The Great Indian Thamasha

It's a never-ending saga, that, in all likelihood, will dominate newspaper articles for decades more. The battle for social upliftment is a long drawn, tedious, but rewarding process. But the ill-conceived and socially divisive quota policy continues to serve as a slap to the face of every visionary who contributed in the making of our Constitution. In the debate between social justice and merit, the very notion of "justice" has been blurred.

My first argument against the policy of reservations is its very origin. Was it not the British Raj that introduced this very policy, which, at the time, was seen as an attempt to divide the people among community lines, and destroy the incredible harmony that had characterized the growing movement for self-governance? Why then, in these times, where outlooks have become far more modern, when education has spread to far many corners, are the same policies viewed differently?

Reservations were introduced by our fledgeling polity with the aim of narrowing the existing divide in opportunities. To a large degree, our Constitution makers sought to change people's mindsets, rather than offer quick-fix solutions to social plagues that had remained rooted in our culture for centuries. The Indian political establishment consisted of visionaries and dreamers, with the dedication and will to back their dreams to the desired outcome. Education was never brought under the wing of reservations! WHY?? Because the government realized their responsibility to spread education to different parts of the country....our literacy grew by leaps and bounds within the first 10 years of independence, because the administration prioritized education. Fast forward another 50 years, and the public education system has grown stagnant. To what extent, then, will reservation serve any benefit to the rural backward? The greatest section of the social and economically backward live in regions of our nation where schools are as scarce as clean drinking water, and the few which do exist within a 10-mile radius, are badly understaffed.

Why can we not see through the facade which every government over the past two decades has attempted to hide behind? Reservations in the elite institutes, and soon in private institutes, are little more than shameless attempts to shirk responsibility, and to garner votes. It will do nothing to enhance inter-caste ties or inter-communal ties, but instead will magnify prejudices that are already prevalent. The boundaries which separate us on the map of India will be far outweighed by the social barriers that this system will create.

Hark back to the very root of the problem which we hope to affront through these measures....discrimination. Dalits, to this day, are ill-treated and humiliated across the nation. Will handing them education or jobs change the archaic beliefs of the upper caste in rural India? Why, then, is not enough done in this regard? We have Dalit parties at the centre and state levels, speaking broadly of "Changing the Social Order", and a Chief Minister in Uttar Pradesh whose rise to power follows on those very principles. The stigma of caste cannot be removed by mere reservations, but by spreading awareness and changing people's attitudes. Alas, this simple message seems to evade the thick skulls of leaders across party lines.

The Quota system does little to hurt my prospects, as I never did foster realistic dreams of joining an IIT, and nor did I work with any true dedication in that direction. But what hurts me is not the "merit" debate, but the fact that people still consider the creamy layer an "issue". I still fail to understand what right middle-class and well-to-do OBC's in urban centres have to demand an advantage over several under-privileged members of supposedly upper-class communities. It is a debate that more often than not, leaves a sour taste in the mouth which I find hard to scrub away! In modern India, "justice" truly is blind. The battle for social justice has been metamorphosed in the span of 60 years into little more than a ploy in a large political scheme of power retention. The Great Indian Thamasha indeed!

Is the drama over with the Supreme Court judgement?? Far from it in fact, for there will undoubtedly be more PIL's and angry protests from students for whom the already stiff competition has become even more unreasonable. There will be drama, possibly even violence, and above all, this is what dampens my spirits! The sorry truth, that at a time when Indians ought to be spreading their wings across the globe in a show of strength and might, we choose to consume ourselves in needless infighting, encouraged by a gleeful, sinister political framework laughing all the way to the vote bank to check their deposits!