WILL THE JAT RESERVATION SORT ANY ISSUE OR WILL IT JUST ADD TO FURTHER DIVISION IN THE SOCIETY

HITESH AHUJA//India’s current atmosphere is of agitations, protests, strikes and demands around various issues like nationalism, reservations, freedom of speech and so on. I personally believe that freedom of speech is at its prime and is most well used today since Independence, but of all the prevalent topics of the day, the one I feel matters most to me and should matter the most to all those who think and worry about development and progress is the issue of reservations.

Reservations of a form have been around in our country since much before Independence. But after Independence (which meant that we could take our own decisions), we did not try to abolish the system and unite our country. Instead, we carried on with the caste-based reservation system. In my opinion, this system needs to be removed as soon as possible.

Reservations were allowed for a stipulated period of time for the uplift of certain sections of society. But they have continued and have been serving as the main reason for divisive politics in India. Reservations are slowing down and delaying the development of our immensely talented and promising nation. Reservations just add to the long list of issues that already play spoiler to our democracy – poverty as well as religious, regional and cultural divides are only a few of these.

Reservations need to be totally revamped and the present law needs to be removed. The system should only be applicable to people below the poverty line (BPL) and only for education up to the secondary level. After that, everyone should be treated at par and admissions to colleges and other higher studies should be on the basis of intellect and talent. An even platform will bring out the best in the youth which is necessary for the nation and its development.

India deserves to be in the hands of the deserving and capable who have fought amongst equals in terms of talent and education and are now ready to give back to the nation.

India is already suffering from a very slow growth and development rate due to the obstacles created by innumerable caste and religious divides. The unity of the country is in danger.

We must work towards the day when nobody asks anyone their religion or caste and only relates to one another as a fellow India. Words like religion, community, caste, region and minority should not be asked and must be removed from all official forms and applications. Being Indian should be enough to enjoy all the rights and privileges of a citizen of India.

Politicians need to move beyond vote bank politics and unite the country by removing all reservations in public sector jobs. The Ministry of Minority Affairs should be abolished as the very name of the ministry creates a divide. We are all Indians, why should we even count the percentage of different religions and castesin the country. We need to concentrate only on poverty and give equal opportunity to the poor.

Human talent and capability is natural and can be nurtured in anyone from any caste, religion, creed, gender or region. And I also appeal to the people of the country to identify as Indians and not as Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, North-easterns, South Indians, Kashmiris or Marathis.

ABHIMANYU JHAJHARIA// The ongoing debate on reservation in India is back in the news thanks to the violent protests in Haryana by some members of the Jat community who want to be included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

So what exactly is reservation? The term ‘reservation’ is defined as the act of withholding something. In India, people like Kashmiri victims of terrorism, single girl children, migrants from the state of Jammu and Kashmir, children of freedom fighters, the physically disabled, and a host of other sections of society get the benefits of reservation in different fields like government-led educational institutions, jobs, public transport etc. The category that sees the maximum debate is reservation based on caste.

So does this mean that if someone belongs to the OBC category and is from an economically well-off family, she still gets reservation benefits? The answer is no. Caste-based reservation for OBCs includes the concept of a creamy layer, which acts as a filter for people who are not economically backward. But for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), there is no such concept. The justification is their sociopolitical backwardness and years of discrimination and suffering.

One of the arguments against reservation is that it is directly proportional to the population and if that’s the case then why do we need it at all? Article 14 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the Right to Equality to all the citizens of India. Equality in this case, means equality of opportunities and not equality of outcome. Reservation, thus, is an important step towards achieving equality in developing India where inequality still exists in many forms through discrimination on the basis of social markers like caste and gender. Without reservation, not every section of India’s population has equal access to opportunities because of this discrimination.

Reservation compromises meritocracy, yes. But meritocracy is meaningless without equality. If everyone does not have the same starting point, it is flawed to think that the same amount of effort will allow them to be at par in terms of achievement. Similarly, access to opportunities is not equal for everyone and that is where reservations come in. Having said all this, not everything is great about reservations nor are they always implemented effectively.

The difference in cut-off marks for the Civil Service Examination(Preliminary) 2014 for the general(205) and OBC(204) categorieswas 1. Such aminimal differenceraises the question of how reservation could be beneficial for anybody at all.

The main problem with the reservation is that privileged SCs, STs and OBCs reap its benefits while the downtrodden and economically backward continue to suffer. Awareness generation regarding reservation norms is very important.

To overcome some of the shortcomings of reservations, restrictions should be imposed on the caste certificates and every certificate that has been used by two generations should be cancelled. Or the concept of reservation credits should be introduced where every family gets a certain number of credits and can use them to get admission to jobs or promotions etc. Plus, the process of evaluating the creamy layer needs to become more dynamic.

Reservations are and should remain a method of appropriate positive discrimination to help the economically, socially and politically backward strata of society.

The purpose of reservations should be to achieve a situation where they are no longer necessary. With free quality education and equality of opportunities, ultimately there should come a time when every SC/ST/OBC candidate matches the ‘general’ category candidate in every way, giving everybody the same starting point.