Now that it is established that those who we think are socially disadvantaged, often referred to as OBCs and ST/SCs, own more than half of India's businesses perhaps it's a good time to look at our reservations policy and roll back some of the special privileges they enjoy in the name of social justice. Sixty years have passed by since Independence and it's terribly unfair to a new generation of Indians that they should pay for the sins of their forefathers.
You may have forgotten that the battle against the Mandal Commission in 1990 was fought on the streets of India by young students who felt it was unjust and incorrect to sidestep merit in the name of setting right historical wrongs. One wrong cannot correct another. What we can only do is make sure the present and the future are not tainted by the past. But what is philosophically or morally right does not always make for convenient politics. So the politics of vote banks outsmarted the politics of fairplay and despite the nationwide protest by students, many of whom lost their lives, every Government has looked the other way.
Since then, merit has been fighting a losing battle. Caste reigns. And the lower you stand in the hierarchy of castes, the more opportunities you have to get ahead in life. Your marks may be lower. Your skills may be inferior. Your talents may be questionable. Even your interest in pursuing a career may be less than that of others but you are the privileged one. You get priority. You get reservations. You have the Government backing you whereas the young man who is poor and desperate to get that seat or that job reserved for you is a pariah simply because his family belongs to a higher caste. Never has a Government policy been based on greater injustice. But no one talks about this any more because it's now regarded as politically incorrect to raise this issue. It's beyond change, beyond debate and discussion. So upper caste children, often poor and under-privileged, are the new orphans of Mother India while the OBCs and ST/SCs keep flexing their political muscle under every Government and keep grabbing at every opportunity to consolidate their gains.
This is no more a battle for justice. It's a battle for numbers. That's increasingly becoming the problem with democracy. That it disallows minorities from being heard above the clutter. Muslims are having a hard time in Gujarat. So are Christians in Orissa. But the Brahmins are having a hard time everywhere because their inheritance, their stock in trade is knowledge but reservations is making it difficult for them to pursue traditional, knowledge-based professions. And no political party will ever fight for a minority cause because they know it's self defeating in a time where 90 per cent of the tickets distributed at election time are still based on the demographics of caste, community, faith. No one gives a shit about who's the best candidate. So representation gets priority over capability. And the outcome is there for you to see.
All politics today centres around lip service. Pay lip service to anything that sounds like a great platitude and you have many takers. No one bothers whether it hurts India or not. The street battles in Kashmir and Jammu have actually nothing to do with that tiny bit of land which is at the centre of the controversy and has shed so much blood and almost split the unity of India. It's a battle for votes. Muslim votes in Kashmir. Hindu votes in Jammu. The burning of churches and the killing of the poor in Orissa has nothing to do with religion and conversions. It's based on the fear that Christian education (or convent education as we know it) could rescue these tribals from poverty and illiteracy and teach them to think as free men and women. This scares their political masters. It's the same fear that makes the upper castes a villain in today's politics. Knowledge is the one thing every politician, every political party abhors. For with knowledge comes freedom and fearlessness. And no party wants fearless voters who can think for themselves. They want vote banks they can manipulate or terrorise. This is best done under the aegis of caste, community, faith. If that changes, where will the criminals go? Where will our current bunch of thugs in politics get their power and pelf from?
New India demands a new politics. A politics freed from caste, community, creed, religion. Only that can stop this bloodshed. Only that can stop these factories of hate that masquerade as political parties but are actually trading in our traditional weaknesses, exploiting our ancient grudges, feeding off our anxieties and fear. No, this will not happen overnight. But the elections are coming again and if you and I decide to stop listening to all the nonsense that the political parties dole out and, instead, use our brains to make the right choices, we will perhaps move one step closer to the India of our dreams.
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