We've had caste/class based reservations in education and employment in our country for over one-third of a century. Some will count its merits, some demerits. My personal submission is that if we are serious about development and becoming a first world nation (something we have not managed to do in 75+ years of independence - while other non-western countries like China and Japan have), we need to look beyond reservations and devise a better strategy to combat backwardness. Here is a strategy I personally recommend:
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.
