Here is the population distribution in India with respect to castes:
What can we infer from the above statistics?
- The forward caste population of 'All India' is 35%. It must be noted that in India 19% of population comes under Minorities and they fall under general category. So, the General, non-minority population in India is somewhere near to 20%
- The states which are mentioned in 'green' are those states where the general population is near or less than the National average and whose total population is considerably high when compared to other states. It means that only 1/3rd of the population in those states are general. And 1/5th of population is non-minority general class.
Many say that, this 20% of the population who are well educated, have been rich for many generations and who fall under the forward caste category have all the eligibility to get about 90% of the government jobs and college seats. And this population feels that it is only due to reservation system, they are missing great opportunities.
The rest of population say that .. If this 20% population makes law / controls the government, where is the social equality for rest of 80% population?
The answer from that 20% population would be - "We studied hard, worked hard to secure a good job and even at work, we have performed very well so we have come to this position. How can one stop us and blame the forward caste for not letting others to develop?"
The counter for this question by the remaining population would be - "We were deprived of opportunities to study. At work, we were not given prefernces since we did not have suitable qualification. We are oppressed for many decades.. etc".
When I think about this situation I see a small similarity between reservations and separate-state demands.
Here is the reason for a demand of separate state:
If a state comprises of two or three regions,
- one being extremely developed and
- other being extremely backward,
it is true that people from highly developed part will dominate the latter. It must be accepted that people from backward region did not get chance to develop due to socio-economic reasons.
This problem is still active in these regions of the following states:
- Telangana region of AP state when compared to coastal Andhra.
- Vidarbha region and Marathwada region of Maharastra when comapred to Pune-Mumbai belt.
- Dharwada-Hubli and other North K'taka when compared to people from M'lore-B'lore
- The Ladhakh region when compared to Jammu.
And the people from developed region say " We did not do any unlawful things in rising to higher positions. We studied hard, cleared group exams and we are here."
It is true that both the arguments are correct.
What can we imply from this?
The way we see a situation matters a lot. If we support a separate state, we should support the reservation system and apply the reservation system in all fields including politics, cabinet and also at work. Similarly, If we do not support a separate state, we should not support the reservation system too.
So, nothing is good or bad. Let us think laterally and stick to our opinions.
You gotta define what 'social equality' to begin with. Then whether reservations help or not will be clear to everyone. If 'social equality' means granting seats/jobs to a person whether or not qualified, then it'll become inequality based on qualification/expertise but just provides equality based on sheer numbers. If 'social equality' means what our constitution says which is 'no discrimination based on caste,sex,creed, religion etc.,', then having 'no reservations' would support the constitutional way of 'social equality' but in the end there will be inequality of numbers, and will affect the vote bank of politicians.
ReplyDeleteDo you know that all these years, reservations have been extended by so called 'Forward Caste' politicians ?
Yes. I totally agree with you on that. It was initially planned for just 20 years. During Indira Gandhi's term, it was extended. All of these things are due to the vote bank politics.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the sheet we should also infer one thing...In the states of Maharastra, Kerala, Punjab etc... the general population which more than 50% should compete hard to get any job.
I always used to wonder., on what grounds the Tamil Nadu government continues to give 67% of reservation while the Supreme Court says it should not extend 49%. From the sheet it can be inferred that 98% of the Tamil population are eligible for reservation :-)
Anyway, we don't have any control over these things :-(