Do we need increased reservations.......
It has been a real long break... a break of about 3 weeks since the last post. The post got published on jammag.com. n I had been really busy after tht. busy even by IIMA normal standards !!!! Loads of submissions, reports, assignments were always there, as usual. Then came the end term examinations n i got really stuck with the workload. On 5th my exams got over and I had to report to ITC in Banglore for the summer training on 7th morning. I had a flight to catch on 6th morning at 7:30 n there was no possible way tht i cud get up so early in the morning (I dont remember when i got up so early in the morning last time, though there hv been numerous occassions when i went to sleep at tht time) . So i decided to stay awake all night. Tht was nearly the fourth consecutive night out( slept very little during the 3 days in exams).I reached Banglore on 6th and slept the whole day. I joined ITC the next day..... havent explored the city much till now.. so wud be posting my experiences regarding the city in later posts... moreover i dont hv a PC here, so i believe tht this blogging wud take a hit in coming days, though i wud try my best to remain regular
Recently, the issue which is catching all headlines is the reservation proposed in IIMs/IITs and other RECs. Out of nowhere, during the election time, the issue pops up and no political party seems to hv the guts to oppose the bill. n there is total silence from the highly respected and acclaimed PM. At this time when the whole world is sitting n taking notice of Indian talents in different sectors, there cud not hv been any worse way of tripping Indian juggernaut.
Reservation was introduced as a mean of amalgamating the deprived layers of society which suffered pain, humilliation, isolation and seclusion for a long time into mainstream. It was expected tht this wud help these classes to become a part of mainstream in a gradual flow of time. It was a real noble concept till the time some politicians realised the massive mileage tht cud be derived from this concept. So rather than addressing the failures of the system, they decided to manipulate it.
Now the bigger issue is - is this reservation going to help the cause of the needy ? i seriously doubt tht... first of all, i believe tht a certain 'creamy' layer of the backward classes is reaping all the benefits..... a person becomes an IAS owing to reservation, his son becomes an engg and this phenomenon is continuing across the generations. so rather than society getting benefitted as a whole, it is tht small section which is gaining. Also since the student has come on the basis of reservation rather than on merit, he wud find it difficult to compete with guys in his class who hv achieved their seat on merit. This phenomenon is happening in IITs and despite all efforts by educational instis, a lot of people are dropping out in the middle as they find themselves not gud enuf to compete. Probably the better way to do the same is to hv reservation at lower levels and help these guys to build a strong foundation, so tht they can compete on merit at UG & PG levels.
Then their is case of good students leaving India to study abroad... n once u spend 25lakh+ amount on ur studies abroad, it is useless to come back to India n work as u wud never be able to recoup tht investment here... so the good guys who wud hv done wonders to India's fortunes in the future ,given the increasing opportunities available here itself today, wud be forced to stay back in foreign locales and other countries r going to reap all the benefits.
Today industry is ready to pay a premium on the talent coming from these campuses. Everyday u wud find previous salary records getting broken. This is just because industry has continuously posed its faith in the current system and its ability to churn out brilliant people who hv regularly done well in the long run. Now if current system of merit is removed n newer system of 'free-riding' is going to be introduced, then there wud be erosion in standards of these instis... n also in the pay packages which lured govt to announce reservations.
Who would be real losers if this decision is to be implemented..... the students, industry n the nation as a whole. There cannot be more retrograde step taken today to hamper the growth of 'brand India'. Now tht Indians are looking confident to take on the world, we need no controversy to become an obstacle in the path of growth...n god forbids, I dont want to see any new scenes of self-immolation by students as we saw them during 1991 anti-mandal commotion. I just hope some sense prevails in the top echleons of power and this move is annuled.
posted by amit @ 12:05 AM
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