India can brag about such book in the coming future and I think we are not far from it. And, only Indians can come out with newer ways of doing it.
There's this article on Rediff titled 'No one wants to hear us'. I must admit that it is one of the most disgusting articles I have read on the reservation issue. I am going to italicize the Rediff story (adapted to suit the post's need) and my consequent comments would be in normal font.
Mr. Tusha Jagtap, a doctor by profession and President, Dr Ambedkar Reservation Protection Front, a Dalit organisation, says, "My father was a railway employee and if I did not have the benefit of reservation I would not have become a doctor."
He secured 61 marks in the Science stream in his XII standard and got a medical seat just because he is a Dalit. But, nowhere in India you would find an upper caste student with 70 plus qualifying marks, getting a seat (No matter how poor he is). Why this discrimination? How can anyone trust such doctors?
When I (the Rediff personnel) pointed out that there are many Brahmins today who were cleaning toilets for a living because they didn't have better jobs, Dr Jagtap says: "When Dalits cleaned toilets for 2,000 years nobody thought of this. If Brahmins are cleaning toilets today what is wrong in it?"
Mr. Jagtap, the issue here is not about the work that the Brahmins are doing these days, but it's concerned with the fact that many of the upper caste people are living in economic distress just like the backward classes. And, the government should think of them too.
"After so many years of independence Dalit women are being raped in villages and no one takes this news seriously," he says angrily, "but have you ever read a Brahmin women being raped by a Dalit in this country? Never."
Why do you want to discuss an act as heinous as rape based on caste? Any woman, no matter what caste she belongs to, exploited to such an extent will experience the same trauma. Can't you leave at least a few things as sensitive as these untouched by caste?
There were two really good articles that followed this. I am providing the links to these articles below.
The first is Who are the real dalits of India? and the second is Are Brahmins the Dalits of today?. The second article is a must. It reveals some important statistics that we were not aware of. It shows the need to review the definition of economic backwardness in India and why even some upper castes require reservations to survive with the backward classes in India. I hate saying this. Require Reservations.
Very good fine! Gud Job.
ReplyDeleteThe following interview speaks of the heights of ignorance and depths of indifference of the HRD Ministry to the before and after-effects of this reservation issue.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/060521/211/64f42.html
Very good find! Gud Job.
ReplyDeleteThe following interview speaks of the heights of ignorance and depths of indifference of the HRD Ministry to the before and after-effects of this reservation issue.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/060521/211/64f42.html
karthik: Yeah, I have read a similar article.
ReplyDeleteExtremist To Protagonist
ReplyDeleteNo Reservations.. No Reservations.. No Reservations . We sacrificed our lives so
far and we cant do it anymore. Give reservations on economic basis but not on caste
basis. Politicians are dividing India. These are very common lines we are hearing in
the news channels and reading in the news papers.Thanks to the great democratic
indian electronic and print media which helped in parching the issue of reservations
and spreading agitations all around the nation.
Before bluntly raising your wrath against allotment of reservations have you ever
thought of the reasons for reservations or purpose of reservations.yes,there is need
to know all these things before raising voice against reservations.
According to the
history, the caste system started with the advent of Aryans.Who migrated from
europe into India around 1500 BC. They destroyed indus valley settlements, crossed
indus,entered India.They easily acquired the possesions of the local habitats and
made them slaves.Later the aryans recited from vedas written by them that castes
are formed in this way saying " the god illuminated the earth with his presence and
left the earth after creating four kinds of people(chaturvarnya),different flora and
fauna.The first of the four kinds is brahmana who was formed from gods
mouth,kshatriya was formed from arms,vaishya was formed from thighs , shudra
sprang from gods feet ,moon from soul,sun from eye,vayu from breath" and so on
(according to rig veda).In this way aryans divided the community into four classes.
Kshatriyas are the rulers but the ultimate decision makers and the virtual rulers are
the brahmins, vaishyas are the agricultural and traders section of the community and
sudhras are the are section of people who are regarded as slaves for the remaining
three sections.So,here it is clearly understood that the stronger people initially took
advantage by intromiting caste system in the society and dominated entire civilization
and the weaker person is subjected to oppression.Stronger people refers to three
higher sections and weaker person refers to shudras or dalits or lower section.In
course of time the community is further divided into classes or sections according to
the work which people perform.It is clearly mentioned in history that brahmins
instrumented these divisions.
At that time the treatment received by cattle and dogs
from higher classes was far more better than treament received from them by the
oppressed classes.Untouchability is at its zenith until independence.The life which they
lead is pathetic.Words are meagre to describe the sufferings of the oppressed classes
under higher classes of the society.
Another important thing here to note is the cause
for mahatma gandhi to lead the great freedom movement in the world at that time.
The cause was his own sufferings,the racial discrimination that he has undergone and
many other indians have undergone due to the colonial rulers.
The first humiliating
experience of gandhi happened in south africa ,where he was asked to move from his
first class compartment to general comparment even he got proper ticket.This he
refused and he was turned out.He had many similar experiences in south africa.
These humiliating experiences made him to think how fellow indians are suffering
under colonial rulers since 1757 when British gained control over major parts of india
by winning battle of plassey.He then resolved to fight against British for
independence.We can imagine what could have happened if British treated indians
with respect, no meerut mutiny and no freedom struggle.
The indignities that mahatma
gandhi and lots of other upper caste indians have suffered under British are very
very minor compared to the indignities suffered by the oppressed castes in india
under nefarious upper castes.The sufferings of indians under British rule ended after
190 years(1757-1947) but the sufferings of lower castes in india are perennial(from
1500 BC).They are being discriminated badly in public sector companies,private
sector,in educational institutions,etc.The attrocoties on them are innumerable in rural
india.A clear delve about obc's,sc's and st's in above places enables you to know the
de-facto.
The reason for onesided coverage and support for anti reservationists from
print and electronic media and just nominal coverage of pro reservation rallys that too
in one or two channels is that the number of obc/sc/st journalists in delhi very
minimum(see 14th page of june 5th hindu newspaper).All the leading print and
electronic media in india are dominated and runned by higher castes and how can
they support pro-reservationists.The insensitive and casteist forms of protest some
of the anti-resevationist doctors adoped-the symbolic sweeping of streets,shining of
shoes,singing songs warning ob's and others to remember their place were put on air
without any comment by the channels.Nobody asked what kind of doctors these
meritorious students were likely to become if they had such contempt towarda the
more than half the population of india.
If situation of a meritorious student of upper classes
is taken,in case if he/she looses seat or job due to reservations he can get job or
seat at another place with his/her merit and their living will not be effected due to
reservations.In case if that person is below poverty line also if he/she is merit sudent
then there are number of private organisations,mnc's which are offering jobs and
even if reservations in private sector is implemented,the number of jobs for
meritorious oc students will not melt,it is clear(resv.in prv. may not be possible).All the
private* companies in india belong to the upper caste people and they will not allow
surge of lower caste person in their company(you can easily know this thing if you
work in any private/public sector indian comapany).In these private/public sector
companies in india a talented obc/sc/st candidate cannot reach great heights as an
average general candidate can.In public sector the conditions of lower caste people is
very worst.
Another sweet thing to hear is , general or upper caste candidate gets
great sympathy if he opts a road sweeping job but it makes no affect if a lower caste
person does the sweeping job or pulls a rickshaw.So, caste based feelings in india are
still alive and dignity of labour has not taken birth yet.The ratio of above cases are
very less may be 1:1000.The obc's/sc's/st's are more economically backward than
upper castes.yes there are few exceptional cases like oc's sweeping roads or jobless
which upper caste indian media highlights but they are very less compared to the
innumerable cases of obc's/sc's/st's and it is the fact known to everybody.No obc/sc
/st runs a mnc/large corporate business in india,this is also a known fact.yet we dont
care about the oppressed.
It is not at all true that there will be effect on nation due to
reservations,if that is true then india would still have been a backward nation.It is also
not true that the reservation candidates are incompetent.The reservation canditates
who acquired seats in prestigious IIT's/AIIMS/IIM'S etc. and jobs in research
organisations are equally talented.For general or reserved candidate it is equally
difficult to enter an IIT or an IIM.Even though he/she is a reserved candidate he/
she has to possess certain standards to enter these prestigious organisations.They
are performing well in the same way as others in these organisations and institutions
.We can confirm this thing by inspecting these places.
It is not fair to still
suppress the weaker sections which make more than 50% of indian population.It is
not fair to still oppress them even after their 3000 years of disastrous sufferings.
Reservations have to continue until equality is acheived in our country both
economically and socially.All sections of the indian community must be equal in both
social and economic conditions.Social equality in the sense there should be no person
recognised on basis of caste as sharma/khanna/malhothra/iyer etc. or everybody
should be either khanna/malhothra/iyer ,etc.This equality shall create heaven oin
india.Further oppressions and indignities on the weaker sections may lead to great
revolutions that we can imagine and many M.A.Jinnah's may ake birth from these
revolutions.If all the people think with positive mindset then,nothing can stop india.
I am very much impressed by your views on different topics placed in your blog
but i am shocked by learning your views on reservations.I dont know to which caste
you belong but now i can understand you belong to some higher caste.I too belong
to a higher caste but i am enlightened by learning real facts from the history and now
i have no negative opinion on the reservations.
"learning from the history and acting in future"
This is the best way to do things which i have learnt from my past experiences.
I know that you are a heuristic person and i can understand that these are your
feelings out of disappointment.But dont worry your capabilities will never let you down.
you will definetely win your race.
BEST OF LUCK!
- Mona Pruthi
Mona:
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that the upper castes had suppressed the backward classes in the past. Infact, I had mentioned this in one of my earlier posts.
I am afraid you haven't got my point on reservations. I repeat I am not against reservations.
I want the backward classes to come forward and share the status that the upper castes have been enjoying. But, what worries me is the fact that these reservations will not be of much help to the real needy, the real dalits in rural India. How would they benifit from reservations at IITs and IIMs when they can't afford even primary education. The government needs to start from scratch to help such people. And, moreover, this is not about we and they, upper castes and lower castes, it's about 'us'.
That's what I wanted to convey through my posts.
Mr. Jagtap logic seems to be "We have been treated unfairly, so let's treat somebody else unfairly now." I agree with your comments. I don't live in India so I am not in the middle of the heat of discussion. Posts like yours allow me to get some independent opinions (rather than the manufactured ones in the media). THanks for the post.
ReplyDeletemr mahesh,
ReplyDeleteI already stated my opinion on this. And, I don't want to repeat myself again and again. Please understand my argument carefully before trying to comment. Thank you.