Alas! It has been a long time (more than a year, to be exact) since I wrote something in my blog. I took a long siesta and many things have changed since then. Won't go into details though.
It took an article in The Times of India to wake me up from my slumber and restart blogging (atleast this post).
Yesterday, while going through old newspaper (actually 2 days old one), I came across this article describing our Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan giving his views on doing away with the "creamy layer" from the purview of reservation. Although, I am one of those who is totally against any kind of reservation based on caste/creed/gender, what took me aback was the words along the lines of "first dalit judge to occupy the highest judiciary post". I mean, I never expected a respected newspaper to throw up words like these when describing a person holding the post of CJI. For heaven's sake, please respect the position.
First of all, I am not against the actual reasoning behind the policy of reservation thrown up decades ago (specifically just after Independence). It was to bring the people from the section of society, who were oppressed in the name of lower/backward caste, on a level playing ground. It started with, if I am not wrong, the first five-year plan and there was a time frame given for it to be effective, after which it was to be removed. But due to the vote-bank politics, no political party could be bold enough to actually remove it. And with each five-year plan it went on.
Has the condition of those people improved? The answer, unfortunately, is a big NO. Only a few benefited. And those who benefited, their offspring's are getting the benefit. The benefit has not seeped to most of the people who really need it. Those who have already benefited and established themselves are enjoying the benefits time and again. Those who never got a chance are still there.
I really feel, it is like giving a crutch to them. Unless we help them uplift themselves, give them compulsory education and make them stand on their own feet, nothing is going to change. I agree the discrimination is still there, but it has subsided to a great extent nonetheless. Why are we trying to make them use the crutch in the first place? Why don't we help them stand on their feet? Why not try and eradicate this discrimination altogether?
Politics, my dear friend, is a very ugly game. Politicians feed on peoples mind and they are not going to shoot themselves on their foot by trying to remove the reservation. Instead, as I have been hearing, they are trying to increase the quota of reservation.
I will just ask one question, if you give a person proper education till 10th standard and if he still is unable to compete without any kind of reservation, what is the guarantee that he will succeed in future? And the one who is able enough to compete, will never need reservation. Basic education is compulsory and a must, for it will atleast make them earn their livelihood with self-respect.
Let's dig deep into this and try to find out the cause. For it's the cause that we need to weed out and unless we focus our energy there, it's not going to solve our problem.
From a Hindu point of view, there are 4 major castes. 1. Brahmins, 2. Kshatriya, 3. Vaishnav and 4. Shudra (in no particular order). From my understanding of history, they were never meant to be this rigid what is prevalent today. They were divided with respect to the work they used to do. Brahmin used to pray, Kshatriya were the saviours, Vaishnav were the business people and Shudra used to do menial work. If a person of one caste changed his profession, his caste changes (that's what it should have been). But after a point of time, everyone felt comfortable at their roles and a hierarchy started forming. It started growing rigid. They did not allow people to enter their caste and caste boundaries became rigid and passed on from generations to generations. A son of a Brahmin, even though he might never pray, still remained a Brahmin and so on.
I fail to understand how can men (inference here being on human), having the same flesh/bone/blood, be so different that one won't even touch the other? How can a creation of "The One" be untouchable to another of His creation? Why even half a century after Independence we still stick to the same age-old value system? Why is untouchability still prevelent in our so called modern-society? What has the government done to improve the living condition of one and all?
I fail to understand...
It took an article in The Times of India to wake me up from my slumber and restart blogging (atleast this post).
Yesterday, while going through old newspaper (actually 2 days old one), I came across this article describing our Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan giving his views on doing away with the "creamy layer" from the purview of reservation. Although, I am one of those who is totally against any kind of reservation based on caste/creed/gender, what took me aback was the words along the lines of "first dalit judge to occupy the highest judiciary post". I mean, I never expected a respected newspaper to throw up words like these when describing a person holding the post of CJI. For heaven's sake, please respect the position.
First of all, I am not against the actual reasoning behind the policy of reservation thrown up decades ago (specifically just after Independence). It was to bring the people from the section of society, who were oppressed in the name of lower/backward caste, on a level playing ground. It started with, if I am not wrong, the first five-year plan and there was a time frame given for it to be effective, after which it was to be removed. But due to the vote-bank politics, no political party could be bold enough to actually remove it. And with each five-year plan it went on.
Has the condition of those people improved? The answer, unfortunately, is a big NO. Only a few benefited. And those who benefited, their offspring's are getting the benefit. The benefit has not seeped to most of the people who really need it. Those who have already benefited and established themselves are enjoying the benefits time and again. Those who never got a chance are still there.
I really feel, it is like giving a crutch to them. Unless we help them uplift themselves, give them compulsory education and make them stand on their own feet, nothing is going to change. I agree the discrimination is still there, but it has subsided to a great extent nonetheless. Why are we trying to make them use the crutch in the first place? Why don't we help them stand on their feet? Why not try and eradicate this discrimination altogether?
Politics, my dear friend, is a very ugly game. Politicians feed on peoples mind and they are not going to shoot themselves on their foot by trying to remove the reservation. Instead, as I have been hearing, they are trying to increase the quota of reservation.
I will just ask one question, if you give a person proper education till 10th standard and if he still is unable to compete without any kind of reservation, what is the guarantee that he will succeed in future? And the one who is able enough to compete, will never need reservation. Basic education is compulsory and a must, for it will atleast make them earn their livelihood with self-respect.
Let's dig deep into this and try to find out the cause. For it's the cause that we need to weed out and unless we focus our energy there, it's not going to solve our problem.
From a Hindu point of view, there are 4 major castes. 1. Brahmins, 2. Kshatriya, 3. Vaishnav and 4. Shudra (in no particular order). From my understanding of history, they were never meant to be this rigid what is prevalent today. They were divided with respect to the work they used to do. Brahmin used to pray, Kshatriya were the saviours, Vaishnav were the business people and Shudra used to do menial work. If a person of one caste changed his profession, his caste changes (that's what it should have been). But after a point of time, everyone felt comfortable at their roles and a hierarchy started forming. It started growing rigid. They did not allow people to enter their caste and caste boundaries became rigid and passed on from generations to generations. A son of a Brahmin, even though he might never pray, still remained a Brahmin and so on.
I fail to understand how can men (inference here being on human), having the same flesh/bone/blood, be so different that one won't even touch the other? How can a creation of "The One" be untouchable to another of His creation? Why even half a century after Independence we still stick to the same age-old value system? Why is untouchability still prevelent in our so called modern-society? What has the government done to improve the living condition of one and all?
I fail to understand...
This is as strange as dividing people on the basis of religion. We all are human beings and that should be more than enough to unite. Humans have implemented the science of integrating on molecules to atoms to neutrons and protons. In this journey they have implemented the same technology on themselves. They just keep on dividing on the basis of religion, skin color, cast and the list is endless. I think this is as deadly as AIDS with which we all are born. T he most dangerous thing about it is humans are not giving it a status of disease. They are learning to live with it. As we all know that a little ray of hope is enough to fire the forest. Maybe people who will visit this blog will think to change the thinking.
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