We've had caste/class based reservations in education and employment in our country for over one-third of a century. As I often remark caste is an inherently shit concept, an evil weapon that was used to oppress and exploit. And backwardness created consciously needed to be combatted consciously at one point.
However, when a strategy goes wrong it is important to realize (and honestly accept) it. I start this post by giving two concrete examples to illustrate why I believe our present system of caste/class based reservations is causing more harm than good. Then I present an alternate strategy that I believe would be more effective in combatting reservation.
Example 1: The cut-off for Mathematics PhD admissions at Delhi University in 2017 was set at 0% for SC/ST candidates. 0%. (Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/du-admission-2017-phd-mathematics-cut-off-for-sc-st-at-zero-du-ac-in-shocked-students-take-to-twitter-4780086/)
For General Category: 94%.
For OBC: 84%.
For SC/ST: 0%.
You are free to check the cut-offs for the last 8 years. Whether they have again gone all the way down to 0% or not, I can give you a guarantee sitting right here that you will continue finding SC/ST cut-offs to be unjustifiably low at every level: Bachelors, Masters, PhD.
And since we have reservations in faculty positions as well, those securing admissions with such low marks (in their PhD programs - after having gone through 5+ years of higher education already!) will also become professors and teach our children (teach what?).
Example 2. "The minimum marks required to qualify JEE Advanced are 35% for the general category, 31.5% for OBC-NCL/EWS, and 17.5% for SC/ST/PwD candidates." (Source: https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-advanced-cutoff/)
17.5%! And I don't believe SC/ST/PwD even have a Creamy Layer - Non Creamy Layer distinction!
17.5%! What does it even mean to get into IITs/NITs/Etc. with 17.5% marks?
This is not "affirmative action". This is simply politicians selling out for votes and power.
And it's everywhere: doctors, engineers, teachers, professors, scientists...
All this is happening simply because SC/ST folks have been reduced to a vote bank to be milked by politicians (of all parties). This has nothing to do with "affirmative action" or anyone's "upliftment".
If we go on this way, then forget development. Simply forget about it. Instead, anticipate collapse. When a society agrees to become intellectually dishonest to suit its politics, it collapses.
I present an alternate strategy for your consideration:
Here is a four point algorithm to combat backwardness that I believe will bring equality in our society more effectively than reservations based on caste, class, tribe, religion or gender. Please bear in mind that all four points have to be assimilated together as a consolidated approach.
As you read and reflect on the following points, bear in mind clearly that at the end of the day, there is only one kind of backwardness: Poverty.
Here goes:
Completely irrespective of caste, class, religion or gender:
1. At the end of 12th grade, for any student hailing from a home whose net family income is Rs. 25,000/- per month or less, add 15% to his or her Grade 12 score for admission into college.
2. Make sure all such students get free education all the way till their bachelors degree.
(If you set the family income bar any higher, the effectiveness of this boost for people who really need it the most will reduce.)
3. Let there be a law that the distribution of students in classrooms/hostels and their seating/residential arrangements be completely independent of caste, class, tribe, religion or economic status. This will help shatter any notions of higher and lower that might be present in any student's mind and we'll bring forth generations of youth who simply relate with each other as fellow human beings.
4. Let there be extra classes in the evening for anyone who might need extra coaching or help with their studies at every level: school as well as college. If extra teachers need to be hired for this purpose, it should be done.
That's it. With this one time boost (Points 1 & 2), let needy students then compete with everyone else on an equal footing (Points 3 & 4). No more affirmative action for either post graduate equation or employment. You get a one time boost to get into college, it is then incumbent upon you to work hard and make the best of it.
We do this and all politics being played around caste, class, religion and gender, simply stops. Each and every politician, from each and every political party, will then be forced to talk poverty eradication and development. No more vote bank / divide and rule politics - the entire system starts cleaning up - and those who really need help finally get it!
Always remember: At the end of the day, there is only one kind of backwardness: Poverty. If we help children and youth hailing from poor families as explained above, we will combat backwardness in a positive manner, while building merit by helping people improve and become nationally and globally competitive.
The pressing question now of course is how do we make a transition from the present scenario to the scenario depicted above? In my view, it can be done in the following two steps:
1. Immediate Change: Jobs that directly impact human safety and future generations (examples: medical, some engineering tasks, teaching future generations, flying aircraft, etc.) should work on pure merit. There should be absolutely no reservations of any kind for such jobs - not even on regional considerations (example: Punjabis in Punjab, Marathis in Maharashtra, etc.). Needless to say, gender simply cannot be a reason for reservation at all. Else, stop all talk of gender equality. It's plain hypocrisy.
2. Five Year Transition: In all other sectors, start reducing reservations by 10% every year. Alongside, start implementing the four point algorithm above. If we do this, in five years we would have replaced reservations with the method outlined above and combat backwardness more effectively. This mandate needs to come into force as a "center + state requirement" that is binding not just on the center, but all states as well. The reason is this: Reservations in any state will lead to workforce migrations to other states and disrupt employment there. For any states that presently have more than 50% reservations, the annual percentage reduction in reservations needs to adjusted such that the five year target is met. For example, if some state has 70% reservations the annual percentage reduction needs to be 14%.
The above steps will need to be ordered by a body higher than our political class, say, the Supreme Court. If left to politicians, we'll never see a change because, barring a very few, most are simply interested in power and will pursue appeasement strategies to attain it.
