My two cents on Reservation in India.

I am grateful that I was born privileged. Getting food three times a day, parents who would invest in our education & well being is privileged in this country. Only 1/4th of the population is exempt, and rest have succumbed to poverty, oppression and social injustice. It is quintessential to recognize the centuries practice of caste oppression, disallowance of specific caste for basic amenities & education is the reason why some of us are privileged, and others are not. Our descendants had the privilege to get the basic necessities for wellbeing, and that is why we have a decent living. Let me bring in some relevance to the topic of the article. Reservation is solely to bring equal opportunities to the downtrodden communities in our country. Our constitution and the preamble’s primary purpose is to bring equity and tranquillity between people and to bring equal opportunities to every people irrespective of their caste, gender and religion.

The reservation was introduced to bring equity among people who are not having the privilege to get opportunities like education, jobs solely because of their castes. Recognizing their caste and giving opportunities is a socialistic and essential approach for the development of the country.

For years, people who belong to certain castes have succumbed to humiliation & oppression. They were denied the opportunities and were treated as slaves and separated them for works like manual scavenging. Most of the rural low caste people accept all kinds of discrimination explaining it away as their fate.

The reservation is quintessential considering the history of our country, and it is to be continued for some years when specific communities like Dalits are given proper opportunities. The most significant criticism on the reservation is the misuse of the reserved seats. This problem is considered by the judiciary in many judicial pronouncements and noted it as the “creamy layer”. The fact that some economically privileged people get unfair opportunities just because they belong to lower caste is, of course, prevalent, but that should not overshadow or undermine the importance of reservation to thousands of underprivileged people in this country. Moreover, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has taken several measures to keep a check on socially advanced people who get arbitrary opportunities through the creamy layer. People who are against the reservation only come up saying it destroys merit but fail to recognize how much students who are got into college through NRI quotas and capitation fee structure. It is just a baseless argument which is untenable, does not hold water and is downright apocryphal.

I find people coming at me, saying it is not fair to have a reservation in the workplace since it is solely based on the interview process. They fail to not consider the ‘other factors’ into consideration during the entrance test and interview process; most Indian companies seem to further the discrimination in a very subtle and subconscious process. Most of us may not know the other person’s caste or social class. However, by looking solely at his percentages, entrance test scores, and interview performance, we tend to miss the larger picture of including socially backward groups and minorities. If one were add suggested parameters into the process, such as economic and social class, religious background, sex, etc., we could work towards fairer representation of different classes. It is all about basic compassion and understanding of how much history has oppressed certain classes. Reservation is a stepping stone for oppurtunities.

I do not think there is a necessity to make attempts to abolish caste consciously. Any attempt to abolish caste will only renew the divisions further. People will only identify with it more religiously and fanatically. As seen from histories of different lands, such identities cannot be taken away from the people. The more you try, the more they hold onto it dearly. Caste, religion is something which is deeprooted in our society. Instead, the pragmatic approach would be to work towards mechanisms by which caste becomes redundant.

Supporting reservations is seen as a lack of competence. Furthermore, hence you will not find many supporters for reservations-based-on-caste. I had people coming at me thinking I support reservation just because I am a loser in life and could not win through an open competition. I got into my law college solely based on merit and was able to get straight As in my high school and college. The reason I support reservation is not for self-interest; it is just some basic humanity and empathy to consider the all-round situation in our country.

Look at the southern states of India. Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been implementing reservations for quite some time now, and they are one of the most developed states in India, where the literacy levels are the highest, population growth is the lowest, and now, even the business is flourishing.

We have been able to have a Dalit for a President of India, Chief Ministers, Governors, IAS officers, administrators, and bureaucrats. Many officers are hailing from lower castes of India. However, are we there yet? Not really. We still have a long way to go to correct the deeply entrenched social system which still discriminates and ostracizes lower castes in rural and tribal areas where a significant chunk of Indian population resides.

It is all about bringing social justice to our fellow countrymen and having some necessary empathy. We privileged should recognize and not be ignorant about the social oppression faced by certain castes. We countrymen are known for our unity in diversity, and that is what makes us unique from the rest of the world.

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