quota system altogether. If the ruling classes do not shun the electoral politics of reservation, we
may soon witness social unrest and civil war like situation.
The founding father of the Indian Republic wanted the reservation for SCs and STs temporarily for
some time to ensue a level playing field because of their social deprivation for generations. But what
we see today is perpetuation of the policy in an age of IT revolution, internet and social media
networking. It is important to raise the quality of education at all levels from primary to higher
educationand create jobs, upholding the principles of merit and equality of opportunities. The
quality of education can be improved only by ensuring proper infrastructure in educational
institutions and good teaching. Reservation cannot be a substitute for poor educational standards
and lack of competitiveness.
As per the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) released on July 3, a staggering 92% of rural
households reported their maximum income below Rs.10, 000 per month- the income of the highest
earning member being Rs. 5,000 or less. The SECC found that 51% village homes live on manual
casual labour, while 49% households show signs of poverty. The benefits of reservation have never
reached these segments of population, who actually deserve them. Their children can never think of
high profile jobs for want of access to quality primary and secondary education and equal
opportunities of learning.

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