Desicritics Category: Politics: Reservations

India's Post-Independence Fight For Freedom

Aditi Nadkarni — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:55:37 EST

Let me cut right to the chase here. This is unacceptable. Let me say it again for emphasis. It is not just bothersome or even upsetting. It is unacceptable. In the 21st century, in a democratic, secular nation, what has been going on, festering like a recurrent lesion, sprouting in every part of India, is just, simply unacceptable and will not do.

In case you are wondering who it is that's going to stand up to it: we are. We will not allow our freedom to be violated and we will make sure we protect the independence we fought long and hard to get the first time around. We have come a long way. We have seen the change and been the change. So who better than our pioneering, hot-blooded breed to stand up to the revolting and shockingly regressive acts of a few who feel threatened by progress.

They are just acting out of fear. It is obvious, isn't it? They attack in packs, afraid to be the lone ones incriminated. They target women and assault safely from behind the vague curtains of culture. But we all know that it isn't their culture that is in grave danger. Their position, their power and the extent of their bullying is in great peril. The places where they once ruled the roost are now turning into big, bustling cities making them feel like small, insignificant fish in a big sea.

Institutions and companies have transported the educated, smart crowd into the vacuum in which these bullies once enjoyed unfettered omnipotence. Now, in place of the void, there is a young, vivacious bunch of professionals, men and women who work hard and party hard and do so shoulder to shoulder. These people are harder to manipulate. This crowd has not just taken over, they threaten to pull into their growing ilk, the younger ones too. Business are bending over backwards to accommodate the needs of this new species and everything that once belonged to the bullies is now up for grabs. So they are retaliating. They are like petulant little children who couldn't have all that they demanded, hated sharing and so now are acting up. Therefore it is up to us, the educated class to teach these spoiled little brats to grow up and stop reacting so bizarrely to change. We must do it in a manner that is as different from theirs as is humanly possible.

So now comes the big question: how do we do it? How do we make our presence known? The answer may seem too simplistic because it sits smack in front of our faces. Think about it: we travel through these cities like one stream of blood, flowing steadily, keeping the city alive, stuffed in trains, piled into buses, walking along the teeming streets. Even partying and a trip to the movie theater is all the more fun with a group. We work in teams and are all the more effective for that. We discuss films, fashion, clothes, the economy, the job market and even our health problems. Yet this fear of walking out on the streets of a free country seems like a personal problem, like we were alone in that walk, like when a bully arrived with his little gang and punched us in the face, we would be all by ourselves and the world around us would just suddenly go blind. What we forget is that in this lonely fear too, we are still together. In this anger against the unfairness of the situation, we are together. We can if we decided, be together in the one resolute determination of not letting a handful of insecure men undo all that we have put into making our cities. So the answer is simple. Whatever it is we do, we do it together.

We celebrated Valentine's Day battling fear and took the threats in our stride defanging the demons with the pink disarming humor of our proud underwear. With the International Women's Day approaching, it is time to get serious. In our busy, routine lives we have underestimated the power of silent, non-violent protests. All it takes is for people to stand at a side-walk with banners to get word around. Some major struggles were won with this strategy and somewhere along the line we just shrugged and rolled our eyes at the quiet potential of public demonstrations and satyagrahas. Maybe we started taking our precious freedom for granted and needed to be reminded that we simply cannot. We have to earn it and when someone tries to snatch it, we fight for it.

It is important, I feel, in today's world to use media smartly. Instead of constantly criticizing media's inadequacies, we could use it as a tool. Find a niche and throw yourself into the swift current of this ever growing medium. Find a female leader in your area who is looking to make an arrival on the political scene. Do a little research. If one political party is making your life difficult for wearing jeans and celebrating Valentine's Day and there damn well must be another party that will fight for your votes, or can be persuaded to do so.

Find a celebrity who is willing to make your cause their own or give your movement their support and voice. Find a television network, a newspaper or a magazine that will run your story and provide your opinions with a voice. Find an artist who will put your thoughts into a slogan or a creative, riveting poster. Write to your city officials, your ministers and drown their offices in letters of your indignant protest. Just remember that one or two voices are easy to be ignored. If you are fuming over a coffee mug at your kitchen table, take that rage to a medium that will express it in the most noticeable manner possible.

Haven't we whined about a dysfunctional system for too long? When has this "system" ever worked? Maybe we just don't realize that we are one of the appendages of this faulty system. If the system is not working, we, as a group could propel in into motion. What will it take for us to get off our bums and make a placard with a strong message on it? This is not a women's liberation movement at all. Genders cannot be fighting alone in a battle such as this one. It could be your sister wearing jeans, coming home from work. It could be your teenage daughter walking back from school or college, the neighborhood aunty who brought you food when you were sick, a dear friend or your colleague. Most importantly, it is them today and it could be you next.

Let us review what the odds are of your being targeted next. You have a very high chance of being next on the hit-list if you answer 'Yes' for any of the following questions. Are you considered an "outsider" in Bangalore or a non-Maharashtrian in Maharashtra? Do you party? Do you meet up with friends at pubs? Do you wear jeans or clothing that may not be considered "Indian"? Do you eat pizza or meat? Do you drink alcoholic beverages? Does your religious persuasion always match that of the political party currently raging a mini-war in the nation you know of as secular? Do you send children to convent or English medium schools? Do you have a spouse of a different religious persuasion than yours? Do you have friends of the opposite sex? Are you married to the girl you are driving home from work or who you happen to be having dinner with? Are you non-conversant in Marathi in Mumbai or in Kannada in Bangalore? Are you a blogger or a journalist who expresses their opinions about politics, culture, media and religion? In spite of your qualifications and the six figure salary, do you have no clout with the local law enforcement or political activists? Before you fall asleep at night you should take a moment to wonder which one of these labels will be tagged onto your identity and turned into a vice or a disqualification; which one of these labels will plant nagging fear into your routine as you go about working to make a living, partying to rid your stress and walking on the streets of a country whose freedom you celebrate once a year on a public holiday. India did fight a freedom struggle years ago and it is high time that yet another quest for independence begins.

As a civilized society, we must remember that curbed freedom is a disease, an epidemic that does not spare a gender or a certain religion. It has uprooted saplings of modern, free thinking from Afghanistan and left it barren under the regime of the Taliban school of thought. This disease feeds on your fear and on the social inertia that has settled over our generation. An active, proud and independent public cannot let this inertia set in. Let it be known that this disease feeds most of all on the little disabling voice in your head which tells you that this is not your struggle, that it isn't your battle to fight. Sadly, this malady spreads, swallowing in its wake our hard-earned progress, until the feeble voice in your head is one day replaced with the grim realization that your own struggle has arrived. The assailant and his prejudice have changed form and you are the next prey. And there is nobody left to fight for you or with you.

Do Locals Hold 90% of The Jobs in Mumbai?

Chandra — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:30:03 EST

The TOI posted a story today that quotes a Maharashtra Govt "report" on the percentage of locals employed in Mumbai's SMEs. It that shows that more than 90% of the jobs in Mumbai SMEs are held by locals. This is another example of widespread mis-reporting that our media resorts to these days.

The data was quoted in the context of the MNS protest. Naturally, a headline figure of 90% implies that this story is contrary to what the MNS is fighting for. However, this is not true

a. The 90% refers to an overall universe of 1.1 million workers. However, the working population of Mumbai is more than 6 million (census 2001). Therefore the 90% refers to only one sixth of labour population. Nobody knows which one sixth they are referring to

b. It does not share with us data on the definition of locals. Does locals mean those who have spent more than 15 years in Mumbai (Mah Govt definition)? or does it mean 'Marathi Manoos' that the MNS are fighting for? I can conclude that the data refers to people who spent > 15 years in Mumbai

c. The story does not actually state the source of this data - "officials in the state industries department" is the same as "sources in the ATS". Why can't they provide us with the links or the precise source- Eg: Mr Khanolkar from the Department of Industries?

In other words, the 90% figure means nothing. It is not comprehensive and is not related to the issue that the MNS has raised. Pointless story pretending to dispute the larger issue.

I noticed a second story in the TOI that I was intriguing to the say the least. The TOI reports

'The anti-terrorism squad investigating the recent Malegaon bomb blasts has recorded the statement of arrested Lt-Col Shrikant

Purohit's colleague Capt Nitin Joshi who reportedly said that Purohit had told him about pilfering RDX'

The Economic Times reports

'Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad’s (ATS) investigation into Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit’s involvement in terror activities got a boost on

Tuesday when an instructor (Captain Nitin Joshi) at Nashik’s Bhonsala Military Training School recorded a statement with the police that the the Malegoan blast suspect had confided in him about possessing RDX'

The TOI suggests that Captain Nitin Joshi worked with Lt Col Purohit in the Army while the ET suggests that Captain Joshi worked with the Bhonsala Military Training school. Weird that the same newspaper reports things differently.

Here is an interesting article that reports how the NASA GISS reported that October was the hottest month ever and then rescinded the same after bloggers pointed out to data collection errors in Russia.

Be careful of what you read these days. Validation is critical as everybody is driven by their own agenda

Barack Obama in the Indian Context

Suresh Naig — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:52:24 EST

One more article on Barack Obama, and certainly not once more on Barack Obama and U.S. elections. On the day when Barack Obama won the elections, I was in Colombo and all the Newspapers there screamed, “America creates history with its first Black President”, as if blacks were substandard and unworthy for consideration for the highest post.

Similar things happened when K.R. Narayanan became the president of India, when everyone shouted that India had established its non-partisan credentials, by electing a Dalit president. The crescendo was so much, it would have made KRN shrink at the revile, for people conveniently relegated his achievements as an IFS, a former diplomat, ambassador of India in China etc, and recognised only by his Dalit identity for the coveted post. The corollary of it was, had he not been a Dalit, he would not have been elected for the highest post. The cynical extrapolation of it is, “it is more important to be a Dalit than an IFS” or a diplomat” (is Natwar Singh listening?).

Every now and then we hear people commending Dr.Ambedkar – for introducing reservations for Dalits, as the panacea to contain the evils of caste system. Little we realise that Ambedkar rose to eminence, without the system of reservation for Dalits. Reservation is an opportunity, in the absence of efforts, negates its very purpose and turns the whole exercise futile. That’s why we see today, more people are fighting for backwardness, so as to claim the undue opportunity.

I would define luck as the meeting point of efforts and opportunity. We also know the adage that, opportunity knocks only once. Since we do not know when opportunity would knock, we keep on putting efforts, which is in our control. If one knows there is abundant opportunity available out there, it would turn the person lazy and effortless. Fortunate for Obama, that he was not caught on the vicious circle of reservation. Obama, Ambedkar, KRN or any person who puts in efforts do not require reservations. (is Bihari listening?)

Similarly when Dr. Zakir Hussain was elected as the president of India, people praised Indian polity for its secular credentials. I recall the comments of Dr. Zakir Hussain to a scribe, when the pointed out the cacophony of Indian intellectual press, in this context. With a twinkle in his eyes he said, ‘true secularism lies when you don’t remember and recall a person’s religion’. How true and pertinent in present day context.

I would further add to his statement, “true secularism lies when people do not recall and remember a person’s religion, neither for achievements nor for crimes”.

Expansion of IIMs - Credibility At Stake

Moid — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:16:51 EDT

Of late, we have been hearing a lot about government's vote-bank politics entering into the education domain as well... an area which was hitherto left to the scholarly and the academia to sort out.

First came the shocker about the IIT cut-offs which are bound to ensure that an applicant with absolutely no sense of physics would still get into IITs with some remarkable performance in Math and Chemistry... while his classmate who was in the top rung of the class with a balanced and excellent performance in all 3 subjects will still not make it to IIT.

This news was only a precursor of things to come... everyone knew that the other schools of repute would not remain untouched... and so here came the R C Bhargava Committee Report on the IIMs... I understand that there are some very pertinent issues that have been addressed in this report which is always a good thing but then... the mediocre polity also has reared its ugly head in there. The vote bank politics again in play... increasing the number of IIMs and increasing the student intake @ IIMs.

However, being an IIM graduate myself and having experienced the educational system prevalent in the IIMs, I have serious reservations against the recommendation of expanding IIMs... personally, I've myself seen the value eroding through the years with increase in intake. One must understand that IIMs draw their credibility partly from the exclusivity... an eliteness that they bring to the corporate world.

And this "value" that the global economy sees in IIM graduates can erode very easily through this expansion for the following reasons:
1. Skewing up of the faculty-student ratio... we have to accept the fact that we cannot find additional faculty (qualified and experienced) to manage the increase in student intake... so even if we end up with more participants in the program, there wouldn't be any good faculty to teach
2. The lower you go in the merit list to pick candidates for admission, the lower goes the quality of the program participants. And I have seen this happening with the recent batches... the same as what is happening to IITs right now
3. One bad fish can dirty the entire pond... so is the risk that IIM graduates carry. One IIM graduate not being able to deliver adequate value to the industry would tantamount to IIM graduates in general losing their credibility... and that is what happens when lower caliber applicants also make it to the business school... this will be the death-knell... the value eroded would never be reclaimable.

I think a better alternative would be to create new management institutions (non-IIMs) on the lines of NITs in the under-grad domain but keep the IIMs distinctive and untouched. Plus the second issue of governance... should again be kept autonomous for the IIMs... I think that is one of the key factors that have kept the IIMs to maintain the leadership in the industry.

Can Only Whites be Racist?

Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:31:34 EDT

I talked about how Indians in South Africa can be seen to be racist. But here is something curious and not much has been discussed about this aspect. I quote some worrying findings. (More factoids from here and here)

Some 29 per cent of people surveyed think public sector workers discriminate against them in favour of other ethnic groups.
And many believe they have been passed over for promotion or a job because of the colour of their skin.
Seven per cent of white people questioned thought they had failed to win a promotion because of their race, up from three per cent in 2003.
And the study reveals that ethnic groups living in the UK feel stronger ties to the country than native whites.
Researchers found that whites also felt less able that other ethnic groups to influence decisions affecting the country or their local area. And many believe racial prejudice is on the rise, in stark contrast with other races.
The survey found that 29 per cent of white people expect to be treated worse than other groups by at least eight of the public services including police, prisons, courts, Crown Prosecution Service and local housing organisations.
One in six white Britons feel only a slight sense of belonging to the nation. Whites also now feel less able than other ethnic groups to influence decisions affecting their local area and the country as a whole.
Forty one per cent of black African, 36 per cent of Bangladeshi and 35 per cent of Indian people feel they have a say in decisions affecting Britain, compared to 19 per cent of white people.
The proportion of members of ethnic minority groups who expected to face discrimination from one of the eight bodies fell from 38 per cent in 2001 to 34 per cent. But it remains higher than for white people in many categories, particularly the police.
Whites identified council housing departments or housing associations as the most likely to discriminate against them.
Overall, 84 per cent of people felt they belonged strongly to the country, including 45 per cent who said they belonged very strongly. However, nine out of ten Pakistani and Indian people said they felt a strong sense of belonging, compared to 84 per cent of whites.

Each and every statistic is worrying. If the criterion was replaced, for example, white with black or brown, the headlines would be screaming. But in this case they are not. Curiously, this story was buried and not much discussion about it has happened. But I think that is wrong. The white population of this country is saying something to the grand political parties and senior intelligentsia and they are not listening. Read the comments on this site to see what some people are saying.

See the commonality? In the South African case, the Indian intelligentsia in charge of the schools wanted more cohesion and integration, but the parents do not want to integrate. However, nobody is screaming about racism to them. But here whites are complaining about reverse discrimination and again nobody is talking about it.

People are not talking about this and they are not considering why this is the case. Why are immigrants being given privileges that local citizens are not receiving ? And even if that is not the actual case, people do think so and perceive it as such. So there is a communications problem. Mind you, knowing the spectacular idiots who are in the government, I very much doubt that they will be able to do anything about this. Despite that silly minister Hazel Blears commissioning this survey, I very much doubt anything will come out of it. I mean, it is not even on her own site.

I find this deeply worrying. Perhaps more transparency in hiring, housing allocation and other aspects will help remove this deep seated fear amongst the " whites" of the country. The fear exists, it needs to be addressed quickly.

Technorati Tags: Affirmative Action,Racism,United Kingdom

Caste-based Reservations Demands Increasing

DeeptiA — Sat, 31 May 2008 12:11:11 EDT

To say that caste-based reservations demands are increasing is probably a major under-statement, given the events so far over the 2 separate agitations that have taken place in 2007 and 2008. Crores worth of public property have been destroyed, the railways have suffered massives losses, both because of destruction of railways lines and equipment and due to large scale cancellation of trains. Tourism in the region will take a knock (especially with the bombs of just a few weeks back in Jaipur) with advisories already having been issued and coverage of these protests in the international media; and normal people have been put to massive hardships. But, this is not the end. As long as the politics of reservation continues to be patronized by various Governments, they will face such issues. For example, who would have believed that the North East could see such a problem:

SHILLONG: As protests of the Gujjars, who are demanding ST status, spread to fresh areas, the community living in the North-East will also take up the cudgels and launch an agitation in support of the cause.
Representatives of the community from the entire region met in Guwahati on Friday to chalk out a programme to join the protests.

There is no good solution. If the Government bows down to these demands and grants them the ST status (it makes no logic to give the Gujjar community an ST tag, the only reason is that the Jats have been granted OBC, and hence the Gujjar community sees the ST as a way to get more benefit of reservations, and hence these pressure tactics of violence). If they do get such benefits, then other communities will also want to avail of similar benefits, and this is a very slippery slope to go down. Already, both the Central and Rajasthan government have come under fire for letting the agitations causing so much disturbance.

The courts also know this, and from time to time, they have asked the Governments about whether there is plan to take empowered communities out of the net so that only the truly backward get such benefits, but any political party will find it suicidal to remove reservations for any benefit. And yet, parties continue on this policy, well knowing that any benefit is only transient, and other parties will also try to garner the same benefit. As an example of Governments trying to provide reservations even when courts have ruled against this, here is an example of the Tamil Nadu Government providing reservations on the basis of religion:

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday issued orders to "ensure" that Muslims and Christians got 3.5% reservation each in government services to overcome some 'practical problems' faced by the two communities in availing the benefit.

The Andhra Pradesh Government attempts in this regard have been periodically rejected by courts, yet here is another State Government trying the same.

Gujjar Protests Paralyze Delhi

DeeptiA — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:01:04 EDT

Today, the 29th of May, 2008, was a day that a lot of people would have had much to worry about. Delhi and the whole NCR region has seen the effect of the Gujjar agitation when it last took place in 2007, and at that time, the lathi-wielding and stone throwing members of the mob forced the major intersections of South and East Delhi to come to a standstill - traffic at major points such as the Noida Link road, Badarpur, Loni, etc was totally jammed, and demonstrators did pretty much what they liked. At that time, what was depicted in the media was that the police were essentially not taking any action and letting them burn buses and other public property.

Keeping this in mind, there was a lot of worry and concern about what the day would turn out like. The whole of Delhi and NCR region sees a lot of cross traffic with people moving on a daily basis from Delhi and other regions such as Faridabad / Gurgaon going to offices in Noida on a regular basis, and similar movement. For such people, the news of this Gujjar-called bandh was a time for decision. Would you want to try this movement on this particular day and risk getting caught in violence, or stuck in a non-moving traffic jam for long periods of time. As a result, there were a large number of companies that actually declared a holiday today. Even where I worked, most people from places that were more than 10 Km away did not come, in many cases because their family persuaded them not to go.

The Government knows that this kind of demonstration will happen, and the long jams, violence and other such situations that afflict the regular commuters (as well as people who earn their living on a daily basis) are a reflection of the failure of Governance. Sample these reports from an article on Delhi shutting down:

Gujjars on Thursday had blocked road and rail traffic in the Capital and adjoining areas as part of their 'NCR rasta roko' agitation even as over 35,000 policemen fanned out across the National Capital Region to prevent any untoward incident. Earlier, all main highways leading to the Capital were blocked. There were also reports of stone pelting and effigies burning. At places the agitators broke windshields of cars and buses.

Protesters turned away vehicles from Noida and Gurgaon, home to scores of outsourcing and computer software firms. Many offices were also closed. Security personnel were deployed in strength in Gujjar strongholds like Mehrauli, Ghazipur, Patparganj, Badarpur, Khanpur, Ayanagar, Chilla village and Rampur, anticipating a strong showing by the community during the agitation.

As reports by the media during the course of the day indicate, traffic was blocked for many hours and opened only around noon. During this time, people had to take side roads, or wait in long jams. And there is no point talking about the many hours lost, or the roadside vendors or people who are dependent on getting to their places of work for their daily earnings (who would travel by public transport, something that was directly attacked). This is something that the Government is directly responsible for, but one believes that the Government was just ensuring that the violence and disturbance does not cross a particular level. The other reaction by the Government was to cancel a number of trains running near Jaipur, Agra, and to the NCR region.

The Great Reservations Debate

Abhishek — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:47:13 EDT

The absurdity of the Indian judicial system knows no bounds. The recent judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has left every right thinking individual shell shocked. None of the political outfits or the parties, whether aligned to left or right is going to come out in favor of the people who are affected the most.

Historically, affirmative action has not worked wherever it has been sought to be introduced. Society cannot move on idealism; it needs practical approach towards issues that face us. Affirmative action, by and large leads to policy of reverse discrimination, where the system rewards the “less competent” over the more competent person. This definition, unfortunately, remains subjective leading to acrimonious debates, most of them featured on these columns or elsewhere. Merit is indeed an abstract notion; there are no objective criteria to measure it. This remains one of the forceful arguments for those who propose reservations.

In the garb of promotion of equality, the Government has chosen to promote “race equality”. Why should the successive generations suffer on account of perceived injustices to the present “class” of people? It only serves to hurt the “mainstream” people for something that they do not condone or support.

Higher education is a holy cow. Successive governments, regardless of ideologies, have chosen to dabble with their brand of ideology and influence the course of historians to suit it to their own partisan interests. Those knowledgeable in the statecraft would attribute this to ruling of the masses by an iron sleight of hand. It pervades every nook and corner of our existence. The concept of democracy is notional. Every aspect of our lives is measured, filtered and assessed via a fine tooth comb and information for us to be assimilated is rehashed. It justifies this as the majority of the population is unable to take decisions on their own. This, my country, is a nation of dimwits who are unable to stand out and vote for a meaningful change.

If the Constitution guarantees equal rights, this decision should not be equated by taking my rights to satisfy someone else. Since, it would repress someone who is capable for a particular job; it would make this nation a laggard.
Why higher education alone? Why not the entire political spectrum? We have a resounding silence there. There has been no word in reserving the seats for the ones who have been dispossessed in the political arena. The entire political spectrum is dominated by upper castes unless you wish to include the “born again Christians”, the emasculated Prime Minister and his consort very appropriately called as, “The Madam”.

The arguments for affirmative action have included the fact that a more diversified representation from the various ethnic minorities would lead to a “vibrant workforce” and that it indicates the “strength of democracy”. Most of these concepts have been brought into focus from the discarded “western notions” about democracy in general. We cannot separate the chaff from the grain and ironically may well echo what the British had commented long time back about our inability to govern ourselves. Unfortunately, the overriding message to the future generation is that this nation does not value your academic achievements or the number of hours you put in to burn the proverbial midnight oil. The sole factor is the “accidental birth” in an upper caste household and one is doomed forever.

One of the sore examples is that of Tamil Nadu where the reservations work to the disadvantage of “upper castes”. The crushing reservation has only helped to move them out of their communities to search for greener pastures elsewhere. Primarily, the “lower castes” vote en bloc leading to generation of a “vote bank” because in lieu of their votes, the systematic rot is allowed to be in place further depressing any hope of an institutional change.

Another factor is that caste notions are constantly hammered in the consciousness of those who otherwise would not have thought about the same. I cannot but help thinking about the person who would enter the hallowed portals of AIIMS based on his caste rather than clearing the tough entrance exam which tests the potential of above average students. It could hold true for any other institute. All his life, the person getting entry based on Government largesse would be marked and force him to get ghettoized with his “caste kinsmen” without really getting himself integrated in the mainstream as hoped for. These caste divisions would only serve to create constant frictions between the various groups; all the while allowing the powers that be to fish in troubled waters. Such constant friction only negates the idealism which isn’t warranted in the first place.

Although the judgment speaks of keeping out the creamy layer from the purview of reservation, only the very naïve would believe that this creamy layer would not act to keep their interests in the family. A huge amount of tax is being funneled to pay for fancy schemes which remain good on paper; pathetic in implementation at the ground level. It would be difficult to extrapolate individual cases on generalized scenario but even the creamy layer among the backward castes is reaping a rich harvest of Government largesse. We may never be able to force the system to change and the situation is going to worsen over the period of time. It has been prompted by evil machinations of an old dying crock who cannot muster enough votes for himself in a local municipal election and unfortunately, has been thrust in mainstream for his controversial proposals.

When it would concern the people who vote for a radical change, it remains to be seen as to how their wards or significant others secure or latch on to national resources like leeches. They suck the intellectual discourse dry and for some reason have inexhaustible resources to argue needlessly without any reason. They form the majority of the media and the leftist cabal.

I foresee a rough time ahead for the aspirants to higher education. Those who can afford, even in these times of killing inflation, would escape this system to institutes where merit alone is the criterion.

There are no easy solutions to these problems. Although, the easiest is not make the waters too murky by setting up caste based reservations. We already have enough troubles on our hands. This is a killing blow to the bright and deserving children from either side of the divide where they are thrust into unknown future. Neither there are any quick fix solutions to problems that have stemmed from very shaky foundations.

Indian Supreme Court Upholds OBC Reservation

Chandra — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:29:27 EDT

Finally the good news has come.

The Supreme Court has upheld reservations for OBCs in leading institutes. Very clearly, the court has agreed with the contention that the existing law does not violate the tenets of the constitution.

Additionally, the Supreme Court has clarified that the Government(s) will have to find ways to eliminate the creamy layer from the gambit of reservations.

This is excellent news. It takes into account one component of the massive protests seen in 2006. I call upon liberal folks to accept this announcement and move on.

There are major concerns on how to expand the number of seats, particularly in medical colleges where talented general quota candidates are unable to pursue PG courses.

The Govt will also have to find ways to encourage teaching capacity across the nation. This is a great opportunity to improve the quality of education infrastructure. This is another proud day for my great nation. Jai Hind!

The Marathi Manoos versus the Thackeray Brand

Aditi Nadkarni — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:22:53 EST

On reading Anuradha Goyal's recent article on Desicritics titled Dear Marathi Manoos Thackerays I thought it might be timely to dissociate the identity of the long suffering "Marathi Manoos" from the Thackerays.

Of all the available discussions in the blogosphere, the one I found most interesting about the current Thackeray circus in media was a report by CNN-IBN where Raj Thackeray's mother-in-law claims support for Raj's crusade in the same breath as voicing her concern for Raj Thackeray's son's impending SSC exams. It is ironic that while Raj Thackeray seems to be rallying for the "Marathi Manoos", the "Marathi Manoos" is probably at home doing what Raj Thackeray should be: supporting his son during the notoriously hectic SSCs.

Barring one reported death in Maharashtra and a few customary automobile-burning incidents, the actual city of Mumbai where all Shiv Sena associated drama usually unfolds, was uncharacteristically calm. I am both proud and impressed. The unemployed youth who usually carried out the Sena's antics seem to be more suitably employed at the city's call centers or at swanky malls in upper class neighbourhoods. The country as a whole is moving forward and as part of the nation's commercial capital, these young people probably do not want to be left behind executing the schemes of jingoists who just happen to have political power.

While one Thackeray is engaging in a ridiculous anti-North Indian rhetoric, the other, very senior Thackeray in a laughable attempt at re-terrorizing the city, is now kicking a fit over Valentines' day celebrations. People will exchange Hallmark and Archie's cards, a few may throw a party to rejuvenate schedules lost in the city's bustle and who knows some lovestruck souls may even buy one of those red heart shaped balloons sold at traffic lights. And this, says Mr.Thackeray, will affect our Hindu culture. If we are to believe Mr. Thackeray, our ancient civilization is under serious threat from none other than St. Valentine. Now if only his idea of protest was to not buy the heart shaped balloon, we could have all heaved a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, what Mr.Thackeray does not realize is that the violent rampages he sends his lads out on every once a while are probably more of a threat to the Hindu preachings of non-violence than heart shaped balloons and Hallmark cards will ever be.

It is time to notice however that in recent years the sometimes anti-Muslim, sometimes anti-non-Maharashtrian rhetoric propagated by the Sena is starting to fall on deaf ears and evoking a lukewarm response from a city that now wants to move ahead. People who had once supported the Sena's "Marathi Manoos Jaaga Ho" ("Wake Up Marathi Man") rallies now have sheepishly realized that the Sena has no idea who the Marathi Man really is. Very simply, there is a divide of class and caste under the supposed "Marathi Manus" label itself. Raj Thackeray had once brought with his dynamic youth following, hopes of a new, evolved political party in Maharashtra and instead he too has jumped on the extremist bandwagon. He doesn't realize that the "Marathi Manoos" himself no longer has a singular identity separate from that of his beloved city. This real "Marathi Manoos" does not want skirmishes over Valentine's day and Chath Pooja by North Indians. Like any other conscientious, law abiding Indian, he too wants a decent education for his children and a steady occupation to fund his retirement. In fact, the violence that Thackerays' irresponsible words unleash into the city, robs this weary Marathi Manoos of his peace and does nothing for him or for any other of the city's residents.

The truth is that while the Shiv Sena is trying to rouse the Marathis, the actual Marathi Manoos (Marathi Man) lost sleep a while ago. He first woke up to the Sena's absurd and obsessive attempts at changing the names of roads, suburbs and airports to their original, pre-British, Marathi titles. In his alert wakefulness he also noticed that the Sena somehow forgot to change the very anglicized, "Thackeray" to "Thakray". Since then, the "Marathi Manoos" with the rest of Mumbai residents has been sitting wide-awake, at the edge of his seat, on tenterhooks watching in dismay the Sena's regressive demonstrations, hearing with disbelief Balasaheb's loud claims of idolizing Hitler and suffering in silence the damning economic consequences of senseless city bandhs and violent morchas. These very Thackerays who attack harmless Valentine's Day parties to oppose "Western" influences had once organized a Michael Jackson concert in Bombay that halted traffic and city functioning for days! Apparently Jacko's thrusting pelvis apparently wasn't as threatening to "Hinduism" as heart shaped balloons and Valentine's Day parties.

I would like to add that the real power in Mumbai has and always will rest with the city's youth. Whenever the students have come out and made their voices heard, the law enforcement and the city officials have found it necessary to take a stand. If the Mumbaikers/Bombayites do not want the embarassment of having their city's name be associated with a regressive, fascist school of thought in the 21st century then it is time for the college crowd to do more than just gather around and pass time at local Cafe Coffee Days. If anything, the Marathi Manoos should now stand up only to resist the Sena's claims of being his self-proclaimed representative.

For years, we, the residents of Mumbai have lived like a family with people from all over the nation. The cultural aptitude and tolerance bestowed by the rich experience of having lived in this indiscriminate potpourri come handy today for my life as an immigrant in a foreign country. So to me, when the Thackerays question this indomitable spirit of the city, it only goes to show that their world is really very small - as is the extent of their power.