We are familiar with Reserve
Forests, Reservatories for the protection of animals, trees and beasts or
birds. Now in India we have another category in the social sector: The
Reservation Man (Woman too). About fifty years ago the world became familiar
with Organisation Man, a category of regimented minds functioning as robots in
the capitalistic organizations. In India today we have now the Reservation Man
who is at the mercy of the state. Like the human condition determined by
nature, the state represented by elected representatives now determines the
fate and future of a large section of the society. It was fifty percent
earlier, now it is going to be 60 percent, defined by caste, economic condition
and group strength to wield pressure on the state. It has the numerical
strength to paralyse the state buy launching strikes, bunds and agitations. We
are hardly Indians for we are free by constitutional authority to refuse to
sing the National Anthem. We are free to spread canards against our own
country, question judgements of the Supreme Court of India and even to question
the constitution of a bench to try a long pending case. This defiant freedom is
championed by political parties only to pressurize governments to yield to all
legitimate and illogical self- stultifying demands. Democracy gives us the
right if we have the numbers.
Ambedkar, the father of the
Constitution wisely decided to give reservations to the scheduled castes and tribes for ten years, to
integrate into the larger frame of the society, people who were subdued and ill-treated
for long centuries in our history, by giving them education and jobs. But after
72 years we see the same situation continuing with greater ferocity. The
population has increased and naturally the other caste groups by their sheer
numbers have agitated to get the stamp of Reservation. The Jats, Patidars,
Marathas who have lived with pride and affluence now are demanding reservations
only to get the identity of a political pressure group. Months before the
election in Madhya Pradesh the so called upper castes, the Brahmins and others
demanded reservation. They toppled the Government by voting for another party,
thereby demonstrating their democratic rights.
The Modi Government sprang a
surprise on the country on the last day of the Parliament’s winter session by
introducing a bill for 10 percent reservation in the ‘unreserved’ upper class.
The only grace of the bill is, it is caste religion neutral. Economic
backwardness is hoped to be lessened by this bill. But what shocks the people
who think reservation is a demeaning slur on the people in a democracy is the
views expressed by the members of Parliament who participated in the debate.
Those who are already beneficiaries of reservation, the OBC, and SC and ST
argue that since the population of these reserved categories of people has
increased, there must be a fresh survey and the present 49.5 percent should be
raised to 85 percent. Some even
suggested 100 percent. Wow! We now have a democracy where the thought, debate
based on new imaginaries of a new India are relevant. The numbers will decide
our fate. Those who win elections are not really the prophetic intellectuals
who can shape the destiny of a country. Bernard Shaw was always right: the
right thinking people are always in the minority; they cannot be part of any
pressure group. If the quota competition continues in the second half of the
present century India would be a country of Reservation Men blindly voting parties who would perpetuate reservation.
Normally anyone would be tempted
to ask: O’ you members of Parliament, are you not satisfied with ruining the
Universities, killing gifted minds, levels of intelligence, creativity suppressing
talents of generations? Are you not satisfied with the feast of ceremonial
dullness displayed in our technical institutes? Are you not satisfied with killing
innovation? If not, make the few who have escaped your net of perdition of your
slaves by introducing 100 percent reservation. Kill merit to promote mediocrity
so that by 2080 India would enter some book, Guinness or otherwise, as a country
of Reservation Man where merit is a sin. Posterity will be proud of you
politicians for destroying initiative and inquisitiveness.
If you wish India to be a better
and more prosperous country abolish caste and religion from public life. Those
who are poor give them scholarships and send them to good institutions. Make
the Universities throbbing centers of excellence. Try and remove the stigma of
reservation from the destiny of the people. Let man strive for his excellence
utilizing his native talent. Do not create yes men; create men and women who
would aspire for the stars as proud
individuals- not as caged birds singing what you teach them for votes.
No comments:
Post a Comment