The caste-based reservation system in India has always been a hot potato since its inception. Always a question Is reservation pulling back India?
Though Dr. B R Ambedkar introduced the system post-independence to end the discrimination between the upper class and middle-class Indians now. It was kind of pulling our society in a backward direction, mostly because of its unfiltered uses. He intended to ease the misery of the poor and backward people of India and mentioned that the system will last only for the next 10 years. However, its black shadow is still quite predominant in our society. He once said, “I like the religion that teaches liberty, equality, and fraternity.”
But it seems everyone has forgotten that, and they have made the caste system their ideology in life. Though we all are pretty much aware of the caste-based reservation system in India but let me tell you brief details here once again before diving into the matter thoroughly. There are presently three types of quota prevalent in our society, namely- Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribes, and Other Backward Classes, abbreviated as- SC, ST, and OBC.
Real Reason It Started
The system came into force to facilitate the poor and backward. Indian people get some relaxation in the fields of education, jobs, or scholarship whoever has the quota certificate. The main objective of this system was to elevate the modern standard of the backward classes in Indian society and release them from all sorts of exploitation that they have been facing through ages. It started to wind up all kinds of discrimination between the privileged and unprivileged society of our country and make them a part of the mainstream culture.
But from the perspective of the recent social and political events happening around us, it doesn’t seem like the quota system in India has served its purpose fully and flawlessly. If we talk about the current scenarios of the caste-based reservation system in India, we can see there are 15% of the Government jobs, and university seats reserved for the Scheduled Caste quota. For Schedule Tribes, the number is 7.5%. Now this percentage has gone up to 49.5% when an additional 27% reserved seats added for the Other Backward Classes quota.
Why is it now essential to amend the old reservation system?
This caste-based reservation system was fruitful in the post-independent era when there was actually discrimination prevalent in our society. But now the scenario is entirely different, it is reservation pulling back India. This system is used to achieve a hard sustainable goal quickly by showing a “quota certificate.” The reservation system in India has now become one of the hindrances in the way of India’s overall growth. The major drawback of the age-old caste-based reservation system is unnecessary relaxations. They provide to the people holding a quota certificate without even authenticating the valid reason. Slowly it’s becoming the biggest enemy of meritocracy.
Students nowadays are getting selected not based on their merit and knowledge but based on the quota. The general category students are slowly getting infected with demotivation and unwillingness to do work hard. It is because somehow it’s planted in their minds that no matter how hard they try, they will fail in front of the reservation system! Despite being highly meritorious and highly deserving, general caste students fail to make it to the final list. It is due to the unnecessary seat reservation system for the students who fall under a particular quota.
It seems like a curse. Cursed for a sin that they don’t have any control over. After all, they didn’t choose to be born in a general category family. If our government really wants to bring equality among the Indian youth. The most effective ways are to provide them with the necessary funds and donations for their education purpose. Because discriminating against someone based on their caste is a major setback for India’s development.
Impact on Present Scenario: Is reservation pulling back India?
Many Indian Institutions have merit lists based on the caste. The one from the general caste has to score more than the SC/ST kid. Almost all significant institutes from India have different cutoffs for different castes. At the very start, the caste system was brought into practice so that lower and backward classes get equal opportunities as the upper class. But with time, people made this their way of living. This is the reason India lacks behind in education and other fields where the caste system is in practice.
It is effortless to get admission with lower marks. Still, it becomes difficult for the student to survive the load of college. And this plethora of load makes the student get behind. And which makes the country still underdeveloped. Many people make fake caste certificates just to get in a good institute or get a government job. Or get converted into another caste just for the sake of the opportunities. How can the IIMs and IITs of our country hold such high esteem in the global educational field? Because they prefer merit to caste. They follow the traditional and conservative way of selecting students for their respective institutions. This kind of classification and diversification of quotas opposes the fundamental right to equality. So, it’s high time that the entire reservation system needed to be scrutinized and gauged thoroughly all over again.
Brain drain due to reservation system
Brain drain generally means a group of highly skilled and capable youth moving to another country for better career opportunities. The main reason behind the brain drain is the lack of proper career or job opportunities provided by the country to the deserving youths. This reservation system is just working as a stimulator behind brain drain in India. Because of the seat reservation, almost half of the worthy and capable students are being deprived of where they should be actually.
So it is quite apparent they are more interested in moving to the country, which will provide them with the opportunity to showcase their intelligence and skills. Thus providing them with a bright future and healthy career path! A person who scored less but still selected because of their caste gets the job here in the country. Thus reservation pulling back India from the development.
How it is Impacting Social Ladder?
What we are trying to convey through the article is that a caste-based reservation system should not be the only parameter to climb up the educational and thereby social ladder. Many backward class people have stepped up only with their determination and hard work. In contrast, there are still so many so-called ‘upper glass or ‘general’ category students who are suffering from poverty and struggling to make a better life for themselves. But it is not easy to eradicate this system in a snap.
Whenever the Government tries to make amendments to the Reservation system, some people don’t let this happen. But it is high time that the Government takes some action for this. Dr. B. R Ambedkar wanted a country where each one of us gets equal opportunities, where no one discriminated against because of their caste, where we all live as one united country. But his teaching seems lost somewhere. Thus, the Government needs to amend the age-old existing reservation act carefully and wisely. So, that it can be beneficial to each and everyone living in this society.
Benefits Over This
The Government formulated the hostel schemes, free coaching, economic development, and social empowerment schemes exclusively for the reserved section. Besides these facilities, the SC, ST, and OBC receive the relaxation in terms of cutoffs.
While the minimum qualifying cutoff for the generals are 40% or 120 marks in the SET examination, it is 35% or 105 marks for the non-general categories. In the medical field, the minimum qualifying marks for unreserved is 50%, while for the reserved is 40%. Besides the national scholarships, they receive five scholarships for pursuing higher education from overseas universities.
Scholarships play a distinct role among the reserved class students. They mainly focus on providing financial assistance to the students, which are awarded based on their merits and financial status. But, the truth is different. There are instances that a reserved student belonging to the high-income class enjoys the same privileges as the reserved student from the low-income class.
Conclusion
The reservation started by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar proved a curse for the development of the Indian society. Though our Government tried to improve the conditions of the STs, SCs and OBCs, it failed to look into the financial conditions of the general class. Poverty does not belong to a single class but distributed in all sections of society. Concentrating on the class-based reservation will bring more improvement and equality rather than focusing on the caste-based reservation. But Somewhere reservation pulling back India.
