The 'Untouchable' topic : Reservation

How India as a nation would have fared without the reservation system?

This question, in spite of its controversial nature needs to be asked. Some might argue that now that it is already prevalent why not simply go about things the way they are and see towards the future rather than pondering over the past but I tend to disagree. This logic might work in topics with a more modern origin so as to say. But when it comes to this Indian system its history needs to be looked into along with the current impact. The reason why it has withstood the test of time is a big question mark on the human mind-set. The reason being that to decide where we go from here with this system would require taking into account not just the present situation, but rather also the history behind it!

Let us get talking a little about human psyche, shall we? It’s a normal human trait to accept things the way they come towards you than trying to do things the hard way (which is more often than not the right way). Some people manage to get out of this mind-set and those select are the few who end up leaving an impact. We, as a society need to acknowledge this fact and accept that had anyone been in the place of a reserved category person, he/she might have accepted this system as a freebie and continue going about things as they are! If we are able to do so we might be able to slowly do away with the system.

But the problem arises when rather than delving deep into our souls we shamelessly start questioning a certain class of people. This debate and this system won’t be corrected by mere abashing of the reserved classes, rather we need to find the root cause of where the problem actually lies
and once we do, we might be able to correct a lot of things. Some of them being:

*** Indian education system (or rather the selection process) needs to be sorted out, and SOON!***

 

For many students it must be heart-breaking to see lesser individuals (and I am not talking only about IQ, rather passion too) get into elite institutions ahead of them.

Not only does it create a feeling of contempt rather also acts as big deterrent for the atmosphere of the institution. And trust me; the increasing competition isn’t helping the cause!

*** The already deteriorating political system isn’t helping the Dalit cause anymore in any case.***

When the great B.R. Ambedkar had agreed to create reservations for the oppressed classes, he had given it a ten-year life span; i.e. the system was supposed to be abolished in 1957. Now, many political analysts say that had it happened so it would have meant the near-extinction of the Dalit classes from the political map so it was good in a way that Dr.Ambedkar’s wish didn’t get fulfilled but it ended up getting stretched much longer than it should have had. The cause for the greater good got lost in the muddy ponds of Indian politics of vote-banks. The Dalit movement would have had continued in any case for the political advantage being offered to the ‘oppressed classes’ was misused by puppets in the hands of big parties like the BJP and Congress who were far from the Dalit movement. So even if the reservation were to end today it would not affect the larger picture of the Dalit cause.

Right now, straightaway removal of reservation might sound tempting and just to a large number of people. After all to an extent this system in legal terms is the equivalent of “punishing the children for the sins of their fathers.” But one needs to think of the overall stability of the system too. You can’t make such drastic changes overnight.

That being said, I think there needs to be a proper committee or think tank being set up for this very cause, for the cause of removal of reservation, partial or whole, and to correct the wrongs. The oppressed can’t stay the oppressed their entire life! We need to ensure than that we, as a nation see this through because no one can be sure about how the society would have been without it but I would love to see, personally, how it would be without it in the future.