Mandal Era Revisited

Just when everyone was raving about the bumper placements in IITs and Indian B-schools, Arjun Singh decides to drop a bombshell and take reservations in centrally funded institutes upto 50%. A heated debate is going on all over the country and certainly this is one topic that deserves all the attention it is getting. And this is also one issue I feel very strongly about.

The Problem

As of now, the reservation in top institutes like IITs and IIMs stands at 15% for SC and 7.5% for ST. With 27% more being reserved for OBC, general category students get only 50.5% of seats. Given the tough competition already for he seats in these premier colleges, naturally the people are disgusted at this unwanted gesture. It only gets harder to get in. Reservation exist in other central universities also but people hardly care about them. The fuss is about IIT/IIM because these institutes are known to provide middle class guys the platform to launch a decent career.

Reservation are unfair

In my opinion, resevations are grossly unfair to students. As I often say, the law makers of the country are a myopic lot. Their decisions are mostly based on short term and bloody political gains. None of them has the vision and guts to take a call on matters of national importance. The fact that a well educated man like Manmohan Singh is at the helm of the affairs and behind this decision only makes things worse. If this act gets passed, one thing is sure- I shall never vote for Congress.Not that I xpected much from Sonia Gandhi and her Congress but now even the last straw has been pulled. For that matter, all political parties have in-turn ang-raped the educational abric of India.

Coming back to he main premise, Arjun Singh says that these reservations are meant to give the people of backward castes a fair chance to compete with other students. Something to ensure social equality. Ahem, haven't we heard that often ? What about economic equality Sir ? For the sake of analysis, let us divide the entire population into 4 subsects:
1. High Social Status, High Economic Status
2. High Social Status, Low Economic Status
3. Low Social Status, High Economic Status
4. Low Social Status, Low Economic Status

As per the current rules, Class 1 does not get any reservation and they need not get so. And Class 4 gets reservation and deservedly so. No arguements there. The bone of contention is between Classes 2 & 3 and wheher Class 4 is actually able to utilise the available reservations for its upliftment. Most middle class families fall under Class 2. Government feels that they do not deserve reseravtions while Class 3 does. When Ambedkar envisaged reservations in the first place, he said that they ought to be done for a fixed time frame to correct the wrongs done to these people and help them get to mainstream life. However, political parties have since then used this as a political tool and what was intended to bridge the social divide has become the biggest divisor. Two wrongs never make a right. If the wrongs done to these castes have to be addressed then they have to be done at the basic levels. A good institution cannot correct 12 years of poor education no matter how hard you try. Institutes like IIT/IIM have a reputation that has been developed over years by the distinguished quality of its students and faculty. The success of these lay in meritocracy. Quotas will hit this very foundation of theirs and soon these like many good things in our country will deteriorate thanks to our politicians.

Just imagine a scenario. You are going to give the exam that will in all probability shape your destiny. It is an exam where just 1 bloody mark can make or break you career. For each single seat, the fight is just too much and whn you realise that some person who just about managed to pass his XII gets the seat you wanted because his certificate had that "SC/ST/OBC" writen on it. It doesn't matter whether you worked your guts out and he did not. Your birth certificate just wasn't good enough. How frustrated would that guy be.

Fallacies:

Even the visionary Baba Ambedkar proposed a 10% reservation for 10 years. More than fifty years hence, the quotas still stand at 50%. Doesn't it look like a cover-up for the inefficiencies of government, mostly of Congress, over the past half-a-millenium. I definitely think so. The Congress governments and some of other parties have utterly failed to provide social justice and to make up for that, they decide to penalise students. Has anyone kept track of how many families have benefitted from reservation ? Does anyone know of any Class 4 family that has been able to improve its status after availing of reservation ? The government has no data. It just acts on political whims and fancies.

As a matter of fact, a paper published by a JNU professor, Dr. Pradipta Chaudhary, has some interesting observations:

With respect to literacy rate, three OBCs, namely, Sonar, Halwai and Kalwar, were ahead of four high castes, namely, Rajput, Taga, Bhat and Kandu. Similarly, with respect to economic status, five OBCs, namely, Sonar, Jat, Gujar, Kisan and Mali, were better off than Brahman and Rajput, the two most numerous high castes, which accounted for one-fifth of the Hindu population. Two SCs, namely, Khatik and Dusadh, had higher literacy rates than many OBCs.

He concludes:

Even in a backward region like U.P. at the beginning of the 20th century, there were large variations in the literacy rates and economic conditions of castes that were later pooled together and treated as homogeneous categories...High ritual rank could not secure some of the upper castes against low economic status. Similarly, low ritual status did not prevent large sections of Jat, Gujar, Sonar, Kisan and Mali from attaining prosperity. Caste did not preclude the upward economic mobility of a section of the untouchables. Even with ‘5000 years old tradition of learning’, the Brahman population of U.P. could not reach an average of 12% literacy by 1911; they were not the most literate of castes.

As Dr. Indiresan, a former IIT M director puts it " The average family income of SC/ST students is twice that of General category students". Its only the cremy layer that avails of the quotas and not the economically backward people. Therein lies the death of purpose.

The Fallouts

The implications of such a faulty policy can be severe. As of now, the cut-off marks for general category students are 30 and that for SC/ST students are 10. If more quotas are enforced, then this cut-off wil drop further and then the quality automatically suffers. IITs and IIMs are not acclaimed for their research or infrastucture but for the quality of its students and faculty that can compete with the very best. If there can be quotas for students in IIT then it logically follows for teachers as well and then the entire educational structure will come crumbling down. Besides, its not just about getting in but keeping pace with the competition once you come in. The academic standards will have to be brought down to accommodate these students who are not so industrious. Agreed some OBC students do make it through General category but they are less in number and it is likely that they too will take it easy when quotas are enforced.

These reservations have the potential of creating a caste system within these institutes. Right now, there is perfect harmony and accord between students but once the quotas come in place, then 'groupism' is likely to surface again. In many government colleges where there are reservation for OBCs, there are student groups of Rajputs, OBCs, SC/STs and the likes. These groups socialise only among themselves and clashes between groups are very frequent. This fanaticism will also make way into these elite institutions. And ofcourse, Arjun Singh and the PM are blissfully unaware of this.

Even the companies that come to campus may begin to distinguish between studnets on the basis of caste. It is quite possible that seeing the quality of students that come through quotas, companies shortlist only students of General category. Those companies are not bound to take students if they find them unworthy of their standards. What happens then ? Why doesn't the government propose a reservation in Union Cabinet as well ? Theywon't simplu because it hurts their vested interests. The children of minisers and the likes have never gone through the grind of preparing for a competitive examination so it is unlikely that the law makers know the kind of injustice they are doing. For them, its nothing but politics but for some, it can change their lives for the worse.

This can also open the flood gates for Brain Drain. People reasonably talented and with enough money will certainly decide to pursue studies abroad rather than study in a phony institute in India. Over the years, a reverse brain drain was happening but with this move, I guess the menace of brain drain will resurface and this time the exodus will be highe both in quality and quantity.

Alternate policy


In today's world, especially in Metros and cities, your caste doesn't determine how you live but your bank balance does. People would be more than willing to shake hands with a chamar company executive rather than that of a destitute brahman . Your money decides your social status and the facilities you get. Reservation on a financial basis makes much more sense and is more socially justifiable. People may argue that fake income certificates are easy to procure but then only people with business in remote areas and farmers can do so. These people even if financially sound are not able to avail of the best of opportunities in most cases. So even if they get some favour it is not as grave an injustice. Certainly the kids of OBC ministers do not deserve reservation. Economic backwardness is a necessary and sufficient criteria for reservation. More importantly, the government needs to come up with a regular appraisal of setas utilised by reservations. I think no more than two generation of SC/ST families should have the benefit of reservation.

Reseravtions can never be a solution for social inequality but meritocracy sure can be !!