Just a tag?- reservation

Hey guys we are back with another post of the Not- So-Political Series. Today we will be presenting a post on reservations in India.

But before that, this post is a continuation of the Not-So-Political Series:

1. It could be someone or you
2. Experts advices..
3. Adding
4. Still here to Stay
5. Old crisis in the Neighbourhood
6. Woman a citizen and worker
7. Hearing more from the UN right now?
8. Climate change
9. Could you please wait one more second?
10. An Awakening, A Wake up Call
11. ‘Not-so- Political After all!’

Reservation is synonymous with ‘share’ that has been reserved for someone. In an office party or a function, certain seats are reserved for the people at higher posts. Which does make the office party  unjust for the employees who have to stand in a crowd and repeatedly saunter off the heat and sweat that settles around them.

Uh huh.

Even the Native Americans in the early century were forced to relocate due to this idea of reservations or reserving. ‘The Indian Removal Act of 1830 institutionalized the practice of forcing Native Americans off of their ancestral lands in order to make way for  European Americans settlement’ But it is in India that the term reservation took a new light. It became a positive discrimination creating reservations for socially and educationally backward people to ensure their participation and representation in the state.

Glimpse into Past

Historically India has been freed by the sacrifice and sufferings of many people, but freedom from the British did not mean freedom from conservative mindsets. Time and again the lower sections of the society suffered. However, their struggles were identified well before independence. The quota of reservations began on September 16,1921.  The first Justice Party then passed the Communal Government Order becoming the first body in India to legislate reservations. In 1932 British Prime-Minister Ramsay Macdonald presented the ‘Communal Award’ which made provisions for separate electorates for different castes and religions. Castes are subgroups within the Hindu religion and the system of castes in religion systematically abandoned and discriminated against people taking birth in one subgroup and created separate well off respectable subgroups within the society. A jump to 1950 and the reservations were only there for SC’s and ST’s. The setting up of Mandala Commission later led to formation of Other Backward Classes (OBC’s) and in 2019 for the first time, a reservation was announced on the basis of income that is EWS. 

Reservations- the solution?

But given this a more deeper thought and one would realise how a system created to give better provisions and remove discrimination based on castes create even more divisions amongst the people. The idea of creating equality overrules merit and creates inequality for the unreserved category in the society. Simply because these unreserved categories or groups, weren’t at the time of independence part of marginalized groups.  It is not just the only arguing factor, it derails all of us to recognize and see each other from the lens of caste not merit.

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 Poor people from “forward castes” would not get any social or economic advantage over rich people from backward castes.

When the whole world fingers India ‘s poor facilities, a broken system, and unchanging illiterate political parties they forget to include the reservation system of India in government which is outdated, not workable with the needs of the current Indian society and reaffirms more reforms to  benefit more castes,despite no reasoning about their social and economic condition today. 

And one must ask, is reservations the only way to ensure equality?

Conclusion

Deliberately, the government does not conduct caste census to tap into the economic and social status of various castes in India.Reservations in educational institutions and legislatures were made for the purpose of creating equality for historically marginalized groups in par with upper castes. Today it has ushered an era of deep inequality and isolated the unreserved category and put a hold on merit driven development in various sectors. All sectors of development have lulled to a stop because reservations have led to a major outflow of Indians into other countries. Elimination of discrimination should always be the priority, but one must ask how much discrimination exists today. Do we know it without a caste census? After 70 years of independence, things must have reformed mustn’t they?

~DuoDisseminators