Reservation: A Necessary Evil?

After satisfying my taste buds with some lip smacking tunda kababs kheema paratha and Avadhi biriyani my colleague and I walking down the dark alleys of Lucknow were returning back to our hotel. Lucknow still carries that old charm of ancient India. Lucknow the city of Nawabs, Courtly manners, beautiful gardens, poetry, music, and fine cuisine patronized by the Persian-loving Shia Nawabs of the city still has its footprints in this city. Suddenly my colleague had the urge to have a cup of tea and we walked into a small shop or as we Mumbaikars call “tapri”. A smiling young chap served us two cups of tea. Lucknow has never disappointed me in terms of food and beverages and true to its Lucknowi nature the tea was one of the best I ever had. I asked him his name and he told me it’s Sudhir. Out of sheer curiosity I asked the boy which class is he in as he looked young. The boy suddenly lost the smile on his face and replied that he doesn’t go to a school. An adenoidal voice of an old man said “Babu Education is not for poor people like us”. I turned back and noticed that there was an old man preparing tea. He seemed to be around forty five, hatched faced and hollow eyes. I being that typical Mumbai boy tried to explain him how so many doors of opportunity have opened up in the recent times. I was shocked what the old man told me next. His son had got into Benaras Hindu University or as we know it as IIT BHU after scoring 94% in his 12^th and was in the top 200 in the IITs entrance exam but he could not afford the tution fee of 50000 INR per year. I advised him to talk to some banks and try for an education loan but his reply left him speechless. He said “Babu I am a Brahmin and in today’s world it’s a sin to be born as a Brahmin, no one cares for us.” 

Some time passed by after this incident and one fine day I landed up at a family friends wedding. As usual before I turned up at the wedding with my parents they advised to me to be polite and to be a social couth. One of my dad’s friend Ramesh Uncle walked up to my dad and said “My son is taking up Engineering can your son please give him some advice, he is going to be the first engineer of our family”. Now I had always knew Aryan, Ramesh Uncle’s son as a rich spoilt brat and I was actually shocked to hear that he had passed his 12^th standard and to cap it he had a seat in an Engineering college. Remembering my promise to my parents, with lackluster I started talking to him. What he told me next was a bigger shock to me, the guy had scored 48% in his 12^th and some minimal marks in his entrance exam.and he had got into one of the best colleges of Mumbai, since he belonged to the category Schedule Cast/Schedule Tribe and to cap it up his tution fee was just 2000 INR per year. The fact that irritated me more he was happy he had got the seat because of his “special condition” and he had so little to pay as tution fee, now he could demand from his dad the latest iphone. Why did Aryan require this special favor his dad was a freaking millionaire!!!!!  I am sure Ramesh Uncle could afford a regular tuition fee.

Caste Reservation a rule that was proposed fifty eight years ago to help uplift the conditions of pupil belonging to certain sections of the society by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Dr Ambedkar little realized in those days that it would be misused to the extent that politicians would use it to secure their vote banks. I am not against reservations but I am against the term called Caste Reservation. Today in India about 50% of seats of various colleges and government jobs are filled up by caste reservation. Do the people belonging to general who doesn’t have the means have the right to good education and job. Reservations should be based upon Socio Economic Classification. Reservation should be for young boys like Sudhir who face number of hardships to grow in life and not for people like Aryan. Sudhir a boy with minimal facilities cracked IIT JEE. He should be given discounts in his Tution fees and not to people who have a rich dad.

I know this blog might not change anything in India but I am just trying to create an awareness how bad can caste reservations be. How many bright minds lose out on opportunity because of this stupid system. The laws of the country should be to help everyone equally and not to a selected few.