How right are caste based reservations?

Reservations have today become a big reality in the present India. Most of our governments are only busy in giving more and more reservation to the different castes or groups in the society. Reservations have old history in India, as long as 1921, when caste based reservation was provided to the people of Madras Presidency. From then, reservations are provided in our nation from time to time to different sections or groups of societies. In 1990, this whole process got intensified with implementation of recommendations made by Mandal Commission. This whole process saw a lot of protest from the student class and lives of number of innocent students gone due to it.

Recently in 2005, through 93rd constitutional amendment government also introduced 27% reservation for the OBCs (other backward classes) which is presently under the preview of Supreme Court of India. Most recent protests in this series are protest from the Gujjar community of Rajasthan for their inclusion in ST list. This agitation of the Gujjar community nearly paralyzed day to day life in Rajasthan and even intensified to inter caste rivalry. This was the first major incidence in the reservation politics which made many intellectuals and political parties to see the reservation issue in different light.

Reservation has today become a major social issue and therefore needs a more depth solution for this problem. So far most of the governments have used reservation for more political benefits and less for the benefits of the people. Though, there are few proofs available from the southern sates where reservations have helped the lower castes. However, same kind of the solutions cannot be implemented to the whole nation because different states have different issues. Second our government needs to get the latest data and conduct fresh studies on the success of reservation policies, for example Mandal Commissions used 1930 census data for granting the reservation.

At a present, question in front of us is to get the right solution for the people problems and not just implements of newer and newer reservations. As per our constitution, there should be no discrimination on the basis of the religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth but unthoughtful reservation policies are only altering with the basic right of every Indian. Moreover, these reservations are also dividing Indians on the name of castes or groups which is a sign of a concern for our nation in the long run and if not properly dealt, can have harsh impact on the calm social climate of India.

Also Read- 1) Violent protests and India
2) Gujjar Struggle- A failure of caste based politics
३) Reservation politics and India
Previous Post Next Post

Contact Form