To reserve or not to reserve?
There is something I want to tell you. It has been in my heart since I was 15, the day I cleared my tenth grade with flying colors and had the opportunity to go to high school (or junior college as we call it in India). I have been discriminated against in my own country, discriminated against by the people who are supposed to be my leaders. I did not get admission to the college of my choice even though I was fifteenth in the tenth grade in the whole city of Mumbai, fifteenth amongst five hundred thousand people, my fault being that I belonged to a forward caste and did not qualify for any 'caste reservation' according to a policy formulated and rigorously implemented by my government.
Dalits and the 'lower' castes had been discriminated against in India for ages. So for their 'upliftment' seats have been reserved in all educational institutions, government jobs etc. Ironically, this tool for 'social upheaval' is discriminating against the 'upper castes. Hitler all but annihilated Jews. Does it give the latter the right to go and kill Germans now? So why should I suffer for the henious crimes committed by my forefathers? Why should I not be treated at par with all others in my own country?
And now politicians, who see the 'backward castes' as nothing but a vote bank, are clamoring for caste reservations in the private sector. This goes against the very principle of the private sector of profit making. With reservations implemented, merit will not be a criterion for getting a post in some company. So more often than not, a person less fit to take on a particular job, will have it. Productivity will automatically decrease leading to a fall in profit margins. This will spell doom for the private sector in India, which is already under tremendous pressure from the Chinese juggernaut. Affirmative action is warranted, but let the companies do it. The government has absolutely no business of telling companies whom to hire and whom to not.
So the answer to the question put forward is very simple - DONT RESERVE!
Dalits and the 'lower' castes had been discriminated against in India for ages. So for their 'upliftment' seats have been reserved in all educational institutions, government jobs etc. Ironically, this tool for 'social upheaval' is discriminating against the 'upper castes. Hitler all but annihilated Jews. Does it give the latter the right to go and kill Germans now? So why should I suffer for the henious crimes committed by my forefathers? Why should I not be treated at par with all others in my own country?
And now politicians, who see the 'backward castes' as nothing but a vote bank, are clamoring for caste reservations in the private sector. This goes against the very principle of the private sector of profit making. With reservations implemented, merit will not be a criterion for getting a post in some company. So more often than not, a person less fit to take on a particular job, will have it. Productivity will automatically decrease leading to a fall in profit margins. This will spell doom for the private sector in India, which is already under tremendous pressure from the Chinese juggernaut. Affirmative action is warranted, but let the companies do it. The government has absolutely no business of telling companies whom to hire and whom to not.
So the answer to the question put forward is very simple - DONT RESERVE!
posted by ritwick at 10:06 PM
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