Friends,
I was watching Prakash Jha's movie Arakshan yesterday.As always Prakash Jha has given us enough food for thought.Though his brilliance in bringing forth issues affecting the common man in a manner alluring to the masses is beyond doubt, I found the view he wanted to present before the nation was far too compromising.Hence I decided that i must write down my views for a healthy discussion to take place.I know a lot people would differ from my opinion, hence this write up for us discuss.
The history of reservation goes to a period well before Mother India was born.The second round table conference in 1930 was a session where two leaders representing conflicting interests clashed on a single agenda. While Dr. Baba Ambedkar wanted a system where the dalits had to be given reservation in the government and education sectors, Gandhiji saw it as playing in to the British hands by dividing the nation he so painstakingly bought together on a platform called The Indian National Congress ( Independent India's biggest bane today). Be as it may on 15th august 1947,as a fledgling nation was splintered in to two and dropped in to the lap of a strife torn world still reeling under the bitterness of a world war, Dr Ambedkar was entrusted by the nation to write what would become the pillar stone of the largest democracy in the world.
As the great man went about creating a system where the poor and downtrodden were given a special status,
little did he know that the term reservation which he created to bring down differences between the rich and poor in the society has become the most dangerous weapon in the hand of the so called politicians today.
Friends, as mentioned before the history of reservation goes well before independence.Let us have a brief look in to the history of reservation till now :
1. In India reservation was given to people before Indian independence also when India was ruled by British people.
2. 1882 - Hunter Commission appointed. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule made a demand of free and compulsory education for all along with proportionate reservation/representation in government jobs.
3. In the year 1902 , Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj, Maharaja of Kolhapur in Maharashtra
4. Introduced reservation in favor of backward classes to eradicate poverty and give them chance to participate in the state administration.
5. The notification of 1902 created 50% reservation in services for backward classes/communities in the State of Kolhapur. This notification is the first Govt. Order providing for reservation for the welfare of depressed classes in India.
6. Because of caste system millions of families in India got ill treatment and no opportunities to rise in society.
7. 1908-Reservations were introduced in favor of a number of castes and communities that had little share in the administration by the British.
8. 1909- Provisions were made in the Government of India Act 1909 commonly known as the Morley-Minto Reforms
9. 1919 - Provisions were made in the Government of India Act 1919
10. 1921-Madras Presidency introduces Communal G O in which reservation of 44 per cent for non-Brahmins, 16 per cent for Brahmins, 16 per cent for Muslims, 16 per cent for Anglo-Indians/ Christians and eight per cent for Scheduled Castes.
11. 1935-Indian national congress passes resolution called Poona Pact to allocate separate electoral constituencies for depressed classes.
12. 1935 - Provisions in Government of India Act 1935.
13. 1947-India obtained Independence. Dr. Ambedkar was appointed chairman of the drafting committee for Indian Constitution.
14. 26/01/1950-The Constitution of India came in force.
15. 1951 - In the case of State of Madras Vs. Smt. Champakam Dorairanjan AIR 1951 SC 226 Court has pronounced that caste based reservations as per Communal Award violates Article 15(1).
16. 1st constitutional amendment (Art. 15 (4)) introduced to make judgment invalid.
17. 1953-Kalelkar Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward class.
18. 1963 - Court has put 50% cap on reservations in the case of M R Balaji v Mysore AIR 1963 SC 649.
19. Tamil Nadu (69%, under 9th schedule) and Rajasthan 68% exceeded this limit.
20. 1979-Mandal Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward. 1980-the commission submitted a report, and recommended changes to the existing quotas, increasing them from 22% to 49.5%.As of 2006 number of castes in Backward class list went up to 2297 which is the increase of 60% from community list prepared by Mandal commission.
21. 1990-Mandal commission recommendations were implemented in Government Jobs by Vishwanath Pratap Singh.
22. 1991-Narasimha rao Government introduced 10% separate reservation for Poor among Forward Castes.
23. 1994 Supreme court advised Tamilnadu to follow 50% limit
24. 1995-Parliament by 77th Constitutional amendment inserted Art 16(4) (A) permitting reservation in promotions to the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes.
25. 2005 August 12 - The Supreme Court delivered a unanimous judgment by 7 judges on August 12, 2005 in the case of P.A. Inamdar & Ors. Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors.declaring that the State can't impose its reservation policy on minority and non-minority unaided private colleges, including professional colleges. 2005-93rd Constitutional amendment brought for ensuring reservations
26. To other backward classes and Scheduled castes and Tribes in Private Educational institutions. This effectively reversed the 2005 August Supreme Court judgment.
27. 9th March 2010 - Women Reservation Bill passed in the Upper house, Rajya Sabha.
So this is the history of reservation in India.
Now let us come to the present situation. Today as time progressed most of the ills of the caste system has been erased thanks to education and steps taken by deligent leaders from time to time.However I will never argue that parity has reached between the various so called 'classes'.The present structure of reservation is however not a result of the interest of the Indian polity to bring about an equilibrium in the society but rather it is a weapon used by the shameless politicians to garner votes.
When India became independent in the year 1947 the literacy rate was as low as 12% and today it is 74.04 %. Though this is considered a significant increase by politicians one must not forget the fact that India has the largest number of illiterate population on earth.To add to our woes there is no parity between male and female population which is 84% and 65% respectively.This in turn affects family planning programmes.So to sum up the government has done nothing to improve the literacy rates except for a few southern states.
Now let me tell you what reservation has done to the education and the job sector in the nation.As the polity set out to find the backward castes and groups and put them in to a schedule as the constitution calls it, a group of people came up from these backward sections of the society to the mainstream. as time passed on this group swelled. As the backward castes became an important vote banks leaders came up from this section and with them nepotism was also introduced in to the system.People who gained from the reservation policy learnt how to look upon the poor and needy who until then were their bethren.Coupled with this rampant corruption enabled rich people from these sections to enjoy the fruits of this system thus wedging the gap between the rich and poor further.As the nation progressed so did the selfish elements of each group, what began as socio cultural groups aiming at the betterment of backward classes later entered political fray and existing parties formed sc and minority cells .As political parties vied for the vote bank government after government showered quotas for these people and now we have an era where 50% of all sectors are quotaised as I would like to call it.What we must not forget is that the deserving ones were never the benefactors!
I wouldnt like to bore you with repeated rants about the futility of the present system.On one hand the government has totally finished the public education system by purposefully denegrading the standard of public school which initially was built to promote free and compulsory education till the age of 14.these schools are still frequented by the poor andneedy of the society.Very rarely do we find a gem of a student coming out of such schools as students from such schools cannot compete with the pass outs of elite private schools and colleges.The government has shown no interest in building the basic educational infrastructure and instead shower quota on select people studying in such school.If such people come up I doubt if they could do much for the betterment of the system they are being inducted in to which in most cases are done without a look in to the person's qualifications or merit.
Let us look at what happened to the forward class of India.The progress of the nation and the progress of the so called privileged classes was never on par.They found it hard to shed their feudal set up .They continued to eat the fruit for which the seed was sown by hard working laborers,But in many parts of India,the government caught up with them introduced ceilings on land holdings and property.Slowly they lost their grip on the society.As money increasingly became a factor to judge people the feeling of caste began to erode at least among the affluent of the society.in a transition from a largely rural to urbanised India there were some people who failed to make the cut.And these people were mainly from the forward castes.Slowly poverty began to gain ground among the so called privileged class.as we marched towards the 21st century taking everything including globalization in it's stride this group began to swell like the population of India.As these were members of the majority community no one raised a voice in their favor and as different castes and groups fought for sc and st status the cry of a majority community was unheard........
Let us now look at the current situation.The people from the so called schedule have now become privileged, but not in a complete way.The needy who wanted this reservation are still in tatters.They live in abject poverty and destitute.Whenever the polity wants to introduce a new kind of quota the plight of these people are highlighted.They are shown to the nation as the benefactors of this.These ignorant lot misunderstand this ploy and vote for the particular party.when time comes for action the privileged among the scheduled garner all opportunities shamelessly like beggars.There are two sections of a large society that suffers because of this:
a. the poor among the scheduled and backward groups who could never make it even to any list as they are still in their slums doing small errands to maker both ends meet.
b. The rightful and meritorious people from the so called general category who have everything but reservation and power to overturn this system.The affluent among these after coaching and toil make it to the list but the middle class and the poor among them gets cheated by this quota raj.
The disparity caused by such a system has its effect on the nation as a whole.That is why it is high time that we demolish this system as a whole and bring in a reservation system based on economic status.I know it is neither easy nor foolproof.The challenge of determining the economic status of each citizen rests with the government and it is not an impossible task thanks to the de centralised governance system in our country.If not corruption will seep in here too and the very aim of this reservation shall be beaten down.
People can feel why replace one quota system with another.This is because our nation has not overcome poverty.Poor today exists among all sections of the society irrespective of caste creed and religion.It will be very difficult for them to come up at a short notice.Thus we must set a time frame for the total up heveal of the education system in India.It can be e 25 years at the maximum.The government will have to take the responsibility for the same.
As and when parity between different groups are reached the quota system can be abolished in time.This I believe will address the problems of the poor among forward castes and backward castes equally.A sound education system is what we need.It has the solution to all our problems
Friends i hope u like this and comment on this so that we can have a fruitful discussion!!
I was watching Prakash Jha's movie Arakshan yesterday.As always Prakash Jha has given us enough food for thought.Though his brilliance in bringing forth issues affecting the common man in a manner alluring to the masses is beyond doubt, I found the view he wanted to present before the nation was far too compromising.Hence I decided that i must write down my views for a healthy discussion to take place.I know a lot people would differ from my opinion, hence this write up for us discuss.
The history of reservation goes to a period well before Mother India was born.The second round table conference in 1930 was a session where two leaders representing conflicting interests clashed on a single agenda. While Dr. Baba Ambedkar wanted a system where the dalits had to be given reservation in the government and education sectors, Gandhiji saw it as playing in to the British hands by dividing the nation he so painstakingly bought together on a platform called The Indian National Congress ( Independent India's biggest bane today). Be as it may on 15th august 1947,as a fledgling nation was splintered in to two and dropped in to the lap of a strife torn world still reeling under the bitterness of a world war, Dr Ambedkar was entrusted by the nation to write what would become the pillar stone of the largest democracy in the world.
As the great man went about creating a system where the poor and downtrodden were given a special status,
little did he know that the term reservation which he created to bring down differences between the rich and poor in the society has become the most dangerous weapon in the hand of the so called politicians today.
Friends, as mentioned before the history of reservation goes well before independence.Let us have a brief look in to the history of reservation till now :
1. In India reservation was given to people before Indian independence also when India was ruled by British people.
2. 1882 - Hunter Commission appointed. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule made a demand of free and compulsory education for all along with proportionate reservation/representation in government jobs.
3. In the year 1902 , Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj, Maharaja of Kolhapur in Maharashtra
4. Introduced reservation in favor of backward classes to eradicate poverty and give them chance to participate in the state administration.
5. The notification of 1902 created 50% reservation in services for backward classes/communities in the State of Kolhapur. This notification is the first Govt. Order providing for reservation for the welfare of depressed classes in India.
6. Because of caste system millions of families in India got ill treatment and no opportunities to rise in society.
7. 1908-Reservations were introduced in favor of a number of castes and communities that had little share in the administration by the British.
8. 1909- Provisions were made in the Government of India Act 1909 commonly known as the Morley-Minto Reforms
9. 1919 - Provisions were made in the Government of India Act 1919
10. 1921-Madras Presidency introduces Communal G O in which reservation of 44 per cent for non-Brahmins, 16 per cent for Brahmins, 16 per cent for Muslims, 16 per cent for Anglo-Indians/ Christians and eight per cent for Scheduled Castes.
11. 1935-Indian national congress passes resolution called Poona Pact to allocate separate electoral constituencies for depressed classes.
12. 1935 - Provisions in Government of India Act 1935.
13. 1947-India obtained Independence. Dr. Ambedkar was appointed chairman of the drafting committee for Indian Constitution.
14. 26/01/1950-The Constitution of India came in force.
15. 1951 - In the case of State of Madras Vs. Smt. Champakam Dorairanjan AIR 1951 SC 226 Court has pronounced that caste based reservations as per Communal Award violates Article 15(1).
16. 1st constitutional amendment (Art. 15 (4)) introduced to make judgment invalid.
17. 1953-Kalelkar Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward class.
18. 1963 - Court has put 50% cap on reservations in the case of M R Balaji v Mysore AIR 1963 SC 649.
19. Tamil Nadu (69%, under 9th schedule) and Rajasthan 68% exceeded this limit.
20. 1979-Mandal Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward. 1980-the commission submitted a report, and recommended changes to the existing quotas, increasing them from 22% to 49.5%.As of 2006 number of castes in Backward class list went up to 2297 which is the increase of 60% from community list prepared by Mandal commission.
21. 1990-Mandal commission recommendations were implemented in Government Jobs by Vishwanath Pratap Singh.
22. 1991-Narasimha rao Government introduced 10% separate reservation for Poor among Forward Castes.
23. 1994 Supreme court advised Tamilnadu to follow 50% limit
24. 1995-Parliament by 77th Constitutional amendment inserted Art 16(4) (A) permitting reservation in promotions to the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes.
25. 2005 August 12 - The Supreme Court delivered a unanimous judgment by 7 judges on August 12, 2005 in the case of P.A. Inamdar & Ors. Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors.declaring that the State can't impose its reservation policy on minority and non-minority unaided private colleges, including professional colleges. 2005-93rd Constitutional amendment brought for ensuring reservations
26. To other backward classes and Scheduled castes and Tribes in Private Educational institutions. This effectively reversed the 2005 August Supreme Court judgment.
27. 9th March 2010 - Women Reservation Bill passed in the Upper house, Rajya Sabha.
So this is the history of reservation in India.
Now let us come to the present situation. Today as time progressed most of the ills of the caste system has been erased thanks to education and steps taken by deligent leaders from time to time.However I will never argue that parity has reached between the various so called 'classes'.The present structure of reservation is however not a result of the interest of the Indian polity to bring about an equilibrium in the society but rather it is a weapon used by the shameless politicians to garner votes.
When India became independent in the year 1947 the literacy rate was as low as 12% and today it is 74.04 %. Though this is considered a significant increase by politicians one must not forget the fact that India has the largest number of illiterate population on earth.To add to our woes there is no parity between male and female population which is 84% and 65% respectively.This in turn affects family planning programmes.So to sum up the government has done nothing to improve the literacy rates except for a few southern states.
Now let me tell you what reservation has done to the education and the job sector in the nation.As the polity set out to find the backward castes and groups and put them in to a schedule as the constitution calls it, a group of people came up from these backward sections of the society to the mainstream. as time passed on this group swelled. As the backward castes became an important vote banks leaders came up from this section and with them nepotism was also introduced in to the system.People who gained from the reservation policy learnt how to look upon the poor and needy who until then were their bethren.Coupled with this rampant corruption enabled rich people from these sections to enjoy the fruits of this system thus wedging the gap between the rich and poor further.As the nation progressed so did the selfish elements of each group, what began as socio cultural groups aiming at the betterment of backward classes later entered political fray and existing parties formed sc and minority cells .As political parties vied for the vote bank government after government showered quotas for these people and now we have an era where 50% of all sectors are quotaised as I would like to call it.What we must not forget is that the deserving ones were never the benefactors!
I wouldnt like to bore you with repeated rants about the futility of the present system.On one hand the government has totally finished the public education system by purposefully denegrading the standard of public school which initially was built to promote free and compulsory education till the age of 14.these schools are still frequented by the poor andneedy of the society.Very rarely do we find a gem of a student coming out of such schools as students from such schools cannot compete with the pass outs of elite private schools and colleges.The government has shown no interest in building the basic educational infrastructure and instead shower quota on select people studying in such school.If such people come up I doubt if they could do much for the betterment of the system they are being inducted in to which in most cases are done without a look in to the person's qualifications or merit.
Let us look at what happened to the forward class of India.The progress of the nation and the progress of the so called privileged classes was never on par.They found it hard to shed their feudal set up .They continued to eat the fruit for which the seed was sown by hard working laborers,But in many parts of India,the government caught up with them introduced ceilings on land holdings and property.Slowly they lost their grip on the society.As money increasingly became a factor to judge people the feeling of caste began to erode at least among the affluent of the society.in a transition from a largely rural to urbanised India there were some people who failed to make the cut.And these people were mainly from the forward castes.Slowly poverty began to gain ground among the so called privileged class.as we marched towards the 21st century taking everything including globalization in it's stride this group began to swell like the population of India.As these were members of the majority community no one raised a voice in their favor and as different castes and groups fought for sc and st status the cry of a majority community was unheard........
Let us now look at the current situation.The people from the so called schedule have now become privileged, but not in a complete way.The needy who wanted this reservation are still in tatters.They live in abject poverty and destitute.Whenever the polity wants to introduce a new kind of quota the plight of these people are highlighted.They are shown to the nation as the benefactors of this.These ignorant lot misunderstand this ploy and vote for the particular party.when time comes for action the privileged among the scheduled garner all opportunities shamelessly like beggars.There are two sections of a large society that suffers because of this:
a. the poor among the scheduled and backward groups who could never make it even to any list as they are still in their slums doing small errands to maker both ends meet.
b. The rightful and meritorious people from the so called general category who have everything but reservation and power to overturn this system.The affluent among these after coaching and toil make it to the list but the middle class and the poor among them gets cheated by this quota raj.
The disparity caused by such a system has its effect on the nation as a whole.That is why it is high time that we demolish this system as a whole and bring in a reservation system based on economic status.I know it is neither easy nor foolproof.The challenge of determining the economic status of each citizen rests with the government and it is not an impossible task thanks to the de centralised governance system in our country.If not corruption will seep in here too and the very aim of this reservation shall be beaten down.
People can feel why replace one quota system with another.This is because our nation has not overcome poverty.Poor today exists among all sections of the society irrespective of caste creed and religion.It will be very difficult for them to come up at a short notice.Thus we must set a time frame for the total up heveal of the education system in India.It can be e 25 years at the maximum.The government will have to take the responsibility for the same.
Friends i hope u like this and comment on this so that we can have a fruitful discussion!!
