Reservation in India

This issue is the hot topic these days among the youth.Its been discussed over and over in newspapers and television and even in the canteens of various colleges.Finally,it has also found a place in my blog.
This topic isnt a new one and its history dates back to the 1920s.

History
It all started in 1921 when Madras Presidency introduced reservation of 44% for non-brahmins 16% for Brahmins, 16% for Muslims, 16% for Anglo-Indians/ Christians and 8% for Scheduled Castes.Then when India got independence in 1947 Dr.B.R.Ambedkar provided reservation for socially backward sections including schedule castes and schedule tribes.In 1979,Mandal commision was established which included another caste in reservation strata known as other backward caste(OBC).The funny thing about this commision is that it used the consensus of 1930 to determine the population of these OBCs.Total reservation quota went upto 60%.This commision was opposed by many.Rajiv Goswami, a Delhi university student attempted self immolation.
In 2006 Reservations introduced for Other backward classes in Central Government Educational Institutions. Total Reservation went up to 49.5%.

This is how the caste scenario of today looks like...


There are many arguments available for and against this reservation.We saw lots of news channels recently calling leading analysts and politicians to have a debate on this topic.Here I present both sides of the coin..

Arguments offered by supporters of reservation

1.Affirmative Action schemes are in place in many countries including USA, South Africa, Malaysia, Brazil etc. It was researched in Harvard University that Affirmative Action programmes are beneficial to the under-privileged. The studies said that Blacks who enter elite institutions with lower test scores and grades than those of whites achieve notable success after graduation. They earn advanced degrees at rates identical to those of their white classmates. They are even slightly more likely than whites from the same institutions to obtain professional degrees in law, business and medicine. They become more active than their white classmates in civic and community activities.

2.Affirmative Action has helped many - if not everyone from under-privileged and/or under-represented communities to grow and occupy top positions in the world's leading industries.Reservation in education is not THE solution, it is just one of the many solutions. Reservations is a means to increase representation of hitherto under-represented caste groups and thereby improve diversity on campus.
3.To provide social justice to the most marginalized and underprivilaged is our duty and their human right. Reservation will really help these marginalized people to lead successful lives, thus eliminating caste-based discrimination which is still widely prevalent in India especially in the rural areas. (about 60% of Indian population stays in Villages)

4.Reservations in Tamil Nadu over 30 years have worked to such a level that OBCs are able to outshine the Forward Castes (See Tamil Nadu Figure Below) and hence the overall performance of the students have increased validating the argument that reservation brings out the best from the weaker sections of the society.

5.Casteism is the root cause of the suffering of more than half (according to the disputed Mandal Commission) of India's population. To eliminate casteism we need to help underprivileged people to do well in their education and share the same social status as the upper caste people. There are Reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs in all the southern states of India and the quality of education has only increased. The fact that most of the software, Information Technology and other advanced industries are found in the southern states prove that the persons getting seats through reservations after graduation are competent.

6.Reservation is everywhere in India - The head of a big firm is always the son of the company's chair, irrespective of the fact that there is another meritious person. The post of Temple priest in some temples is reserved only for a man from the Brahmin Caste, even if there is another person who knows the mantras. There exists practices of having separate temples with Gods like Ayyanar, Mariammal etc , which are situated outside the village and the priests in these temples are not brahmins. Janitor jobs are mostly done by people from the lowest caste, with very few exceptions, which are rare enough to make headlines There is no opposition to these kind of reservations, since these are for the benefits of "upper castes". The only opposition is the reservations in education, since those would benefit people from the "lower castes" to climb the social ladder.

Arguments offered by anti-reservationists

1.Caste Based Reservation only perpetuate the notion of caste in society, rather than weakening it as a factor of social consideration, as envisaged by the constitution. Reservation is a tool to meet narrow political ends.

2.Affirmative Action can be provided at a more comprehensive level taking into account various factors of exclusion such as caste, economic conditions, gender, kind of schooling received etc. A comprehensive scheme of Affirmative Action would be more beneficial than reservations in addressing concerns of social justice. Such a system was in place in the Jawaharlal Nehru University till 1983 [called the "Deprivation Points" system] and is used by both Universities and the industry in the USA.

3.Political parties & central government paint false picture of inequality between Forward Castes and Other Backward classes without referring its own survey results . National surveys results indicate that Other backward classes are comparable to Forward Castes in many parameters. http://mospi.nic.in/mospi_nsso_rept_pubn.htm.This was pointed out by many analysts who analysed survey results and by Oversight committee in its final report.Backward classes outshine Forward Castes in important parameters like business ownership, rural employement, health indicators in many states etc. Other Backward Classes are comparable to Forward Castes in landholding pattern which is used by national surveys to understand the wealthiness of various social groups.


4.Allocating quotas is a form of discrimination which is contrary to the right to equality.

5.The policy of reservation has never been subject to a widespread social or political audit. Before extending reservation to more groups, the entire policy needs to be properly examined, and its benefits over a span of nearly 60 years have to be gauged.

6.Poor people from "forward castes" do not have any social or economical advantage over rich people from backward caste.

7.Combination of factors like Wealth, Income, Occupation etc will help to identify real needy people. Most often, only the economically sound people make use of most of the seats reserved for "backward" castes, thus making the aim a total failure.

After you have read this you might want to know what I want to say about the issue.The main problem with this reservation issue is the government itself.Even after 60 years of independence if the government says that there is still a section of society that is backward it directly reflects as to how much we have developed as a nation.Also after 60 years,instead of decreasing reservation it has increased it to accommodate more castes and sections.Anyway,we need to be optimistic and suggest some steps so that the reservation really helps the ones who need it the most.I came across a blog which has many workable suggestions.

What I want to say about the reservation thing is that reservation is absolutely necessary in view of the country's current situation.But we need to apply this reservation in an effective manner so that maybe in 20 years or so every Indian becomes equal in the educational,political and economical aspect and finally we can put an end to this reservation.At that point of time all will be treated as equal and we can put our full workforce for the development of our nation.

Source:Answers.com