Shades of Gray

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wants job reservations in private sector to come as a “voluntary action” by the private sector. He believes that caste-based job quota is an idea whose time has come. Unfortunately, since taking over the mantle of PM, Manmohan Singh, the reformist has become a politician. The call for reservation by Congress and other UPA constituents is driven by the vote bank and not because they are interested in the welfare of the so-called backward castes. Reservations in private sector is nothing but “anti-industrialisation”.

The horrific tales of Eklavya in the Mahabharata and Shambuka in the Ramayana depict the vivisection and killing of lower castes as not merely permissible but sanctified by the greatest epics. No wonder caste discrimination has deep roots. And it is this evil that we must aim to eradicate.

But reservations will be the wrong way to do it. Private Sector runs with a view on profit and accordingly hires those people who have the requisite skills to achieve the profit-making objective. Selection based on caste instead of merit will destroy the efficiency in the long run. This is not to say that we must leave the backward castes and tribals behind in our quest for corporate success. The Corporate sector must come up with ways in which it can help backward sections of the societies increase their skill set to merit selection on the basis of their aptitude alone. The Government, on the other hand must wake up to the reality that in spite of 50 years of reservations, the conditions of most of the backward castes remains deplorable. Only a thin creamy layer of dalits and tribals have benefited.

The fact is that few meritorious dalits apply for jobs in private sector. This indicates that most of them do not have the required skills to succeed in an environment of cut-throat competition. The reason: our hypocritical, shameless politicians have systematically neglected education and skill-building for oppressed castes. The children from such families go to government schools where there are hardly any good teachers and most of them never turn up in classes. The result: most of these children remain backward in aptitude and fail to make their mark in a competitive sector. The Government must try to make quality education accessible to all – irrespective of castes. There are poor among upper castes also who cannot afford the costs of quality education. Should they be left in the lurch only because they are not dalits?

The Caste System is
India’s biggest social problem. By continuing with reservations, our government is not doing to abolish it. Rather it has ensured that it exists. The aim should be to reach a stage where nobody is a backward and all are equal. Because of our large population, there is a high degree of competition in almost every field in
India. The politicians and leaders must try to understand the psyche of an upper-caste student who despite getting good marks fails to get admission to a reputed college and a backward-caste student who has scored way less than him gets admitted. This situation leads to a position where all dalits are considered devoid of merit and increases the social divide between the upper and backward castes. If a dalit or tribal is meritorious, he is assumed to have reached a high position not because of his capability but because of his caste. As a result, he doesn’t command any respect from his peers and colleagues and is disdained. The only section that benefits from this discord is of the politicians who continue with the caste-based agenda like they have done in the past 50 years.

Time has come that we stop thinking about reservations as a tool of bringing social justice in our society. Let’s get real. Make good, quality education available to all irrespective of caste. Bring everyone on a level field instead of granting special favours. Only then social justice can be achieved.