THE ISSUE OF 27 per cent reservation of seats for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the central institutes of higher learning has become highly controversial. This issue has assumed a great importance and a full-scale discussion is required to determine whether the reservation will integrate or disintegrate society. One can easily know the caste structure of a village either through the ancestral occupation of the villagers or the typical dwellings in which they live or their lifestyle, but you cannot make out from a group of persons working in a government office whether they are Dalit or belong to the upper castes.
The striking doctors, who are harping on merit, never raised voice against the quota for non-resident Indians (NRIs) or the candidates who get admission on the basis of capitation fee in medical and engineering colleges. Does it not affect merit? For admission to the postgraduate courses the general category undergraduates at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) secure admission at a lower percentage than the Scheduled Caste (SC) and the Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. Is this not reservation?
The reservation was introduced in the Kolhapur state as early as in 1902. It was introduced in the Mysore state in 1921. In Tamil Nadu the rate of reservation is as high as 69 per cent, but its human health index is much higher than in other states. Recently, Chennai students have topped the higher secondary examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education, which has further demolished the arguments of the merit mongers. If the logic of merit being advanced by the anti-reservationists is applied to Tamil Nadu its health index will not be higher than those of the other states.
In fact, the upper caste students in elite institutions are always waiting for the easiest opportunity to go abroad in search of more lucrative jobs. Due to the 69 per cent reservation in Tamil Nadu a good number of SC, ST and OBC doctors stick to their state or hometowns, resulting in better healthcare services. Let us take it for a moment that the upper caste doctors are really meritorious, but is their merit going to help the country when they use the elite institutes as a ladder to go abroad for higher wages? Nearly 70 per cent of the AIIMS doctors go abroad. How do these elite institutes serve the interests of the common people under such circumstances?
The reservation is not a new phenomenon in our country. It has been there for thousands of years. For example, knowledge and learning were exclusively reserved for Brahmins, politics and warfare for Kshatriyas and business and trade for Banias. In fact, the reservation has been there in many other countries in one form or the other. The American multinational company IBM voluntarily introduced reservation for the people of colour way back in 1930. In Malaysia the reservation is there not only in jobs but also in contracts, licenses and company shares for Malays, the aborigine of the country. There is reservation for the depressed and weaker sections of people in many countries, like Brazil, South Africa, Japan, the Netherlands and Ireland. There is 50 per cent reservation for the people of colour and women in the medical faculty of Harvard University, which is considered to be the Mecca of learning. The whites are happy with 50 per cent of the remaining seats and have welcomed the step and have never made an issue of it. Their share of unreserved seats is quite sufficient for them to show their merit.
In fact, a handful of anti-reservationist doctors who talk of disintegration of society on account of reservation are responsible for creating dissension in the society, as all progressive backwards, Dalits and minorities are greatly concerned that a few doctors can create obstacles when it comes to giving social justice to the OBCs. The media has, of course, played a very negative role and there is no sense in expecting any positive response from them on this issue. It is a reality that the Indian society is constituted on caste lines. So, as long as there is a caste system in the society it will be the basis for everything, whether it is politics or any other area. If the anti-reservationists are so much concerned about the disintegration of society on caste lines they should first lead the struggle against social discriminations.
As per the reservation policy, the candidates belonging to the reserved categories get a job or admission even when they get lesser marks than the general category students. I was in the Indian Revenue Service and my experience has been that people who get high marks in an examination or a competition are not necessarily successful in the field. Merit, as it is being presently understood, is a British legacy and does not include honesty, hard work and patriotism in its definition. In the American school system, besides the syllabus, the students have to undergo practical training in social services, and marks are added in their certificates based on the performance in this area.
Only those persons are talking about merit who have studied in public schools or whose children are studying in such schools. The expenditure incurred on education in public schools is 50 or 100 times more as compared to government or corporation schools. There is a vast difference in the quality of teachers of public schools and corporation or government schools. The parents who can afford to send their children to public schools are mostly educated. They not only teach their children themselves at home but also provide for coaching for them. On the other hand, the parents who send their children to corporation or government schools are mostly uneducated. The children of such parents have to lend a helping hand to their parents after the school. Under such circumstances what is wrong with it if such students are asking for a concession of a few marks?
If the yardstick being suggested for Dalits and the OBCs were applied to India by the advanced countries like the USA, then they would not have allowed us to use their technology and inventions. We have not made any worthwhile technological advancement or invention of international standards of which we can be proud. All in all, it is only the mindset of a few selfish individuals who want to grab benefits from the elite institutes. The poor people of the upper caste do not stand to gain from the talk of merit in these elite institutes.
The reservation will bring unity and integrity in the society. The reservation in the elite institutes will enable people from different social strata to come together and establish bonhomie among them. It is true that the reservation is not a permanent solution to the vexed problems of our society. As and when equal and compulsory education is introduced in the country, Dalits and the candidates from the OBCs will not stake further claim on reservation. It is not a panacea for the economic backwardness of the country. For this purpose the government has already launched many schemes. It is a concession given to the socially and educationally backward people so that they may come to the mainstream and help in bringing about the unity of the nation. We have no objection if the poor among the upper castes are also given benefit of the reservation, but here also the rich among the upper caste people will take the advantage of the policy by procuring fake certificates. Some people from the SCs and the OBCs have become well off, but educationally they are still backward.
