THE CLERGIES AND monarchies which changed with time and space survived longer, while the adamancy and perpetual exploitative tendency in some of them doomed them. The monarchy in Britain survived because it gradually acceded to the aspirations of the masses. On the contrary, the emperor in France was beheaded. The czar of Russia met the same fate. After the independence of India the most of states and the center were ruled by the upper castes, but soon the majority reacted against them, and it resulted in a change in the character of governance in India: the most of the states are now ruled by the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The agitation to oppose reservations for the OBCs may lead to the same situation in education as has happened in politics.

 

On 12 August 05 the Supreme Court gave a judgment in the case of P A Inamdar versus the State of Maharashtra that the state cannot impose reservation in private, unaided medical and engineering colleges and universities. To nullify the effect of the judgment Parliament made 104th constitutional amendment. On 5 April 2006 the Human Resource and Development minister Arjun Singh told the media about the implementation of reservation for the OBCs. For a week or so there was no agitation against the announcement, but later someone instigated students to go for agitation.

 

Blaming reservations for the dilution of efficiency and merit has no force. In fact, it is entirely selfish not to share the fruits of development and state resources with the deprived. The grounds of opposition of the protesting students are merit and economic criterion. So far, more than 80 per cent of seats in medical, engineering and management courses are available on merit, then why have these students not distinguished themselves in a single ‘invention’, ‘research’ or ‘technology’. There is no reservation in sports, yet the country of a population of one hundred crore has not secured a single gold medal in Olympics!

 

It is noteworthy that doctors employed in rural areas hardly serve there and prefer to stay in cities. Isn’t it degrading the profession? Nursing homes charge high fee and do not spare even the poor. As for engineering students, they first use IITs, where the government of India spends an average of two lakhs rupees per student per year, then they condemn the facilities available in India and take up jobs in the Silicon Valley for earning in dollars. The argument of merit in this case, then, is only a pretext.

 

The doctors revealed their mindset when they protested with brooms in their hands, as if carrying brooms is a Dalit’s job. Thus, they showed no respect for physical labour. The lack of dignity of labour has failed India in every field. We cite the examples of Europe and the USA for work culture, discipline, technology, financing management, etc. but avoid social obligations borne by industries and educational institutions in those societies. In fact, affirmative action is needed more in India than in the USA, because caste is worse than apartheid. There are 75 chief executive officers from among the people of colour in the USA. On the contrary, there is no Dalit CEO in India.

 

The scene in educational institutes there also has some encouraging examples. Harvard University is considered to be the Mecca of learning. It has the affirmative action in medicine faculty in favour of the people of colour, women and the people of Asian ethnicities up to 50 per cent, yet it enjoys the highest standards of knowledge sharing and has given the maximum number of Nobel laureates to the world. The white population is satisfied with the remaining seats there. This is the sprit needed in India as well, which unfortunately is missing.

 

Another relevant example from Michigan University will reveal the largesse of the white population of the USA. In June 2004 a student of colour secured admission in its law college with less marks and was challenged by the affected white student in a court of law. Almost all universities and the industry argued in favour of the student of colour in the Supreme Court and finally his admission was justified.

 

Closer home, in 1902 Shahuji Maharaj introduced reservation in the Kolhapur state. The state of Mysore did the same. Still the standard of education and administration is better in south India than north India. Thus, it proves that sharing resources with the deprived does not hamper the quality and efficiency in a system.

 

It is being talked that reservation will stifle the growth of India. In fact, there is a latent and unconstitutional reservation in the spheres of knowledge, status, spirituality and wealth, and this is still far more powerful than the constitutional one, because human beings are governed more by social traditions and customs than by the state law. There is no doubt that Dalits and the backwards are not fit for entrepreneurship compared to Baniyas, because they were trained and groomed in this role for centuries. If Dalits and the OBCs are not given opportunities they will remain behind in future as well.

 

If the opponents of reservation policy are really serious about their arguments they should have opposed the admission in medical and engineering colleges on the basis of capitation fee. There is murmuring that if foreigners were given these seats the protesting students of today might have boasted that even foreigners were looking towards India.

 

Every society which has progressed is known for adjustment in social policy and sharing its wealth and respect with various social groups. The objective of reservation policy is not mainly to eliminate poverty but to bring the warring social groups closer to each other. Therefore, the visionary framers of the constitution of India based the policy of reservation on educational and social backwardness.

 

Wherever caste contradiction is sharper Dalits and the most backward castes have taken up guns and joined the bogey of Maoists, which leads to bad law and order situation. The merit mongers should realise that in these circumstances neither the quality educational institutions can exist nor investment can come to India. Who will be the final loser in such a case?: definitely the merit mongers.

 

In Delhi the total seats in all five medical colleges add up to 360, and if 27 per cent of it is bagged by the OBCs it is not going to disturb the scenario of unemployment among the upper castes in a city whose total population is more than one crore.

 

Admittedly, the institutes like IITs and IIMs have produced good engineers and business managers who are capable of taking up good jobs overseas and in private companies. The money earned by them has hardly to do with the growth of economy: it only helps their kith and kin. The private sector is better than them, because it contributes more to the growth of economy without using much government resources. In fact, it is not merit and efficiency which is at peril but the interest of elite among the upper castes. Actually, the elite doctors and engineers are not fighting for their society but for themselves. Their agitation may lead to a chain reaction on the other side and finally different warring groups may create a situation where the government jobs and seats in educational institutions are proportioned according to the population of each caste. At present, even after reservation the upper castes will enjoy 50 per cent of the total seats, which is enough for them to prove merit and share the fruits of state resources. Thus, they should call off their agitation and let others also come up the social ladder. If they do not do so they will harm themselves in future.

 

[Dr Raj is the national chairman of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations.]