கால பைரவன்;94803 said:
...Just because the people who started the system were above petty political interests, it does not mean that today it is not being abused.
Indeed I may be lagging behind, and indeed I may not have properly understood you position on reservation. Be that as it may, your statement "
The idea is to provide exclusive benefits to certain sections" sounded like the whole idea of reservation was motivated by electoral politics.
If your are not opposed to the very idea of reservation as was put in place by the founders of our republic, then, for that agreement I am thankful.
Parties try to neutralize any advantage gained by others by merely joining the
This is inevitable in a democracy. The constitution does provide protection for oppressed minorities against the tyranny of majority, the Achilles heal of democracy. However, the reservation system, liked by a vast majority of the electorate, and approved by the judiciary as to its constitutionality, is widely hailed as a fair one. Those who feel it is not have the right to say so, but few share their disapproval. Like it or not, that is just the way it is in a constitutional democracy.
The question is how does a cultural asset help a poor brahmin or an FC pay his fees for education?
Another name for cultural asset is the so called sampradayam. All Brahmins share this tradition. To teach brahmin kids to read and write is like feeding them milk. Not so until recently for BC/Dalit. Rich or poor, all brahmin kids will have many to all their relatives reasonably well-educated and having respectable jobs. Not so for BC/Dalit even today. Right from young age, in Brahmin households education is stressed and even forcefed. Not so for most BC/Dalit. Going to college for a Brahmin kid is the default option after +2, only rare exceptions opt not to. Not so for BC/Dalit even if they are toppers -- last year there was a Dalit student at the top of selection list for medical school who was on the verge of not being enroll due to poverty.
This cultural advantage did not come about in a benign way. Over centuries the BC/Dalit were forbidden from education and they were made to feel they are unfit for it. For centuries, the Brahmins lived off the labor of these BC/Dalit, which meant they had lot of leisure time to go after intellectual pursuits. So, this cultural asset accumulated over centuries is an illegitimate property built on the sweat and exploitation of BC/Dalit.
It is the solemn duty of our government to try to even the playing field by extending reservation and monetary assistance to the long oppressed. Many brahmins may see this as unfair discrimination against them, but not many outside of brahmin community share that view.
If, as Nara claims, the percentage of poor FCs are very low and considering that the population of FCs is also very low, what is the need to keep such a minuscule percentage out of such benefits?
Well KB, the reason is quite simple, I am surprised you are not seeing it.
The number of seats available for much coveted fields is in thousands. Even at 3%, the Brahmins constitute more than 21 lakhs. Of this, if we assume 5% are of college age we are at 1 lakh brahmins students. Due to the cultural advantages the B students enjoy they are well prepared to do well in the type of tests used to measure "merit" for the purpose of college selection. So, sans reservation, the BC/Dalit students will be at a great disadvantage.
BTW, KB, you have nicely diverted the point about fairness into one of what is the big deal, kudos. Let me restate what the original issue was, at 3% of population TBs get to compete for 31% of available seats, and that seems imminently fair to me.
... Bringing dalits into equation to also defend exclusive benefits provided to OBCs or minorities is a sham.
KB, in this discussion you used the term FC instead of TB, would that indicate a sort of vested interest you are talking about?
Government has defined strict criteria for classification purposes. Among them are economic condition and educational penetration. You may claim the government is not implementing these rules properly. For anyone to take your charge seriously you must provide proper evidence.
I don't doubt that there are many among the OBC (i.e. BC+MBC?) who don't deserve benefits of reservation. But, without supporting data one cannot simply assume how big a problem this is. Caste based census, one which many TBs inexplicably opposed tooth and ail, may provide some clue. Other NGOs sympathetic to FC issues can take up a study and provide some solid evidence.
Cheers!