Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Aarakshan::Reservation- I rest my Case

Ok... caught in my own Life's Aarakshan and of course the hue and cry of bill sent to Govt of India by Anna Hazare et.al, I somehow couldn't write my final post on the age old issue. Not that anyone really cares (Blogger is not really showing any stats on my previous 2 posts on the issue) but as a blogger, my apologies if anyone was in fact looking forward for the final read on the issue even for a brief moment. 

So where were we??? Oh yeah... we heard both sides of the story and were stuck at crossroads....
              
If we support reservation, it means that we still enjoy caste-ism and favoritism in the name of welfare. Also implying that we still are confident that without reservation welfare isn't even remotely plausible. And unfortunately, any unchecked system would act as a reactant to an impending collapse of the bigger system-the society.

If we do not support reservation, it means that we are Hippocrates demanding "equality" in opportunity when the precursor to opportunity is definitely not equal. Also it implies that we fail to apply two principles of Science. (Following TV series "The Big Bang Theory" these days)
  1. Archimedes principle: If a farmer's son at level 1 has used reservation to become a banker at level 2, then someone from level 2 has to come to level 1. So why the hell do you cry saying "If they (SC/ST/OBC) have taken our (High class) jobs we'll have to do theirs" (A dialogue in the movie Aarakshan).... If one has  a problem with shifting classes then he/she should not dream of shifting to a higher class (if there is) either. 
  2. Law of Limitation: We are only as strong as our weakest class of society. So, If one doesn't bother about the weakest class of society (no matter what caste they belong) don't dream of living in "!ncredible" India but just India.

If like in the movie Aarakshan (yeah i saw the movie finally) you put up coaching classes so that the under privileged challenge a higher cut off, then again the "high class" people are doomed and won't like it as the Law of Reservation says "If a student of reservation class clears a General class cut off then he/she shall be accommodated in General class and not reservation class." Its like a double edged sword for I can say. 

The problem lies in having a nonsensical categorization of people in the first place. (as if the classification done by zoologists for Homo sapiens is not enough!). Ok lets agree for a moment that categorization brings in the ease of planning and making things better in an efficient manner. But the major problems comes when we stick to ancient classes(castes) , which are based on our ancestral way of earning livelihood and not our current class or status (the way our parents earn livelihood). 

If we reserve reservation only to a certain extent and not make it almost ubiquitous; club reservation to parent's income and ways of generating income and completely remove the nonsensical and passe classes and castes, wouldn't it be beneficial for all?? It will also keep a check on Income Tax payment (if applicable), as Income Tax papers would be one of the certificates required during admission process rather than a caste certificate.

Surely any amendment to the Reservation bill will be met with stronger actions and reactions (Newton's Law) with the pro reservation at Ramlila and anti reservation at Jantar Mantar... it might need clones of Anna and might even outweigh the TRP of the JanLokpal Bill... but in the end what matters is a logical , practical and foresighted "Aarakshan" and thus I rest my case.

4 comments:

  1. Loved d Post..loved ur co relation wid d laws...but reservation is a very sensitive subject...d idea of dividing the society into classes is something i have never agreed with..in my opinion and i agree with u on dat...if you want to give reservation ..give it to the economically backward..and not the people who have already risen in the society irrespective of the caste they belong to..though considering the caste driven politics of our nation..where politicians are pitched by the caste they belong to..i really dont see a conclusion coming anywhere soon..though i remain hopeful that one day this issue would be sorted out..and we move towards a more mature democracy.

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  2. @ Rishika .. Thanks.... yeah..exactly my point... the caste driven politics in our country is a big hurdle... Having noticed how many years it takes for India to achieve Independence and getting one bill passed in the parliament...yes, it may be a distant dream to get rid of this super-bug... Nevertheless, hope remains that one day... "All would be well".

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  3. Reservations are misunderstood. Oppressed classes are taking the right which was snatched from them for 3000 years. The Unreserved people did not let the reserved people to study, to drink in well, to walk in street for 3000 years and why the fuck are they rattled in just 50 years ???The only way to get rid of reservation is to stop bias,prejudice and inhumane practices still prevalent in rural india carried by 20% people on 80% low castes as they classified in the name of caste. Low castes are progressing now not because govt. give us reservation but because they are inherently smart like every other human being and they are claiming their rights. father of casteism Mr. Manu didn't think so in Manu Smiriti.
    If Income Tax to be considered for classifying then, 99% falls under the backward clout. IT filing is mere bullshit in india. There are hell no.of VIP's, business men,Employees who just bribe Govt. officials and pay very less taxes. Less tax means they are less productive. Less productive means they are backward. backward means they are eligible for reservatons in your context. its just like state bank of india showing Rs.28 crores are PAT in last fiscal.

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  4. @kiran.... please do read d 1st nd d 2nd posts on the same topic.... i have stated wat u stated in the 1st half of ur comment... nd if u read carefully.. i dont say reservation is not required.. i said it should be on the means of economic conditions (not necessarily IT) and not caste system as the caste/class system then cannot be compared with the class/caste system now.... nd reservation should be more guarded in every manner.

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