No Reservations Please!
Note: At the end of this long post, are the links to two petitions that I'd have you sign even if you don't read what I've written. So if you give up midway, please take out a little more time to sign them.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime." - Confucius
What happens if you keep giving fish to a segment of people for 50 years, taking it away from the plates of others? It gets taken for granted and you have to give them more. That is what seems to be happening to the ignorance, or more probably, the apathy of the Indian legislature.
The caste-system has often been referred to as the evil of medieval India. I agree.
The lower castes were subjugated and a large portion are still underprivileged. I agree.
The underprivileged need support from the government to improve their living conditions, provide them with the education, skills needed to take advantage of opportunities that their more affluent countrymen enjoy. I agree.
This support should be given to them when they've already lived a quarter of their life and are ready to choose a career. I do not agree.
The solution is to create a neo-caste system, which just inverts the order of these classes, I do not agree.
That the biggest brands this country owns be diluted to achieve this. I do not agree.
How much common sense does it take to understand that reservation is not a sustainable solution? How much to figure that if a person from the underprivileged sections did not get a good schooling, he does not possess the capability to cope with a world class education. Seemingly, a whole lot more than our HRD Minister possesses.
I studied with people who got into IIT through the reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Some of them are very dear friends and pissed as I was at the thought that I had to slog much harder than some other people to get one of those coveted seats, I made my peace with it, or lets say I 'adjusted' as we Indians are conditioned to by virtue of the scarcity we've grown up in.
I will be honest to myself and admit that given half a chance at using a reserved quota, I would have taken it. It's too good an opportunity to pass up. However, once in, I would try my best to be as inconspicuous about having taken the easier route in as possible. I would be embarrassed as hell that I had to work far less than others to get something that most people only dream of. And I know of a lot of people who did that. But then there's the large majority who polluted the hand that fed them by bringing their casteisms into college politics as well. While we're at it, why should we be satisfied with just an admission? Let's use our caste to take over the administration as well. Them, I don't forgive.
I also don't forgive the guy who came to college in a chauffeur driven car, wore only GAPs and Nikes, owned a cell phone when only a few thousand people in the country could afford one and said he was an ST candidate and I still don't forgive his father who was an ST candidate in the Civil Services exams 20 years ago. You already used reservation once. How the hell are you underprivileged and what right do you have to bring up the issue of moral obligation of a nation?
And more than them I don't forgive the system that gave them the right to do that.
But you know what, I had made my peace with it. I also stood quiet when they said that let's chalk up what's left and do something for the girl child as well, we all know what their issues have been. Why not reserve a third of what's left for women?
And I can stand quiet today. I've got all the education I want out of this country. I work for corporates who do not abide by these rules. Let them reserve half of all the seats in institutions which I have learned to respect for the backward classes. What do I stand to lose or gain?
Well, I'll tell you what. I am a person who believed India is Shining when they told me so, maybe even before. I am a person who could have moved to greener pastures in the Western world only months ago, but didn't because I believed that India is Shining and I can help it shine. I am a person who cries when he watches a Bhagat Singh singing unto his death, a person who weeps when he sees a Bombay burn in riots. I am a person who believes that I live in a great nation which actually made secularism a reality, where I can pray at a temple, a mosque, a church and still feel the presence of God and not be lynched in the process.
I believe I live in a great country that has given me a great education, a great life and I will not stand quiet while politicians who I believe should be made redundant, wreck the very basis of my identity, the institutions which in all my modesty, I take pride in calling my alma mater.
I will not let you ruin my country, Arjun Singh, for as my fellow blogger says you will not be around when I so want to kick your ass!
If you've read this far, please take the time to sign the following petitions:
- Say No to Quota in Higher Education Petition.
- Petition against proposed reservation in premier educational institutes.
- Entrance to the Shrine - Also contains an Anti-Reservation Blogroll.
- Mr. Arjun Singh, will you be around when we so want to kick your ass?
- The Mandal Quiz
- This quiz is dedicated to the Minister of Generosity - Shri Arjun Singh. For those who came in late, this quiz has been structured in such a way that 49.5% of the questions are really, really easy.
- Angelz Fear
- So finally the mentally bankrupt Arjun Singh who should by now be resting his old bones in some restchair has excercised his by-now defunct gray cell and come up with a plan to introduce 49.5% reservations in IIT/IIMs. One of his old friend Mr. Natwar Singh was shown the door not many days ago because, inspite of numerous requests, the old man wouldnot rest his gray cells landing India in embarassing situations everytime he opened his mouth.
- Look up more at Technorati.
- the Prime Minister at http://pmindia.nic.in/write.htmand
- the President at http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/writetopresident.jsp
Thanks Mayank for the links.
11 comments:
A book by a former IIT professor ( fundamental of excelllence -- at http://lulu.com/am) says that the high quality of IIT graduates is not because of any special training at IIT but because of its rigorous selection of bright students. Now the new 50% reservation will take care of that
Another thing pointed out in this book is that in recent years teaching quality has gone down drastically at IITs because class sizes have become too large for quality teaching , because of increased intake
In response to the new reservation policy IITs have announced further increases in intake. So there goes the rest of quality
IITs were too good for a country like India and offering too much competition to the developed world. They can now relax and reward the ministers who have helped.
Nice post. Totally agree with u:)
As they would put it in Bangalore; "Solpa Adjust Maadi!"
So finally I landed on to a blog that at least sounds a bit mature, unlike other blogs that are plain simple selfish, ramblings of timid amatuers who are afraid to face the world, much before they would? Spoilt children of the middle class, that have been pampered by their parents.
Come on tell me, does the world end if you do not get into an IIT or an IIM! Even without these controversial reservations more than 50% of the candidates who appeared for these examinations, never made it. Are they all dead? Did they never suceed in life? Let's face it, people survive and suceed even if they are not successful in cashing on an opportunity. Then consider yourself, what is the contribution of your family background in your success, just for a moment consider the plight of those students that were not that fortunate. Their grandparents could never dream of higher education, their parents might have, but they were to busy struggling for survival.
And you say 50 years is a sufficient time, that they should come shoulder to shoulder with you and compete with you on equal terms!!
And letme tell you, I donot belong to any SC or OBC, but I am mature enough to look beyond my nose, Look beyond for the development of the society I love so much.
I agree with ur post...nicely written and more nicely written comments...I believe in the fact that all people are equal and should get equal opportunity as far as education goes. Reservation for economically backward can be tolerated but reservation on the caste basis and even reservation for the girls can not be tolerated. I am a girl and from the beginning believe that girls can prove themselves given a chance they do not need reservations...I agree with No Reservations Please!!!
@amalh: I partly agree with the professor, but the education/experience of being at an IIT is definitely a factor or the JEE would be a certification, rather than an entrance.
I respect this country too much to believe that anything is too good for it, but I acknowledge the sarcasm as a vent for the frustrations we're all feeling.
@puja: Thanks. Kannada Gothilla.
@Anonymous: It's funny a comment on "afraid to face the world" comes from someone who can't even leave their name behind.
I agree that most people would not commit suicide on flunking these entrance exams (Some do, by the way!) but what does anybody stand to gain out of it?
that they should come shoulder to shoulder with you and compete with you on equal terms
Well, at some time in life, they have to, so why not nurture them when they're young. Provide free primary education rather than reserving seats at the Grad level.
Also, why a caste based reservation system? Why not based on financial capability or education levels of parents? Why continue to live with a caste system we're trying to abolish?
@Satyapriya: Thank you. You summarised my sentiments well.
Well I am surprised to say the least, how comprehensive the reservation benfits the hindus( bania, jats, yadavs, THESE ARE SOME OBC) at the expense of non-hindus. This is certainly the sorry state of India. I don't find any other country which discriminates people on religion basis like India, where 50% reservation is availble for followers of one religion. To top it, if a SC/ST convert to Islam or Christianty this benefit is taken off from him.
No more to say .
Sare Jahan se Achcha Hindustan hamara ............Once upton a time
Nice post. I have experienced this too - at IIM Cal in my batch, one of the quota candidates was the daughter of a senior IAS officer - who flew down to Delhi to be with her boyfriend every month - and used to spend hours talking home at full rates (cos time on the phone used to be rationed at half rates) in the 1 STD booth outside our campus in those days.
We must investigate the term "merit".Is "merit" just a score in entrance exams at age of 17?
Take the claim of "merit based" entrance to all IIMs and dozens of other institutes.
The CAT exam is based on the SAT exam in the USA . It has been proved beyond doubt that the SAT test is culturally biased . Blacks and hispanics do poorly at it year after year .
If a student who is eligible for admission to IIM on the basis of his CAT score, were to take the same CAT exam in which he/she cleared in a language that he/she did not understand then he/she would be at a disadvantage compared to someone who was schooled in that language . Not knowing that language does not mean you lack the capacity to clear that exam.
Approximately 25 % of CAT test is about English! Another 25 % is about English Comprehension!!!! There you are !!!! About 50 % so called aptitude test is a hoax for someone who is from a non-english speaking background .
This is how the CAT like the SAT is discriminatory .
See the full form of SAT …Scholastic Aptitude Test . The problem is aptitude testing is not so simple . There is no test on earth which can reliably tests aptitude .
Aptitude tests such as the SAT have a historical tie to the concept of innate mental abilities and the belief that such abilities can be defined and meaningfully measured. Neither notion has been supported by modern research. Few scientists who have considered these matters seriously would argue that aptitude tests such as the SAT provide a true measure of intellectual abilities.
It was found that people could be coached to better their scores at SAT . The name SAT …Scholastic Aptitude Test could not be correct . So under such valid criticism the name was changed to Scholastic Assessment Test, since a test that can be coached clearly did not measure inherent "scholastic aptitude", but was influenced largely by what the test subject had learned in school. Even the College Board which conducts the SAT has beaten a hasty retreat.This was a major theoretical retreat by the College Board conducting SAT, which had previously maintained that the test measured inherent aptitude and was free of bias.
About ten years back , however, even the redundancy of the term assessment test was recognized and the name was changed to the neutral, and non-descriptive, SAT. At the time, the College Board announced, "Please note that SAT is not an initialism. It does not stand for anything."
The framers of these SAT tests assumed that intelligence was a unitary inherited attribute, that it was not subject to change over a lifetime, and that it could be measured and individuals could be ranked and assigned their place in society accordingly. The SAT evolved from these questionable assumptions about human talent and potential.
More and more people are questioning the validity of SAT . In the past MENSA used to accept high SAT score individuals . For the past decade it has stopped accepting SAT scores .
The whole exercise of deciding merit based on CAT scores discriminates against those from lower socio-economic status.
Though many non-IIM institutes have started accepting CAT scores, the application fee of these institutes is still inexplicably high.
The CAT is primarily an exam of Math and English. Logical and Analytical Reasoning is nearly absent (except for some verbal reasoning which again depends on knowing English well!!!!).
CAT is a clever way to keep those from lower socio-economic strata away Institutes funded with tax payers money .
So claims of “Merit” based on CAT scores is hollow and discriminatory against those of lower socio-economic strata.
Dhirubhai Ambani had a poor command over English . He would not have made it through CAT. So what "merit" are we talking of?
reservation sucks
Liked your blog.Here is mine http://www.emotionalzombie.blogspot.com/ "No! Let’s join the self-proclaimed snobs protesting with slogans “Remember your place”, polishing shoes and cleaning premises? Let’s pretend not to see it at all! Damn Reservations!"
For decades, vicious-minded individuals and groups (masquerading as social justice activists) have found the centuries-old “manusmriti” a veritable treasure house to abuse a section of the Hindus, Hinduism and the nation itself and to secure supremacist rights privileges, burying the anti-discriminatory Article 15(1) of the constitution in the process. But in selectively quoting from the “manusmriti” even a commonsense approach is not adopted. One wonders whether there exists any grey matter in their heads.
Of the many English-translated prescriptions of “manusmriti” found on their websites, let us consider only one -
“…If a (low-born man) mentions the name or caste of a superior revilingly, an iron pin, ten inches long, shall be thrust into his mouth (red hot).”
To begin with let us consider the very instrument “an iron pin, ten inches long” that is to be thrust into the mouths of the supposed “low born”. The word “pin” has several meanings. Did “manu” mean a “a rolling pin” with which we roll chapathis or did he mean the pin that is commonly used to attach sheets of paper? That is not clear. Since the people responsible for “thrusting” the pin were not clear either, probably that is why, we have never heard of a “pin” having been thrust into the mouths of an alleged low-born!
Now, let us suppose that the “pin” in question is the one with which we attach sheets of paper. Is such a pin available in the market? Has anyone thus far seen such a “pin”? Yes, we have seen iron pins one to two inches long, but ten inches? Surely it would have to be specifically manufactured!!! Since such a pin has not been available, probably that is why, we have never heard of a “pin” having been thrust into the mouths of an alleged low born!
Another reason why there is no recorded case of a “pin” having been thrust into the mouth of supposed “low born” is that “Manu” forgot to specify the pin’s “thickness”!!! Since, the thickness was not known, naturally, the gentlemen incharge of “thrusting” did not know which pin to thurst and probably that is why there is no evidence of any pin (that too ten inches long) having been thrust into the mouths of …men!!! Maybe if “manu” were to be reborn, one could get to know the thickness!!
Now let us consider the quotation itself “…If a (low-born man) mentions the name or caste of a superior revilingly, an iron pin, ten inches long, shall be thrust into his mouth (red hot).”
The “red hot” portion is added as an afterthought, that too in brackets! Probably, “manu” wrote it that way!!!
The quotation actually conveys the impression that “an iron pin, ten inches long” should be thrust when the mouth is “red hot”!!! Probably, pre-heating is required and since the concept of pre-heating did not exist then, the ten-inch pin of indeterminate thickness was never thrust into the mouths of any men!!!
Now let us come to the issue of who are the “low born”. There is no definition of who are the low-born or the high-born. But there are some clues available. Traditionally, the scriptures have been used to launch hate campaigns against the Hindus, who may be Brahmins, Banias etc. One should therefore conclude that they are not the alleged “low born”. Needless, to say, neither the Brahmins nor the Banias are proclaiming themselves to be either “low born” or “high born”.
Now let us consider the issue of an alleged “low born” mentioning the name or caste of a superior “revilingly,”.
The hate-brahmin movement started nearly a century ago in different parts of the country and is growing ferociously with each passing day. There are thousands of web-sites that glowingly eulogise such anti-social exterminationist movements. The media and various other so-called “progressive” elements instead of condemning and feeling ashamed of such irrational hate- campaigns, approvingly refer to such movements as “anti-caste” movements.
During the past one hundred years all kinds of illegal, anti-constitutional and derogatory ‘labels’ have been invented and pasted on the hapless victims of the so-called anti-caste movements, some of which are “upper caste”, “forward caste”, “oppressors”, “schemers”, “wily”, “Brahmin dog” etc. (Considering the above, the word "reviling" is surely a mild word!)
Such sustained campaigns and the supremacist rights secured from such campaigns has (a) denied lakhs of innocent citizens of their right to education and livelihood; (b) driven them out from their homes and the nation resulting in the loss of their citizenship; and (c) caused demographic changes, like the one witnessed in Kashmir.
And who has carried out such “reviling” and “revolting” campaigns? It is best left unsaid…Needless to say, the concept of “low born” is a self-proclaimed one.
But, despite one hundred years of such sustained “atrocities” (euphemistically called “anti-caste” movements, which actually made “caste” the only basis of governmental functioning), there is no evidence that “an iron pin, ten inches long” has been thrust into the mouths of any “low born man”!!!
Yet the vicious campaign continues.
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