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A Letter to Dr. Manmohan Singh

Respected Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji

For around last one month I have read so much about the reservation and quota issues, so much misinformation and misrepresentation of facts has been around that I to some extent feel I must request the worthy PM that please make sure this blown out of context controversy does not force you from the path of a Welfare Government to a Corporate Government. I have full trust in your worthy leadership, but still as a citizen I feel concerned and thus writing to you.

The Government is like a parent that has the duty to seek the welfare of the largest possible section of society, make them productive, partners in growth, to seek that benefits reach as many as possible and not limited to some elite few, to eliminate stigmas that have dogged our society for centuries, provide special care and nurturing to the most oppressed people of this country.

The only way to bring the oppressed at par with the elite, and also at the earliest, without waiting for the older generation and its beliefs to die, is a disruptive mechanism like reservations and quotas, as has been thought by our forefathers to break the 100% reservation for the elite. Some of the once oppressed today rub shoulders with the elite in terms of social and economic status, only because of reservations and quotas. I believe todays India has comparatively more tolerance to cast, again only because of quotas.

The Merit Myth
So much has been written about merit and talent and that it is suffering due to reservations and quotas, but sir, my personal experience is, given a chance and a little help any one can be meritorious. Merit and intelligence is neither a privileges nor a gift endowed only to a particular community. Somehow these days the media is trying to project an image that only the elite have intelligence and merit.

Just obtaining good marks or clearing competitions is in no way true representation of the merit. Merit can only be proved by how we use what we learn and not how many marks we obtained once upon a time or what was our rank once upon a time in some competitive test.

I believe clearing an exam or competition does not require as much talent or intelligence as some people want everyone to believe nor that only a talented and intelligent person can clear these tests and exams. We have so many workarounds for someone who can shell out money for tutorials, tutors, guess papers, institutes specializing in helping students crack the toughest test. In the computer world we have crackers, who exploit weakness in existing systems to gain privileges, I think the same about this culture of tuitions, coaching centers, tutorials, these exploit the weakness in our examination and academic system to gain an edge. The system that was meant to produce thinkers is producing more clueless people, who have grades unimaginable a few years ago, who study for degrees and not for learning. I don't think someone joining a coaching center and obtaining position among top 10 is meritorious over someone from an unprivileged background who without such external help, guess papers, tuitions obtains position among top 100.

Someone once said

Indian is not a country of talented people only. Like the rest of the world majority of the population is average and similarly majority of jobs can be and are being carried out by average people, be it administration, clerical, IT, defense or health care, not everthing is rocket science these days. In parts of south Indian states, where the IT industry is most thriving, have the largest number of seats reserved for SC/ ST and OBC's in professional courses. And if someone has true talent and merit nothing can stop them.

The Reservation Myth
The Government is already doing its part partially, seats have been reserved, but in private institutes the fee structures are steep enough to act as a deterrent. Majority of the seats go unoccupied and later on merged into general category seats. I have seen it happen at many private institutes. In the ever decreasing number of Government sponsored institutes with reasonable fee structures, the question of so called merit is raised, as is happening these days in the form of protests in AIIMS some of the IIT's, IIM's and some NIT's. Innocent students are being misled into protests.

The Myth of Creamy Layer
It has been blamed that the creamy layer in the reserved categories takes all the benefits, but the numbers in this creamy layer are still very very few, utmost one or two families from the thousands still out there. This so called creamy layer among the oppressed is now capable of reaching the democratic decision-making levels of nation and must be involved for a larger democratic process to break out of dogmas of past. Even after more than 50 years of independence the oppressed have separate colonies, separate cremation grounds, separate religious places in our villages, the building blocks of our democracy. Only in cities now we are seeing a little equality because of jobs and improvement in status of the oppressed who have received the benefits of reservation.

The Problems
If this rat race for growth is only for the so called meritorious few with access to the best available resources, maybe in the short run we may see some false progress, but in the long run this will lead to numerous social and security issues. Social inequalities will widen the cast divide and can even lead to security problems. We can already see something in the form of naxal problem in many parts of India, oppressed who have been left out of the national mainstream have been targeted by the anti nationals.

Conclusion
I would start opposing reservation the day intercaste marriages outnumber cast based marriages. But till that day dawns the so called merit should not be an excuse for the sacrifice of a welfare state. India is not a company, looking only for money and profit. She is a democracy of the people, by the people, for the people and not just the keep of the so called meritorious elite few as some media houses would have us believe.

More
Why We are opposed to Reservations..?

Update: 5-6-6
Caste matters in the Indian media

Media Taking Sides

Anti-Reservation Arguments - Myths and Reality
Reservation and Merit
Solution to the Reservations Tangle