Reservation is IN; Merit is OUT

It came as a surprise, but it was not unexpected. I am not sure what made the UPA government to announce the 27.5% reservation for the OBC’s in the government and central aided institutes in the country. This is in addition to the existing 22% reservation for the SC/ST, leaving just 50.5% seats for the meritorious students. This rule, if passed by the parliament, would come into effect from the next academic session, starting from June 2007.

Since I am from the General category, this decision by the government does affect me as well as my near and dear ones. So, whom should I blame? Whom should I lash out at? Is there any hope for people like me or is it all over?

Firstly, there’s noone to blame, but ourselves. There is a growing feeling amongst people in the General category that politics is a dirty game, and we don’t need to get our hands dirty by voting. Hardly 30% of the General category people go to the polls. Since they form such a small fraction, political parties are not interested in bringing out policies that would help the General category people. On the other hand, people from the so called backward castes vote. I have seen instances, where people, who work in other states, take leave and go to their native, cast their vote and come back to work. It is people like these that the political parties would bring our policies, not for those who sit back at home, stretch in their sofas, sipping a cup of tea, watching football or cricket and comment about politics.

If you have to fight a pig, you need to enter muddy waters and fight. You will get dirty, would require hours to clean yourselves. But entering muddy waters and fighting the pig is better than standing at the bank and crying out loud to the world that the pig is eating your vegetable plantation. Politics is very similar to that. We need to cast our votes, we need to elect people who would make policies that suit us. We need to show the politicians that its worth making policies for us, since we are a huge vote bank, and we have to muscle power to decide our government.

But I feel it’s a bit too late now. Once the bill comes up in the parliament for approval and its approved, no political party of this country would dare to change the rule. Once the bill is passed, the rule remains in this country for ever.

Something which I still cannot come to terms in how could the government could turn a blind eye to the reality and go ahead with such a decision. Its illogical to give reservations based solely on caste. It should be on socio-economic parameters. Moreover the reservation is extended to the children to people who have already reaped the benefits and moved to a better position in society, they are not backward in any terms, but still continue to be benefited by the rule.

Dr. Ambedkar, who first proposed reservation for the backward communities, was very clear in the way reservation should be used. He had said that reservation should be for a fixed time frame, and should be withdrawn immediately after that time frame. But our power intoxicated politicians, chose reservation as an instrument to stay in power, and have never taken steps to go forward in the manner suggested by Dr. Ambedkar.

Pandit Nehru also was quoted that the day reservation is implemented, and the first class students are sidelined for the second and third class, our country is doomed. Its shameful that our politicians, in their move to gather votes to stay in power, turn a deaf ear to the words of such statesmen.

The decision also came as a shock to the medical students who had been protesting against the reservation for the past 11 days. They were beaten up by police, water cannoned, intimidated and threatened, but they stood their ground. Their demand was that an independent committee be set up to study the effect of reservation and to change the rule if the study found that the existing rule was effective/ineffective. To any sane person, their demands were just, but not to the politicians. I am not sure, how the doctors are planning to react to the decision by the government.

The government had earlier stated that they would be looking at increasing the number of seats in the institutions, as well as implementing quotas in a phased manner, but nothing of that sort has happened. The government has decided to implement quotas in one go and there has been no indication of any increase in the number of seats.

The future looks very dim for people of General category. With this new rule, there would be many students, who would have to return home empty handed inspite of their best efforts to gain admission to prestigious colleges. Families who are well off, have an option of sending their students to private colleges or to universities abroad. What about an ordinary middle class General category human? Does the government believe that all the General category people are well off, with ample money to sponsor their children’s education?

The government is not ready to sit back after this. They are planning to implement reservations for the backward class in private jobs also. All this one sided policies are making me feel that it’s a curse to have been born in the General category. No admission to colleges and now no jobs.

I wouldn’t want to run away from the situation, which is the easiest way out. I would love to fight, to cast my vote and try to bring in a government or party who would fight for equality of human beings, a government who works for the betterment for the nation. I would love to throw out government or parties, who divide people on the basis of caste. I would love to fight.

But if I fail, then I would want to move out of this country. It’s hopeless to stay in a country, where you pay taxes and still end up at the receiving end. I would not like to let my children grow in a place, where merit and hard work has lesser importance that the caste one belongs to.

Finally, I hope Arjun Singh is might pleased after having engraved his name in the political history of the country. I also hope that the pro-reservation lobby is overjoyed by the implementation of the new rule. I sincerely hope that the standards of the colleges do not fall. India is still regarded highly by the world for the high caliber of students that the top colleges of our country churn out, I hope that the new rule does not dent that belief of the world.

At the end of the day, I cannot do anything, but take things with a pinch of salt. Indeed, merit has been sacrificed at the altar.