Does India need reservations? Why?
On the basis, of socio-economic-educational background of various caste groups in India for OBCs. SC/STs were a special category because of the practice of untouchability and remote tribal life styles of people of the tribes.
Unlike the claims of vote-bank politics by upper-caste lobbyist, most weightage is given tostatistical evidence of backwardness in castes.
So by default, the castes who are selected are the ones who found statistically to be poor.
When you see a honda city driven by SC/ST/OBC it is a aberration rather than the norm statistically.
Reference Mandal Commission
Foot Notes
a. Caste based discrimination is a disease, caste based reservation is a medicine. As soon as the disease is cured, there will be no need for remedies.
b. Proportional representation is a necessity, if our country has to truly achieve its potential - women and minorities should be represented to the extent they are oppressed. For e.g. Jains although a minority are not a socially backward in India - many excel in various parameters.
Many have psychologically accepted the male dominated society as the norm. It shouldn't be so in the modern understanding of physiology. Except for few reversible hormone induced changes physically, there is practically no differences between a man and woman in terms of ability to study or work or contribute to society.
Let's reimagine our society, with this modern understanding of life in 21st century instead of living in ignorance like the dark ages.
Reservations are protection against caste discrimination. Reservations are not for uplifting backward people or punishment for general category.
Reservations are like bullet-proof vests. You use them for protection. The vest does not stop the war (of caste discrimination).
When the war stops, the vests can be removed.
You don't see the war - do you? That is because you are on the other side of the wall.
Read
[1] Hidden Apartheid: Caste Discrimination against India’s “Untouchables”
[2] Q&A: Talking Discrimination and School Dropout Rates in India
In a bid to prevent to backward classes from becoming rich and powerful, the privileged upper-classes prevent them from accessing even the basic necessities of life - water and sanitation.
Access to housing - dalits are not allowed buy property in the center of a villages or towns. This is not only in villages but in the nation's capital.
Reference Study shows NCR homeowners turn away Dalits and Muslims
Housing is the key to access to better facilities that enable your kids to study.
For example, good schools are present in localities that are dominated by forward castes. They don't let others buy or rent properties there.
This means that dalit children get poor (government) schooling. It means to get access to schools these children have to travel longer, get less electricity during power cuts or even accessing toilets becomes a problem (toilet means open defecation).
In rural areas, the becomes a huge problem. There the girl child especially is expected to fetch water for the home. The nearest village well is in the upper-caste localities, these kids have to walk 3-5 kms to fetch water every day apart from going to school. This not only eats into their study time, but also discourages the parents from sending them to school.
Result their dropout rates are among the highest.
Access to schooling
There is a ocean of difference in the schooling between the government schooling used by lower-castes and the private schooling got by upper-castes (in general). This puts them at a huge disadvantage.
Adding on top, is the discrimination in schools - dalit children are made to sit separately, made to wash toilets, made to wash mid-day-meal vessels and neglected by the upper-castes teachers.
Wath this video India: Marginalized Children Denied Education on youtube.com
This continues in the NCR - Delhi also - for e.g. DPS Delhi - School Reports there are less than 5% SC/ST/OBC in these schools. This is the case in most private schools.
Scarcity of seats
Due to the scarcity of seats in higher education, seats are lost on decimal points. Things like the loss of study time, quality of schools, access to schools means that backward children are the ones who are suffering more than the forward caste children.
Access to quality schooling is just one of the factors affecting education. There are other factors such as parent's education, knowledge, economic access etc. This makes the dalits work harder in every aspect.
So until such time that social discrimination of reserved category ends, we need to provide the protection of reservation to those communities.
Unlike the claims of vote-bank politics by upper-caste lobbyist, most weightage is given tostatistical evidence of backwardness in castes.
So by default, the castes who are selected are the ones who found statistically to be poor.
When you see a honda city driven by SC/ST/OBC it is a aberration rather than the norm statistically.
Reference Mandal Commission
Social
Educational
- Castes/classes considered as socially backward by others,
- Castes/classes which mainly depend on manual labour for their livelihood,
- Castes/classes where at least 25 per cent females and 10 per cent males above the state average get married at an age below 17 years in rural areas and at least 10 per cent females and 5 per cent males do so in urban areas.
- Castes/classes where participation of females in work is at least 2 per cent above the state average,
Economic
- Castes/classes where the number of children in the age group of 5–15 years who never attended school is at least 25 per cent above the state average.
- Castes/classes when the rate of student drop-out in the age group of 5-15 years is at least 25 per cent above the state average,
- Castes/classes amongst whom the proportion of matriculates is at least 25 per cent below the state average,
Weighting indicators
- Castes/classes where the average value of family assets is at least 25 per cent below the state average,
- Castes/classes where the number of families living in kuccha houses is at least 25 per cent above the state average,
- Castes/classes where the source of drinking water is beyond half a kilometre for more than 50 per cent of the households,
- Castes/classes where the number of households having taken consumption loans is at least 25 per cent above the' state average.
As the above three groups are not of equal importance for the purpose, separate weightage was given to indicators in each group. All the Social indicators were given a weightage of 3 points each, educational indicators were given a weightage of 2 points each and economic indicators were given a weightage of 1 point each. Economic, in addition to Social and Educational Indicators, were considered important as they directly flowed from social and educational backwardness. This also helped to highlight the fact that socially and educationally backward classes are economically backward also.
Thus, the Mandal Commission judged classes on a scale from 0 to 22. These 11 indicators were applied to all the castes covered by the survey for a particular state. As a result of this application, all castes which had a score of 50% (i.e. 11 points) were listed as socially and educationally backward and the rest were treated as 'advanced'.
Foot Notes
a. Caste based discrimination is a disease, caste based reservation is a medicine. As soon as the disease is cured, there will be no need for remedies.
b. Proportional representation is a necessity, if our country has to truly achieve its potential - women and minorities should be represented to the extent they are oppressed. For e.g. Jains although a minority are not a socially backward in India - many excel in various parameters.
Many have psychologically accepted the male dominated society as the norm. It shouldn't be so in the modern understanding of physiology. Except for few reversible hormone induced changes physically, there is practically no differences between a man and woman in terms of ability to study or work or contribute to society.
Let's reimagine our society, with this modern understanding of life in 21st century instead of living in ignorance like the dark ages.
Reservations are protection against caste discrimination. Reservations are not for uplifting backward people or punishment for general category.
Reservations are like bullet-proof vests. You use them for protection. The vest does not stop the war (of caste discrimination).
When the war stops, the vests can be removed.
You don't see the war - do you? That is because you are on the other side of the wall.
Read
[1] Hidden Apartheid: Caste Discrimination against India’s “Untouchables”
[2] Q&A: Talking Discrimination and School Dropout Rates in India
In a bid to prevent to backward classes from becoming rich and powerful, the privileged upper-classes prevent them from accessing even the basic necessities of life - water and sanitation.
Access to housing - dalits are not allowed buy property in the center of a villages or towns. This is not only in villages but in the nation's capital.
Reference Study shows NCR homeowners turn away Dalits and Muslims
Housing is the key to access to better facilities that enable your kids to study.
For example, good schools are present in localities that are dominated by forward castes. They don't let others buy or rent properties there.
This means that dalit children get poor (government) schooling. It means to get access to schools these children have to travel longer, get less electricity during power cuts or even accessing toilets becomes a problem (toilet means open defecation).
In rural areas, the becomes a huge problem. There the girl child especially is expected to fetch water for the home. The nearest village well is in the upper-caste localities, these kids have to walk 3-5 kms to fetch water every day apart from going to school. This not only eats into their study time, but also discourages the parents from sending them to school.
Result their dropout rates are among the highest.
Access to schooling
There is a ocean of difference in the schooling between the government schooling used by lower-castes and the private schooling got by upper-castes (in general). This puts them at a huge disadvantage.
Adding on top, is the discrimination in schools - dalit children are made to sit separately, made to wash toilets, made to wash mid-day-meal vessels and neglected by the upper-castes teachers.
Wath this video India: Marginalized Children Denied Education on youtube.com
This continues in the NCR - Delhi also - for e.g. DPS Delhi - School Reports there are less than 5% SC/ST/OBC in these schools. This is the case in most private schools.
Scarcity of seats
Due to the scarcity of seats in higher education, seats are lost on decimal points. Things like the loss of study time, quality of schools, access to schools means that backward children are the ones who are suffering more than the forward caste children.
Access to quality schooling is just one of the factors affecting education. There are other factors such as parent's education, knowledge, economic access etc. This makes the dalits work harder in every aspect.
So until such time that social discrimination of reserved category ends, we need to provide the protection of reservation to those communities.
