My Reservations on Reservations!

The sudden and forced implementation of Quotas has attracted Supreme court's and common man's attention on certain basic questions.

• How many of the existing reserved seats have actually been utilised by SC/ST/OBC candidates?
• How many of them those who got in have actually managed to pass out from an IIT given the academic rigor of these institutions?
• How many crores that I, the Taxpayer, have paid through the 2% Education Cess has actually been used to build schools and not villas for the politicos?
• Is there an official definition of "OBC" and does our Government have basic data on the number of such people?

The Supreme Court is now asking the Government these questions. Its about time we got answers from the people who run this country.

Above all, I believe that NO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN INDIA SHOULD BE CASTE-BASED. There are economic and humanitarian bases that was well-accepted at creating an equal society.
I have blogged about this issue here too.

An excerpt from Rajdeep Sardesai's article on this issue:

Who, at the end of the day, are the politicians who have been at the forefront of reservations? HRD Minister Arjun Singh, is for all intents and purposes at the end of his political career. He came third the last time he contested from the Satna Lok sabha seat and is at the moment totally unelectable. Being projected as the new flagbearer of OBC politics is his last shot at political relevance. The fact though is that Mr Singh has ceased to have any stake in the future of India: in his cynical calculations, protesting medical students are not potential resources for India in the 21st century, they are merely electorally irrelevant upper castes whose votes he does not need, nor is the middle class a constituency he wants to cultivate.
Who is the other politician at the forefront of the demand for Reservations? Udit Raj, of the Indian Justice Party. What is Udit Raj's vision for India? Udit Raj is a marginal politician who has no larger agenda beyond advancing his own sectional interests. The PMK is another party vociferously taking up the reservations cause. Yet the PMK is a minuscule presence in the Lok Sabha and championing of the reservations cause is only meant to consolidate its base among its backward Vaniyar constituency in Tamil Nadu. As for the original faces of the pro-reservation movement - the Laloos, the Mulayams, the Mayawatis - these are politicians who have already won the battle in Mandal I and therefore feel no necessity to enter into another reasoned public debate. As for the official national party positions - be it the Congress , the BJP or the left - no one wants to be seen as "offending" the interests of the largest social group in the country.
Perhaps Manmohan Singh alone, given his own middle class constituency has been trying to achieve the much needed nuanced position on the reservation debate by refusing to make any statement that can be construed as partisan either by one or the other side. His silence has been misread as weakness but in fact Mandal II is exactly the right time to break free of the imprisoning labels such as "casteist", "elitist", "anti-merit" or "pro social justice." This is the time to aggressively pursue, indeed urgently pursue the idea of an equitable society which also rewards excellence. It is also the time to view India's young as a group crying out for innovative solutions from the state so that all their ambitions can be accommodated.
Social scientists have already come up with innovative thinking. Prof Yogendra Yadav and Prof Satish Deshpande, for example, have created a 80.20 weightage scheme of marks for student admissions. Abolish reservations they say, just award marks to student for social disability, be they disabilities of poverty, gender or region. JNU professor Purushottam Aggarwal has created an index of social disadvantage for all students. Dalitbahujan scholar Kancha Ilaiah has come up with ways to create mass English language primary schools in neighbourhoods.

The Clash of the Titans!

Right now, there is a strong tussle going on inside my mind. And the dilemma is not simple. It is no lesser than any civil war worth its salt! I need to decide what to write about and the candidates are as below:

1. The Bloody Breed of Blasted Bai's
2. The Anti-Reservation controversy and where that seems to be headed.

Well, now you see. The Titans are indeed clashing. At this point, the social consciousness in me is emerging victorious. And maybe this will turn out to be another of those 'win-win' solutions because sooner or later the BBB Bai will get her share of dubious honor on my blog.

So on with Point 2: Thats what this blog is really about.

I went for the Anti-Reservation Protest Rally in Azad Maidan this past sunday. The turn-out , I would say, was passable, definitely not overwhelming, comprising predominantly of students from various Mumbai colleges. But what surprised me was the lack of focus and sheer fervor. The sight that met my eyes was a large group of students lounging patiently on the ground, some even taking care to spread newspapers so as not to soil their kurtas. And the orator from a group called Youth for Equality which was organising the rally, was directing a barrage of heated but irrelevant arguments at the microphone. I must admit, though, that the organising was decently done, with potable water and postcards (for messages to the President of India) being handed out to all present.

There were the usual placards and witty oneliners being held up for good measure. And intermittent bouts of applause at a rare break in the orator's stream of words. He seemed rather handy with some figures about money collected through the Education Cess and the number of primary schools that could be built by it, the humble beginnings of Arjun Singh and the multiple crores in his Swiss Bank accounts.

Somehow, he seemed to be missing the point. Was this whole debate about the vagaries of a corrupt politician? Yes, corruption and politicians amassing public wealth in their personal coffers is a matter of discussion and public outcry. But at this stage, what the youth need to be reminded about are the following:

1. That the concept of "Other Backward Castes" has been created and nurtured as a political votebank and nothing else.

2. That the new 27% quota will take away 40000 seats in premier institutes (out of which 13500 are in Delhi University alone) from meritorious students.

3. That no Government should increase medical seats and create armies of people who suffix their names with Dr. but don't know how to cure a disease.

4. That deserving students who's futures are crushed by political reasoning, will form part of the brain drain and make another country richer. Then all we will be left with are people who've failed their matriculation but graduated from an IIT.

5. And most importantly, the barometer of professional success is not just a medical or an engineering degree. This country needs enterpreneurs to create and nuture businesses, which will lead to wealth and employment creation at a much more widespread level. The section of society which the Government aims to "help" through quotas would not want to invest lakhs in formal higher education. What they need is sound primary education and assistance in creating businesses as well as more employment opportunities.

But these are rational arguments and no political leader today has the will to put across such an argument at an election campaign. That would be treading unchartered territory and would not lend itself to incendiary election speeches.

Long Live Democracy.

Thoughts and other priorities!

The Universe has finally conspired in my favor. The elusive work-life balance has finally tilted lifewards! Today I record my first blog post.

The constant stream of thoughts, opinions and brain waves in my mind have been pleading expression for a long time now and have generally met with sub-ordination to other urgent-but-not important priorities. After all, I am but a mere mortal! At best, these thoughts have found their outlet in frequent phonecalls and occasional mails to friends and family.

Now I hope to diversify the outlets for expression through this blog.

I am using this monday to recover from the departures from routine which were effected during the weekend. Before you presume too much about the nature of my profession and the perks of leisure, let me assure you that this is a rare luxury! Its an aftermath of a good financial year ending and the fact that I have foregone my privileged leave to report into work! So you see. In front of the silver lining is a big grey cloud. But eternal optimist that I am, the glimmer of the silver lining is not lost on me!

The departure from routine i mentioned earlier was the XLRI Alumni meet in Mumbai which was quite a burst of social activity. The evening had its fair share of animated conversations and shaking of the leg till the wee hours of the morning. A lot of catching up was done with seniors, super seniors, juniors and the freshest batch of water-rats (read: Class of 2007). A restrained bit of indulgence was shown towards refreshments of the liquid variety to further enhance the flavor of the evening. Nostalgia found ample expression.

All in all, the evening made me prouder and happy to be part of the XL fraternity. May it flourish!