Do backward people still need reservation?
There is saying in Hindi by Tulsidas "dholshudrapashunari, ye sab haitadankeadhikari". Shudra means backward people. It reveals the thinking of people before 200-300 years ago for which reservation policy has come to give social equality to backward people after independence. But after the 64 years of its implementation it has not fulfilled its objective.
Despite of the reservation we can't ignore the Badaun case in UP where two backwards class sisters were raped and hanged from tree by the upper caste people.
It's very shocking that though the reservation policy has been implemented from 64 years backward people are still not in the race of competition. If we talk about the IITs rank list, we see that in the rank list of 10000 only 100 or 150 of them belong to SC/ST i.e. only 0.01 or 0.15 percent. Why it is so? If we count the percentage of SC/ST population preparing for undergraduate exams in KOTA Rajasthan, it is hardly 2 or 3 percent of total. Is it social justice?
If we study the case of higher educational institution like AIIMS and IITs , till 2011 18 dalits have committed suicides and only one have left suicide notes which was about criticism by faculty & students on the ground of caste.In these institution SC/STs are called shaggu by their seniors or batch mates.
In the post-independence of 67 years only 1 chief justice of India belongs to dalit community (KG Balkrishnan). Is this equality?
In Jharkhand there are many villages where backward are still not allowed to enter temple just because of their caste. It is being happen when there is reservation policy for upliftment, so one can imagine what would happen if there would be no reservation policy.
If the people who say that India should be caste free and there should be no reservation policy now, they should remember that in India there is not any big temple where a priest is of dalit community. We call the person for reading the 'mantra' for auspicious marriage from Brahmin caste not any person. If this is prevailing in our society, can we say that we don't need any reservation policy.
Talking to the census of 2011, majority of the poor are from backward class. ST literacy rate is 59.25% and SC literacy rate is 65.85%. Although these percentage are not bad but still needs improvement. States like Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan where backward people are poorer than the upper class society.
A healthy competition always starts between two people when status of both are equal. If two person are competing to win race and one person is starting from frontline and otherone from back, then can we say that this is a healthy competition? If it is, who will win? Obviously man at frontline unless the man at back is a superman. Same is the condition with the backward and upper caste people and prevailing till now after so much effort. So there is need of reservation policy till now and ahead until both the competitors are having equal status to compete.
We can't ignore that corruption has risen because of reservation policy. Upper Caste people are providing fake certificates for reservation. But that's the case of corruption not of reservation policy. No doubt, reservation policy has also given the social tension but that is less than the atrocities felt by the backward people before reservation policy. Also it has become the vote politics for politician which should be highly criticized.
In south Indianstates, reservation policy are much better than central and they are showing better performances.
Reservation is not just a financial help to backward but it also reduces the word 'untouchability'. For a healthy competition, race should begin from equal line. And if we confess Caste was only problem for atrocities then caste is only the best solution for it.
Rohit
Related Essay
- Do backward classes of India still need reservation?
- Reservation Policy for Backward Classes
- Does India still need a reservation for backward peoples?
- Do backward classes of India need reservation?
