RESERVATION: THE ROOT CAUSE OF ALL EVILS

At the outset, let me be clear on one thing. I am not against or referring to the reservation of seats for women in the parliament and I have nothing against women. What I am up is against making constitutional changes, be it in the name of women, dalits or minority communities, focusing on the vote bank politics with an evil eye on the impending elections, which has become the mainstay in the agenda of every party whether it is in the seat of power or in the opposition.

Reservation policy has dominated the political scene of this country since independence and successive governments have effected constitutional changes in this regard, keeping in mind, not the benefit of the masses but their personal gain. If sixty years of reservation has failed to bring the “so called backward communities” to the forefront, another hundred years of reservation will not do any good either.

Yes, we need reservation, but for whom? We need to identify that section of the masses whose I.Q. levels are adequate enough and trainable to be converted into great achievers by education and training, but who, unfortunately, are born into poor families and cannot afford the luxury of education. Just by providing good education you cannot convert a section of the society into achievers en masse.

By pursuing an illogical reservation policy, you cannot produce greats like Dr.Abdul Kalam, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Amitah Bachhan or Dirubhai Ambani. You cannot make out of Abdul Kalam or Manmohan Singh, a Sachin Tendulkar or vice versa, or Amitah Bachhan a Dirubhai Ambani or vice versa. They are all born greats and right kind of education helped them to mould and strengthen their inner character which was genetically present. The point I stress here is that education and training can help mould a person within his inherent character, but cannot create a character by itself.

It was on this basis that ancient Indians classified the population into four categories, i.e., Brahmin (the Intellectual), Khatriya (the Warrior), Vaisya (the Businessman) and Sudra (the Support). The character in an individual can be broadly classified on these lines, he be a Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Sikh. If everyone in the society gets an occupation based on the character present in him, the functioning of the society will be smooth. The last section was classified as Sudra or supportive class because he doesn’t fall under the first three categories, but whose contribution is essential for their success. Can a factory function with only general manager without workers? Look at your hand. The fingers cannot perform individually, but collectively, they become a force to be reckoned with.

But our learned politicians have successfully misinterpreted a great concept to suit their personal agenda. What we need to see is not whether we have a dalit president or woman prime minister, but a capable president or prime minister, whether it is a dalit, a woman or a man, regardless of the faith, caste, color or gender. That is the only way we can ensure a secured future for the generations to come.