The "other" other half speaks
Although I am not particularly nostalgic about my ulma Alma-mater [boy do I suck -ed], there are some moments when I feel proud of my association. The following article gives me such pride.
You have made me feel low again, Mr Arjun Singh (Via Indian Express)
It is truly one of the positive accounts in the reservation debate by Gautam (OBC and ex-IITian)*
No one opposing reservation claims that caste and caste based discrimination is not a reality in India, however our main contention is that reservation is not a very effective remedy for it. Worse it aggravates the disease instead of curing it.**
It is now five decades since reservation was adopted and still pro-reservationist are reluctant to supply statistics.
Instead of helping in a caste free society, today we find India more fragmented than ever on caste lines, with even the brightest (this doesn't include me) and talented group facing possibility of division. And does it really matter to some one who is being persecuted whether his oppressor is a jat or yadav instead of a thakur or kayastha*** ?
When someone says that injustices of 3000 years can not be wished away in a day (in itself very inaccurate and misleading meme, but more on it later) it sounds a serious case of shuffling to me.
Does this imply that reservation are open ended. Are there any parameters to decide that reservation is not required. What is the logic for providing reservation for second generation?
All this requires sane analysis, not pandering but this is not going to happen soon.
IITs because of talent they attracted were one of the few shining points in otherwise socialist India (cursed by Nehruvian penalty), they were also places where forget caste discrimination even caste identity was for all purposes non-existent. Sadly, due to misguided do-gooders and pandering politicians there is serpent of caste in the paradise.
* I really cringe identifying a talented young man by his caste or creed. Infact I find it really humiliating as an Indian that one has to go to IIT to what is his right.
One of casualties of the reservation will be the students like Gautam who qualified on merit, but will be counted along with the reserved category.
** This is obvious to most, however in the end reservation is solely a political issue
*** I have mentioned caste just for purpose illustration, no offense or implication is intented.
PS It is not to claim that every poor boy can come to IIT. However if someone thinks that IITs are full of rich spoilt kids or casteist middle class, then (s)he would be surprised to know the number of students from very modest background. Students from backward places of states like Bihar and UP (where there is no employment) put their sweat into studies to qualify for the JEE.
For reference see the story of Patwatoli, from which one of my best friend hails. (Some stories claim that it is a village of Dalita, I am not sure about it. As my friend told me it is a village of weavers (Patwa ki Toli), OBCs though not numerically superior, which is why they will not be heard, who settled here from Rajasthan one hundred years back)
Sandeep writes about it here
You have made me feel low again, Mr Arjun Singh (Via Indian Express)
It is truly one of the positive accounts in the reservation debate by Gautam (OBC and ex-IITian)*
No one opposing reservation claims that caste and caste based discrimination is not a reality in India, however our main contention is that reservation is not a very effective remedy for it. Worse it aggravates the disease instead of curing it.**
It is now five decades since reservation was adopted and still pro-reservationist are reluctant to supply statistics.
Instead of helping in a caste free society, today we find India more fragmented than ever on caste lines, with even the brightest (this doesn't include me) and talented group facing possibility of division. And does it really matter to some one who is being persecuted whether his oppressor is a jat or yadav instead of a thakur or kayastha*** ?
When someone says that injustices of 3000 years can not be wished away in a day (in itself very inaccurate and misleading meme, but more on it later) it sounds a serious case of shuffling to me.
Does this imply that reservation are open ended. Are there any parameters to decide that reservation is not required. What is the logic for providing reservation for second generation?
All this requires sane analysis, not pandering but this is not going to happen soon.
IITs because of talent they attracted were one of the few shining points in otherwise socialist India (cursed by Nehruvian penalty), they were also places where forget caste discrimination even caste identity was for all purposes non-existent. Sadly, due to misguided do-gooders and pandering politicians there is serpent of caste in the paradise.
* I really cringe identifying a talented young man by his caste or creed. Infact I find it really humiliating as an Indian that one has to go to IIT to what is his right.
One of casualties of the reservation will be the students like Gautam who qualified on merit, but will be counted along with the reserved category.
** This is obvious to most, however in the end reservation is solely a political issue
*** I have mentioned caste just for purpose illustration, no offense or implication is intented.
PS It is not to claim that every poor boy can come to IIT. However if someone thinks that IITs are full of rich spoilt kids or casteist middle class, then (s)he would be surprised to know the number of students from very modest background. Students from backward places of states like Bihar and UP (where there is no employment) put their sweat into studies to qualify for the JEE.
For reference see the story of Patwatoli, from which one of my best friend hails. (Some stories claim that it is a village of Dalita, I am not sure about it. As my friend told me it is a village of weavers (Patwa ki Toli), OBCs though not numerically superior, which is why they will not be heard, who settled here from Rajasthan one hundred years back)
Sandeep writes about it here
Update: An article by a IIT professor (who happens to belong to "OBC")
2 comments:
Jaffna,
Thanks & Apologies for such sloppiness. I can not believe I did this
Regards
Jaffna,
Shhhhh,don't let a kayastha hear you say this, he will die of apocalyptic rage ;-)
Kayasthas are famous (i.e. notorious) for gastronomical and bacchalian excesses.
In one of the addendum to "Madhushala" Harivansh Rai Bacchan (who was a Kayastha) wrote something like,
"So what if I am a teetotaller, as a descendant of Kayasthas 75% of my blood is alcohol".
Words of similar nature are in PrithiviRaj Raso by Chand Birdai
Regards
PS I am seriously intrigued, how do you have so much knowledge about Kayasthas? To my knowledge they are not more than 5-7 million (i.e 0.7%) of Indian population.
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