A very well written and hard hitting post. Reservation has weakened the efficiency of the Indian administration already to the extent that nothing moves. Now they want it in the army and the private sector too. The fact that we have a 8% growth rate despite all this is miraculous.
To think of the growth rate we might have had without all this...Would China have been the fastest growing economy then or would it have been India?
However, the question here is how to let the benefits of economic growth percolate to those who still live in poverty. The answer, I am sure, is definitely not reservation. I have tried to make some suggestions in the blog post about measures that should be taken in this regard.
I have drawn an analogy about the army, because Lt. Col. Bainsla has retired from the army and this should help him understand the point that I am trying to make.
If we can not entrust the defence of the nation to incompetent people, then why should we leave other sectors open to them?
In total agreement with Vinod regarding the post :>
Who's Lt. Col. (Retd.) K. S. Bainsla, by the way??
Thanks!
He's a former army officer who has been leading a series of protests, mainly in the Indian state of Rajasthan, recently, to secure the Scheduled Tribe status and hence reservations for his people i.e. the Gujjars. About 30 people, including policemen, have died, as a result. Negotiations with the Rajasthan govt. have resulted in the setting up of a committee to look into the matter. Criminal cases, however, with the charges including murder, have been registered against the retired soldier and he is currently in hiding to escape arrest.
By asking for reservation, do they want to live in a caste ridden society forever? I think they are short-changing their future by this very short term thinking.Reservation is not the solution for uplifting the lower castes(as they refer to themselves), a change in ideology is required, society's fabric needs to change,acceptance of an individual regardless of the caste he/she was born into. They should strive for equal opportunity, rather they should stress on being treated equal not inferior(hence no reservation). There cannot be equality but equal opportunity(and current system is far away from equal opportunity because of reservation).The society will respect them the day they achieve without the crutches of reservation.In my humble opinion, SC/ST(or anyone wanting to be)are playing on the defense, they need to play on offense because one can't win on defense.
Thank you Sidhusaheb for another thought provoking post.(Sometimes when I think/write, I contradict myself and there exist too many loose threads, would appreciate your patience).
As they say, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
You're right! 
do you read comments on your other blog? I believe a lot of ppl. do not even know it exists.
Er...which one?
I guess you are referring to http://sidhusaab.blogspot.com/ ,which is my younger brother's blog.
I thought it was yours and you moved to bglore. Now I recollect that you did a post on your bro's moving to Bglore....
Agreed that reservations does give the erstwhile under privileged a chance - but it is better to bring them at par with the privileged from the start, not sometime later when the stakes are so much higher
I think it is important to help people develop their capabilities and competence, rather than offering them anything on a platter. The latter option would cause them to be dependent on reservation for all times to come, besides burdening the economy with a set of less than competent people being 'brought up' at the tax-payer's expense.
As you have rightly pointed out, reservation is NOT the only way of removing poverty among the so-called backward communities.
In this competitive world, reservations can only widen the gap between the communities. Our netas want exactly that. What we witnessed in Rajasthan is power of 'reservation policy' to destroy communal harmony.
sidhusaaheb and sidhusaab ... waah ji waah kiya baat hay :P
@Madhanagopal: 'Vote-bank' politics, I believe, is one of the greatest misfortunes of our country and one we have brought upon ourselves, by playing into the politicians' hands.
@Asma: Chips of the same block, you see...Aik hi thaali kay chattay-battay! :D
For the last 60 years they were OBCs. Now they want SC/ST quota. Tell me if in 60 years as OBC's they couldnt improve, will they improve by being downgraded to SC/ST ? Or is there more to it ?
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