Affirmative Action, Anyone?

The Gujjars have compelled the Rajasthan government to give them 5% reservation in all government jobs, educational institutions etc., taking the total amount of reservation in Rajasthan to an astonishing 68%.

Welcome to the progressive, resurgent India.

The India that’s held to ransom by various ethnic & religious minorities & fundamentalists that believe violence & destruction of public property are the fastest & sure-shot way to getting what they want.

And why not? It has worked for them in the past & continues to do so even now.

So while the educated lot toils hard in private enterprises trying to pull the country forward, the pro-reservation junta drags it ten steps behind.

Has any country that does not believe in meritocracy been able to flourish? Is it fair for those who genuinely do well in their academics & work hard at their jobs that they have to pay the price for belonging to the “non-marginalized” section of society?

My point is – there has to be some good coming out of every step that the government takes. Reservation might give the beneficiaries access to education & jobs, but look at the state of government-run enterprises today! They’re languishing. Government employees are apathetic & indifferent to the needs of the citizens that they are meant to serve. They couldn’t care less about their job responsibilities.

Strangely, the government that’s willing to give every “Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribe” their place under the sun refuses to give women a 33% reservation in the Parliament. Why so? Because women haven’t gone on a rampage yet? They haven’t broken glass panes & set fire to buses? They haven’t marched up to the capital & laid siege on the city? Is that what’s required to get one’s voice heard in this country? If it is, then it’s a SAD state we’re in. We shouldn’t be talking about inching forward as a nation, when we are so earnestly leaping backwards.