These lower casts have been divided into Scheduled Casts, Schedules Tribes and Other Backward Casts. The recent SC judgement allows for the the reservations for 26% OBC in various educational institutes. As expected the first statements from the Upper Casts student and people have been guided by Survival Instincts. The self defence and survival mechanism has brought them to immediately call foul, the judgments. As usual their arguments have centered around primarily:
1) Talent and ability should be the only criteria
2) Poor and Underprivileged are even in Upper Casts.
Lets take it one by one.
First the so called talent and ability that they so grandly call should be the only criteria is nothing but another name for opportunity and head start that certain people have got. How come it is always that a Doctors son at most times end up becoming a doctor, for an engineers son it is almost expected that he will clear the grades to be an engineer. Same with actors, politicians, armed forces personals etc. No stats are needed, you just have to look around and we see that this phenomenon has become such a fact of lives that we have started ignoring it. What does it proves? Certainly their aren't any genes that makes you a capable doctor or an actor or an engineer. Its just that these so called second generations were fortunate enough to be brought up in an environment where excelling at the trade is easy. Our Indian society has been built in such a way that passing trades to next generation is just a formality. There in no way, that a doctors son has a higher ability because he has passed the entrance exams in a higher grade then others. Its just because he had been FORTUNATE ENOUGH to have been brought up in a household which has given him a distinct advantage in terms of passing the exams and choosing a career.
So far so good, no one has any objections of a son following his father footsteps for good. The problem is that if it remains so that a cobblers son will always have to be a cobbler and a fisherman's son will always end up being a fisherman. What if they want to change to other professions. What if they want to move up the ladder. There is no talent involved here. A fisherman's son will have to work 100 times harder to achieve the same kind of marks, ranking or standing in an exams that have been so far the playgrounds of the privileged. And then they talk about equal opportunity and test of abilities. A fisherman's son scoring 40% is equal to 80% scored by a doctors son in a Medical Entrance.
Lets give this doctors son a project. Take 10 years and try and become a bigger star then Abhishek Bachhan or Aamir khan in Film Industry. See how difficult it. See how the head start and a privilege matters. Off course there will always be a Shahrukh Khan in every field where a person comes from no where and hits the invisible walls so hard that he breaks in no matter what. But then these SRK' s are so few what about the others. What about the other such's in other fields.
The biggest problem with this world has been the top 5% of the population has been holding 80% of the resources. And when someone tries to do something about it they cry thief. Why the hell is no one ready to share. Why there always have to be few under your feet for you to rise up. Why do we always end up saying "Let them have cakes then" when people are dying of starvation. Does anyone have moral courage to go and look at how people are living just to make their basic needs met. How they are queuing up hours in a line to get their kerosene or where a father has to choose between having her daughter out of the school or his son because he can't meet the expenses of both. We want to fight an equal battle with these guys!!!
We have to admit that equal opportunity comes from equal grounds. If you have people from unequal standing competing for same resource you can never call for best ability trail.
Now to the second point:
Yes agreed, there are underprivileged in upper casts as well. This has been a call going around for god knows how many years but can somebody actually point out to someone from this category. I have not seen many examples of this. Yeah some families from upper cast are poor, but poor for them does not mean choosing between education for children or going without food for days. Just go and see poverty and tribal and backwards in villages. So even if there are some really underprivileged in the upper casts who also needs help, but using this argument to block the greater good is nothing but using their shoulder to fire you shots.
Recently PM of Australia apologised for all the wrongs that's have been committed by Whites on the aboriginals (Though they worded it such so that there are no financial consequences). But isn't it time for us to accept our responsibilities and the responsibilities of our ancestors for all the wrongs they have committed. After all we are also enjoying the fruits of all the goods that they have left for us.
Look Beyond.. Maybe we can help build a better world.. Maybe if i sacrifice my sons seat in an IIT to an OBC for a lesser college, it would help reducing gaps within. Can't we walk slow for a while so that we can walk together after some time.
