Sunday, May 21, 2006

Discrepancies: Reservation Proposal

Discrepancies: Reservation Proposal

Last couple of weeks have seen a lot of anti quota protests engulf all over India, and there have been certain violence which should have not taken place, call it police brutality overreaction or agitators going over board to go against the law and order rules….but i assume for every action there is a equal and opposite reaction…so there should be something wrong and the judgement is very individual in nature.

Last week also saw pro quota protests in Delhi, Bihar and other places again there was violence and some of he journalists were injured, ask why…..the answer was the protectors of conscience and the real watch dog of democracy were biased in their media coverage….how often we have seen media trying to make or create opinions and judgements…are they acting in true spirits of journalism or are they trying to pursue what they believe in the name of journalism, this can be debatable at length.

Let’s analyse by stating the cases: in terms of their demands
Anti Quota Protests:
1. Roll back reservation
If given reservation there would be shortage of seats for those who are meritorious and there is no opportunity to showcase their talents even if they have the requisite skills; in short Right to Equality
2. Reservation would dilute Quality
If reservations are to be introduced as proposed then there would be below average students getting access to higher education and there they would fumble and even if pass would be with great difficulty.
Pro Quota Protests:
1. Need Reservation
As this would help to bridge the social balance, and as reservations would help have access to education in government institutes as private institutes are based on capitation and more so how is it fair if students who have access to education and facilities either by paying extra ( private tuitions) get better access or by the shear wealth in terms of capitations they get to have access, where as the socially backward have no such facilities firstly as most of them are from the rural or small towns where education infrastructure set up by government is in dire states.
2. Excellence can be showcased only if opportunity is give.
Reservation would not dilute quality, as if we wanted to compete with those students who have access to education and infrastructure from the day one then there needs to be the same access to infrastructure…as there is not through reservations seats can be availed in the prestigious institutes…But once there, like every one, one has to strive hard and get through else then there is no point is making so much of efforts to gain reservation, more so education is no one’s sole property.

Are there merits and de-merits in both the cases? Again the opinion is individual. As for me there is an element of truth in both the cases.
 I agree there would be shortage of seats if reservations are introduced, which in my opinion would really not help those either the pro quota or anti quota students.
As for anti quota students they would need to compete for smaller number of seats even if they have the calibre they might not get an opportunity to showcase the same. For pro quota students, how many would get to have benefits from this, as only those few who can have access to quality education and infrastructure amongst you would tend to make the most as the rest even if you claim the quota and seat, would it be possible to compete in the same class and league as those of your classmates once you join these institutes, answer is very difficult as since there is no much of quality education you have access this implies and can be assumed there would be some short comings in the basic understanding or shortcomings in know-how, so this makes it difficult to compete and will be playing in the hands of the so called professors who have made up their mind from pre-historic age that only those with merit can cope and other can cope, rightly or wrongly this is a fact.
 Equality, Merit and Quality have been used by the Anti-Quota protestors, is there a real sense of Equality and quality?
Whenever there is a comparison this has to be with relative terms, how can it be Equality when one gets to have access to education from the day one and special coaching to boost the current knowledge level, these coaching has not come without a cost and this cost could be tuitions are getting buying access to education through capitation fees from private educators, the majority percentage of those who claim reservation don’t get access to such facilities for most they simply cant and for few even if they can there are no opportunities, saying this there are those minority percentage of students who claim reservation get access to education either by capitation or by private educators and such people are the grouse of the matter and normally these minority have created an impression based on which the anti-quota protestors have modelled their opinions against reservation for socially balance. So the point is Equality, Merit and Quality are relative and one can’t generalise them.

Thinking of solution, is the proposed raise in 27%reservation, thus taking the total reservation to 49% a solution, answer is NO.
Government needs to understand and answer these question to define a solution to the problem which is dividing India more than what the Indian Right Wing has done over the years.
1. When those students who have no access to education and infrastructure and cant even buy themselves extra education for them, would reservation make much sense, as even though they get a seat, how effective can they be….this is very much questionable?
2. Are you not curtailing the calibre and potential of the meritorious (we can take it for say they are genuine) to showcase their talents

Starters to think for a possible solution:
1. Get the reservations back to status quo.
2. Look at how the benefits of reservation can reach the real needy; especially those in the rural sector who don’t even get to have decent education, cutting across caste lines.
3. Reservation over years has helped those few who have made use of it or the so called creamy layer in the urban sector as opposed to the rural sector.
4. Map those who are worthy and needy of reservation i.e rural students who are socially-economically backward and then define reservation. Do this on the basis of 2001 census as opposed to the 1931 census based on which Mandal Commission was modelled.
5. It is high time, Govt. education needs to be reformed and revived in the rural and urban India so there can be a fair playing ground is set in the coming 10-15yrs…
As there are so many discrepancies in the proposal, put on your thinking caps and define a solution and help save the future of India and its talent potential.

2 comments:

Dharmaveer Singh said...

Reservation? Why on caste basis? Why not on social and economic consideration. This needs no more explanation.

Str8Talk said...

@ DVS

What u mean by social consideration is caste and i am not supporting this for the creamy layer who have exploited reservation, but i am supporting this for those in the rural sector are deprived of everything from basic infrastucture to education. More so the make up of Indian social demographics warrant a look at Reservtion as a tool for uplifment not as a final solution