There are linkages between the backward castes/classes and poverty, which are in turn intricately related to the education system
By Jitendra Kumar
Jitendra Kumar
For some time now, the mainstream media has been replete with only one news — "The students of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are opposing reservation in all central institutions." All the medical colleges and the students of iit, Delhi have joined them. And on behalf of these "meritorious" and "patriotic" students, the upper caste-controlled media is fighting their "war". The agitation has spread all over the country. According to one news item, an event management company was organising the protest march in Mumbai (isn't it a brand new lesson for mass movements?) In the meantime there has been another news hogging news space — "The stock market is falling sharply." So from now on, only two categories of news would make headlines: anti-reservation protests and the stock market (because the market 'guides' our economy and 'merit' controls our country! Though it is quite a separate matter that only 2.5 percent people have investments in the stock market).
When we look into the protests in AIIMS and the iits and the publicity given to them by the media, it becomes clear that even today the number of dalits, obcs and minorities is insignificant in these institutions. If they had a presence there, why would there be such loud protests? Why would they protest against themselves? Second, even the media that has made this issue into such a huge thing, is monopolised by high castes. Then, shouldn't reservation be ensured for these deprived classes to ensure their presence out there?
These days by merely opening a newspaper, one gets the feeling that every common man has become a social scientist and each social scientist, a common man. Almost all the political commentators have begun criticising reservation on the grounds of loss of talent and the threat of 'brain drain'. The debate around merit gives one the idea that it is a sole preserve of a few castes and if it went to other castes, it will vanish. The reality is different. Chandrabhan Prasad has recently unravelled the myth behind the idea of 'merit'. He quotes the report of the Indian Universities Commission, 1902, according to which, in the matriculation examination of 1901, 19.2 percent students in Madras, 32.6 percent in Bombay, 53.9 percent in Calcutta, 35.2 percent in Allahabad, and 50.9 percent in Punjab had passed. If we look carefully at 'merit', it becomes clear that at that time only upper castes studied in universities because dalits and obcs were in no condition to access education. But the British government continued to give them patronage and the situation today is that they are in the seat of power.
Short-Sighted Visionaries: students protest against the 'compromise with merit'
Photo K. Satheesh
Protestors have shouted themselves hoarse about 'merit' but they don't bother to remember that, at least, there is some minimum cut-off point for the SCs, STs and OBCs. There is no such minimum limit for the NRIs and those giving capitation fees
The second argument of anti-reservationists is that if reservation was given, a large-scale migration of talent will take place from these elite institutions. This is even more hilarious. Migration of Knowledge Workers: Second Generation Effects of India's Brain Drain written by B. Khadria tells us that during 1956-1980 there was a continuous brain drain of students from AIIMS, Delhi and in 1980 it had reached up to 85 percent. The same is true for the iits. By 2001 at least 25,000 iitians were in the USA alone. Overall their presence reaches up to 34 percent.
The question then arises that if there was no reservation for obcs till now in these institutions and dalits' quota never got filled, then who were these 'bright young minds' leaving the country? Was it in the interest of the nation or were they moving out due to personal interests?
The matter is quite clear. Those high castes who aren't part of the power elite or don't have a direct stake in the power-sharing, have left this country. They have neither any love for their society and country nor for the labouring classes. Neither do they have any respect for them. Those 'talented' students who are protesting against reservation are showing this through either polishing shoes or by sweeping the streets. Doesn't this kind of regressive protest prove the kind of hatred they have against those performing these activities as regular jobs for centuries?
In 1990, when the Mandal Commission recommendations were implemented in Central government jobs, these very people had argued that 'first make them capable enough by giving them education' and today when it is actually being implemented in education, they have crossed all barriers of ethics. Before the implementation of the Mandal Report, the elite of this country made fun of the Communists by saying that these guys didn't understand the multi-layered caste, class, religion-ridden reality of this country where any slogan of class-war would never be successful. But the day Mandal came into force, this same elite became Marxist overnight and began to say that there are only two classes in this society, rich and the poor. Never would you find in the pages of history such rapid socio-intellectual transformation of any society. But one shouldn't mistake this concern as their love for Marxism. The reality is that they hate both Marxism and Marxists, but this 'understanding' about the rich and the poor serves their interest and hence their 'spontaneous' understanding of Marxism. They have subverted the peace of this country by shouting hoarse about 'merit' but they don't bother to remember that at least there is some minimum cut-off point for the scs, sts and obcs, but there is no such minimum limit for the nris and those giving capitation fees. Perhaps they don't want to know that in this very country the number of engineering aspirants getting admission through capitation fees is 1,50,000.
What is the socio-economic background of those 'extremely talented' students protesting against reservations? Most of them have passed out of English medium schools, belong to urban middle classes and are high castes. And what is the social composition of the Knowledge Commission appointed by the prime minister, which is egging them on? Sam Pitroda (Satyen Gangadhar Pitroda) heads this commission and has six out of eight members who are Brahmins and two others come from other high castes. (Check out the 'merit' here as well. This commission has not been founded on 'merit' but has been nominated by the pm. Isn't the same 'merit' principle working in the entire country?)
If people in our country are unable to see the gap between diwan-e-aam and diwan-e-khaas, then they should read the chapter on caste in the brilliant book Contemporary India written by the sociologist Satish Deshpande. He has factually analysed the condition of the scs, sts, obcs and Muslims in urban and rural India. According to him, more than 50 percent of sts in rural India are living below the poverty line (BPL) while 43 percent scs and 34 percent obcs fall under this category. Similarly, in urban India, the comparative figures for the scs and sts are 43 percent and for the obcs 36 percent respectively. According to the 2001 census, all these sections put together living under-BPL in urban India form 91 percent while in rural India they constitute 88 percent. This poverty is the main reason why 41.47 percent SC children in the fifth standard, 59.93 percent in the eighth and 71.92 percent in the tenth standard drop-out. While the respective figures for the ST children are 51.37 percent, 68.67 percent and 80.29 percent. (Source: goi reports, 2002-03).
Despite these facts, the so-called wise people of this country are against any concessions to be given to the poor, as they own the knowledge industry and power. They don't want to be impartial or they can't understand this in their panic-stricken state. This intellectual class is standing on a gradually melting snow and not real ground. These are the same intellectual classes, which were claiming that the roots of secularism are so deep in this country that there was no need to worry about communalism. And yet in 1992, Babri Masjid was demolished and within five years, communal forces came to power in the Centre. They also say that democracy has strengthened in India by now while the truth is that there has been a constant fall in the voting percentage over the years. Hence, the need for them is to come down to the ground level in order to understand the reality of India.
In the end, reservation is not only a means to find jobs but the first step towards power-sharing for the deprived. These classes have been denied their rights for years and hence they deserve it, otherwise there will be chaos. In the words of the Punjabi revolutionary poet of the 1970s, Avtar Singh Pash, Maine ticket kharidkar Aapke loktantra ka natak dekha hai Ab to mera preksha griha men baithkar Hai-hai karne aur chikhein marne ka Haq banta hai Aapne bhi ticket dete samay Takey tak ki chhut nahi di
Aur main bhi apni pasand ki baju pakad Gadde faad doonga Aur parde jala daalunga.
(I have bought the ticket And seen the play of your democracy Now I have a right to sit inside the auditorium And scream my lungs out shouting hai-hai You too never gave me any concession of even a penny while dispensing the ticket I, too, would find my favourite seat And tear the cushions apart And burn the curtains down.)
The writer, a journalist, is currently working on a book on VP SinghFor some time now, the mainstream media has been replete with only one news — "The students of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are opposing reservation in all central institutions." All the medical colleges and the students of iit, Delhi have joined them. And on behalf of these "meritorious" and "patriotic" students, the upper caste-controlled media is fighting their "war". The agitation has spread all over the country.
According to one news item, an event management company was organising the protest march in Mumbai (isn't it a brand new lesson for mass movements?) In the meantime there has been another news hogging news space — "The stock market is falling sharply." So from now on, only two categories of news would make headlines: anti-reservation protests and the stock market (because the market 'guides' our economy and 'merit' controls our country! Though it is quite a separate matter that only 2.5 percent people have investments in the stock market).
When we look into the protests in AIIMS and the iits and the publicity given to them by the media, it becomes clear that even today the number of dalits, obcs and minorities is insignificant in these institutions. If they had a presence there, why would there be such loud protests? Why would they protest against themselves? Second, even the media that has made this issue into such a huge thing, is monopolised by high castes. Then, shouldn't reservation be ensured for these deprived classes to ensure their presence out there?
These days by merely opening a newspaper, one gets the feeling that every common man has become a social scientist and each social scientist, a common man. Almost all the political commentators have begun criticising reservation on the grounds of loss of talent and the threat of 'brain drain'. The debate around merit gives one the idea that it is a sole preserve of a few castes and if it went to other castes, it will vanish. The reality is different. Chandrabhan Prasad has recently unravelled the myth behind the idea of 'merit'. He quotes the report of the Indian Universities Commission, 1902, according to which, in the matriculation examination of 1901, 19.2 percent students in Madras, 32.6 percent in Bombay, 53.9 percent in Calcutta, 35.2 percent in Allahabad, and 50.9 percent in Punjab had passed. If we look carefully at 'merit', it becomes clear that at that time only upper castes studied in universities because dalits and obcs were in no condition to access education. But the British government continued to give them patronage and the situation today is that they are in the seat of power.
The second argument of anti-reservationists is that if reservation was given, a large-scale migration of talent will take place from these elite institutions. This is even more hilarious. Migration of Knowledge Workers: Second Generation Effects of India's Brain Drain written by B. Khadria tells us that during 1956-1980 there was a continuous brain drain of students from AIIMS, Delhi and in 1980 it had reached up to 85 percent. The same is true for the iits. By 2001 at least 25,000 iitians were in the USA alone. Overall their presence reaches up to 34 percent.
The question then arises that if there was no reservation for obcs till now in these institutions and dalits' quota never got filled, then who were these 'bright young minds' leaving the country? Was it in the interest of the nation or were they moving out due to personal interests?
The matter is quite clear. Those high castes who aren't part of the power elite or don't have a direct stake in the power-sharing, have left this country. They have neither any love for their society and country nor for the labouring classes. Neither do they have any respect for them. Those 'talented' students who are protesting against reservation are showing this through either polishing shoes or by sweeping the streets. Doesn't this kind of regressive protest prove the kind of hatred they have against those performing these activities as regular jobs for centuries?
In 1990, when the Mandal Commission recommendations were implemented in Central government jobs, these very people had argued that 'first make them capable enough by giving them education' and today when it is actually being implemented in education, they have crossed all barriers of ethics. Before the implementation of the Mandal Report, the elite of this country made fun of the Communists by saying that these guys didn't understand the multi-layered caste, class, religion-ridden reality of this country where any slogan of class-war would never be successful. But the day Mandal came into force, this same elite became Marxist overnight and began to say that there are only two classes in this society, rich and the poor. Never would you find in the pages of history such rapid socio-intellectual transformation of any society. But one shouldn't mistake this concern as their love for Marxism. The reality is that they hate both Marxism and Marxists, but this 'understanding' about the rich and the poor serves their interest and hence their 'spontaneous' understanding of Marxism. They have subverted the peace of this country by shouting hoarse about 'merit' but they don't bother to remember that at least there is some minimum cut-off point for the scs, sts and obcs, but there is no such minimum limit for the nris and those giving capitation fees. Perhaps they don't want to know that in this very country the number of engineering aspirants getting admission through capitation fees is 1,50,000.
What is the socio-economic background of those 'extremely talented' students protesting against reservations? Most of them have passed out of English medium schools, belong to urban middle classes and are high castes. And what is the social composition of the Knowledge Commission appointed by the prime minister, which is egging them on? Sam Pitroda (Satyen Gangadhar Pitroda) heads this commission and has six out of eight members who are Brahmins and two others come from other high castes. (Check out the 'merit' here as well. This commission has not been founded on 'merit' but has been nominated by the pm. Isn't the same 'merit' principle working in the entire country?)
If people in our country are unable to see the gap between diwan-e-aam and diwan-e-khaas, then they should read the chapter on caste in the brilliant book Contemporary India written by the sociologist Satish Deshpande. He has factually analysed the condition of the scs, sts, obcs and Muslims in urban and rural India. According to him, more than 50 percent of STs in rural India are living below the poverty line (BPL) while 43 percent scs and 34 percent obcs fall under this category. Similarly, in urban India, the comparative figures for the scs and STs are 43 percent and for the obcs 36 percent respectively. According to the 2001 census, all these sections put together living under-BPL in urban India form 91 percent while in rural India they constitute 88 percent. This poverty is the main reason why 41.47 percent sc children in the fifth standard, 59.93 percent in the eighth and 71.92 percent in the tenth standard drop-out. While the respective figures for the ST children are 51.37 percent, 68.67 percent and 80.29 percent. (Source: goi reports, 2002-03).
Despite these facts, the so-called wise people of this country are against any concessions to be given to the poor, as they own the knowledge industry and power. They don't want to be impartial or they can't understand this in their panic-stricken state. This intellectual class is standing on a gradually melting snow and not real ground. These are the same intellectual classes, which were claiming that the roots of secularism are so deep in this country that there was no need to worry about communalism. And yet in 1992, Babri Masjid was demolished and within five years, communal forces came to power in the Centre. They also say that democracy has strengthened in India by now while the truth is that there has been a constant fall in the voting percentage over the years. Hence, the need for them is to come down to the ground level in order to understand the reality of India.
In the end, reservation is not only a means to find jobs but the first step towards power-sharing for the deprived. These classes have been denied their rights for years and hence they deserve it, otherwise there will be chaos. In the words of the Punjabi revolutionary poet of the 1970s, Avtar Singh Pash, Maine ticket kharidkar
Aapke loktantra ka natak dekha hai
Ab to mera preksha griha men baithkar
Hai-hai karne aur chikhein marne ka
Haq banta hai
Aapne bhi ticket dete samay
Takey tak ki chhut nahi di
Aur main bhi apni pasand ki baju pakad
Gadde faad doonga
Aur parde jala daalunga.
(I have bought the ticket And seen the play of your democracy Now I have a right to sit inside the auditorium And scream my lungs out shouting hai-hai You too never gave me any concession of even a penny while dispensing the ticket I, too, would find my favourite seat And tear the cushions apart And burn the curtains down.)
The writer, a journalist, is currently working on a book on VP Singh
No comments:
Post a Comment