Rक्षण- the big R, re-visited...

Cautionary note- The below content may hurt the sentiments of many, for which I would like to apologise profusely. But these are my views... And if they appear discriminatory or biased, its just because I was also a victim of this malaise!

And someone also commented on my writing style as monotonous and blunt.. To that, I just wanna reply that I only write to vent out my inner feelings.. I am not a professional writer, nor am I a kind-hearted fella, nor a paid journalist and neither am I under any sort of pressure related to respecting the feelings of the fairer sex and plain idiots!

Reservation- the current hot topic of discussion, made popular once more by Prakash Jha's recent film.. There have been contless debates and discussion on this very issue for many decades... In the end, on 10 April 2008, the Supreme Court of India upheld the law that provides for 27% reservation for Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in educational institutions supported by the Central government. Apart from that, the cut-offs for SC/ST's were thrown down to almost 50% to that of those for General category students.... Now, its sounds childish, but I had this friend in my coaching who was supremely over-confident of scoring hig in IIT-JEE... Needless to say, he scored a total of 118.. However, his average friend ("me"), scored 155 in the same exam... Logic dictates that I deserve more right on the engineering seat than him... However, this so-called quota ensured that I was left to roll around aimlessly in the "extended merit list" while my friend used (or abused) the quota system to his advantage and finally got into an IIT and in a decent discipline... All this was made possible only because the cut-offs for SC/ST's were too damn lower... In short, this fucked up reservation policy in higher educational institutes of India turned my friend into my foe and made me swear so hard that Arjun Singh might have been turning in his grave..

Was this what the policy-makers had in mind while passing this bill?

In the long run, this quota system is gonna divide the country in a way not dissimilar to the Partition.. On one side, there will be the General category students, frustrated and bereft of opportunities that they deserved on the basis of merit... On the other hand, there'll be the students who got into elite institutions by the grace of the SC ruling... Students will start discriminationg among themselves.. For example, me and my friends still hate a certain guy from backward classes who got into an IIT despite having a healthy financial background and a pathetically low score in the successive JEE exam... We dont need another divide between us in addition to the Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Brahmin, Kayasth, Vaishyas, Shudras, Meenas, Bheels, Gurjars, Marathis, Punjabis, Marwaris, Bengalis, Paharis, Annas, Telugus, Tamils, Oriyas, Assamese, Mochis, Kannadas, Pandits, Kshatriyas, Dalits and Bhangis... Already, there are too many flaws in our caste-system.. And this reservation will only work towards aggravating that.. Where else will the students go to study?? One may say "abroad". But that's  easier said than done... Studying abroad is no joke... Oh! And I forgot to add the problem of brain-drain.. And if they are adamant at making these quotas, well they might as well start reserving for students who undergo severe mental trauma when they arent chosen for a job just because they did not have enough bribe to offer or did not have a godfather in the organisation... Oh! And of course, they might also think of having separate hospitals, hotels, gardens, malls and multiplexes reserved solely for some castes and restricted to others... I m also thinking about a separate sub-state, about 27.5 percent the area of every state, to be started in all the states of India where the "backward" classes can reside and prosper!! Shut the front fdoor, will you?!?!?!

People, be sensible and honest to your effort... Dont disriminate us on the basis of birth again... As a mature woman rightly says in Prakash Jha's movie, we should improvise the primary education system before toying with the future of hundreds of deserving candidates just on the basis of a caste certificate.... Make reservations on the basis of financial status of you want...
First, fix the annual household income intervals...
Secondly, allot an equal number of seats to each slot..
Thirdly, bring back the screening test that used to be there  few years ago... It helps greatly in shortlisting a healthy layer of aspiring students...
Lastly, provide financial aid/assistance to those who have an unsatisfactory financial condition BEFORE the main exam... But these students need to have a respectable score to clear the screening test first...

If the policy-makers device such a formula, I see no reason to doubt that there will be ample opportunity for the backward class students and it'll also prevent any discord among the students from the so-called "general" category...

I dont mean to degrade anyone from this statistic... I am a Hindu myself... And I just wanted to portray that the age when people of backward castes were compelled to do menial jobs is long over... Wake up from that hangover and smell the rain... No point re-visiting your shady past and sleeping ghosts.. As they say in China, yesterday is past, tommorow is ours! (Ignore the patronising line :P)