A medical student died in protest of the increase of quota for higher education admits to Indian institutions and the media is not willing to cover it. The quota is for backward classes (supposedly people who belong to a lower caste in the social structure and who are minorities)
Are these so called backward classes really backward? They study in the same schools, eat the same food, work in same organizations, earn the same money, get promotions based on their performance, have similar social life and are treated equally (Yeah, wake up this is the 21st century. We don't believe in untouchables!). How many times have you mistreated your friends because they were OBCs? Have we not shared lunch in school and studied and played together? Do we not interact with them freely and openly without any biases? At least if we are going for higher education we are wise enough to surpass this discrimination.
Then why this inequality?
From personal experience:
I remember distinctly: two friends, with the same background, same social status, same 14 years of schooling in one of the best schools in town, attended the same coaching centers, aspiring to be engineers. A gets a rank of 200 and B gets a rank of 370. A always wanted to do Computer Science from the best college but doesn't make it in the counselling session. Why? The cut off for CompSci seats was at rank 175. But B belonged to a minority community so he happily sails into Computer Science in the best college. A is disappointed and forced to take up Electrical in a less ranked college. Surprisingly B's family's household income and financial status was way better than A's. Her wish: I will marry a person from a minority community, at least my children will not have to face what I faced.
Why should a person who has not worked hard enough for an examination or maybe is not sutiable enough, get a better admit than someone who is much more capable than him just because the former's surname catogorizes him as a backward class. Aren't we losing out on better professionals?
Is this *equality* that the government is trying to portray or is it one more of their strategies to win the minority votes?
I don't think they are doing away with discrimination by raising reservations, they are encouraging it. They are provoking people to continue their belief in caste and stratas.
This is the defeat of merit at the hands of discrimination.
This is a hindrance to a well developed nation.
3 comments:
wow !!! this is great blog..this is exactly what I have been thinking for the past few years whenever this topic of reservations has come up...i feel as if i am reading my own mind...i totally agree with each and every word of it and regarding the story of the 2 friends, I have known 2 sisters who got married (one in lower caste)...their children were of same age and the son of the sister married to lower caste guy got into a very good college inspite of lower grades...i have heard various views on this topic but this one is like penning down the exact same things that go on in my mind in the exact same way...probably if i had written something on this topic, it would have been the exact same words...
Would have never said this out aloud, but in the anonymity of a blog - One of the things which is said in the defense of such reservation is that for ages, these people have been downtrodden and so on. So, this is one of the ways of getting them back up.
I think that the problem is much more to do with the fact that sometimes, the parents of such kids are not as well educated as our parents. The difference will only increase if we look one generation further. I think that reservation is just an attempt to break that cycle.
It is questionnable about the need for having reservation in super speciality med schools and other Post graduate places - IIMs etc.
The reasoning here being that they have had four years of graduate training - if they are not good enough, then they are not good enough.
I understand the need of quota to cover the gaps that have been created earlier. Also I am for the fact that there could be some reservations for admissions to elementary schools, but NOT at high school or college level. Because by then you have been educated at par with others and your success is based upon your merit and hard work. Not only super speciality med schools or post graduate schools I think it should be ruled out completely in the beginning of undergraduate education. If you have got a rank in IIT-JEE you are good enough, you dont need to be an OBC to get ahead of other rank holders and get a better seat instead of what you deserve.
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