Why Indian reservation system is not a subsidy but a right!
The reservation system in India is not a subsidy or relief , it’s the rights of the oppressed people.
If someone says it aloud, or writes it somewhere in public forum, say on Facebook, what comes to our mind first?
The healthy curiosity to verify the truth behind the statements or contemplations like "who will be he? May be a Dalit caste" ?
It’s not surprising then, it’s reservation and Dalit politics, that comes to the minds of the modern Indians when there are thousand things that can primarily be associated with Dr.Ambedkar ranging from Law to Economics to Women Equality to Indian Constitution to social reforms.
If we still think Dalit(ness) is nothing but another lower caste rather than a 'poor quality of life by caste oppression' and if we believes it’s time to retweet '#SayNoToReservation’, then, time is more propitious than ever to validate its relevance in our society.
Reservation in Indian context has no connection with the economic status or it’s need not necessarily for the progression of economic backward people. It’s for socially backward people. The economic rewards associated with reservation are just complimentary.
In a country like India, satisfaction of economic aspirations is possible, even without reservation, for anyone and everyone from dominant caste to oppressed caste. To fight off the economic backwardness, we have lots of subsidy programs from education to PDS system.
Here we have a different problem- that an identity you can never shed off, whether you are white or black or grey or gloom. A social stigma associates with you, even your future generations, based on the sheer luck of birth - C-A-S-T-E.
Assessing one, whether rich or poor, based on his birth identity and placing him as superior or inferior in the social ladder is not only inhumane but highly intolerable psychologically.
The Reservation system is for those oppressed section of the population (about 39%) who were identified through their birth, and pushed to the bottom of social ladder by imposing dress code, occupation, food & food plate through mass psychological subjugation and physical exploitation from the immemorial period of time to till date, just to serve the elite class of society. If we get at least a glimpse of history about a section of people who had been born to die by working, had worn thin by working, and remained as the forgotten ballads of the 'culturally rich civilisation’, we wouldn’t be opposing the social reservation as fiercely as in the contemporary times. The glorious identities of the so called 'cultured civilisation' had actually been built above the ashes of their skelton and no noblest sculptures, ever carved, in this soil had not been tainted with their blood and sweat drops.
With a blind eye towards the history of 3000 years and mass oppression, even before the first generation benefits by the real fruits of social reservation, even before the caste identities have started to fade away, even before the social equality is being achieved, calling for the end of reservation of 70 years with a slogan of 'All caste have grown!' and disrespecting the beneficiaries of reservation in job or education with a daily-contempt in the name of equality is the cruel sarcasm of modern times.
It is the people who do not have real understanding about the structure of contemporary society, it is the people who lack the introduction to the architects of caste system and its omnipresence in all walks of life (be it government job, education, culture, sports, art) , it is the people who emanate from the new corporate 'Yo Yo' culture and speak the growth of country only in terms of GDP, are opposing the reservation system with a blind eye and deep historical amnesia.
Their reasoning has no more standard than statements likes of "A Dalit become president and an OBC become Prime minister and its time to revisit reservation system". or "All caste people have grown and i knew my neibhour from thatched house took housing loan to build his home"
Then, what stopped them from change their own caste to some lower caste (possible legally, through loop holes) and enjoy the benefits of reservation? The answer is nobody is willing to reduce their social status in exchange for economic status.
However, We can comprehend when the caste Backward people are joining the chorus of #SayNoToReservation and reluctant to support reservation directly, they are joining the common platform to shed their caste Identity. Nothing else!
Even if they pass through the merit system, the society view them as lower caste and the complete caste Identity loss is impossible in India, at least, for next 100 years given the current trends. The clutches of caste, as i said, is deep rooted and its depths are unfathomable. The psychological subjugation and bullying in the name of caste exist everywhere, even if we pretend as if it doesn’t exist.
To fight off this psychological oppression, to assert and say 'we are not behind anyone' ,at least, to themselves, they need social reservation in the daily routine of rejection and injustice. If the solution to end this menace is social classless-ness, it cannot be achieved without social participation and it is the only way to dilute the caste architecture of 3000 years.
It’s true that in an otherwise classless society, reservation is sheer discrimination of one group over others. But in a complex caste-ridden country like India and before positioning the caste-based reservation in to the weighing machine of equality, we need to define the correct weights and suitable measurement apparatus. After all, reservation is to address the injustice, oppression and inequality in any form, and thereby envisaging a social-classless society where everyone is being respected irrespective of their wealth, Job caste, religion, creed, race.
In India too, the reservation is ceased to exist one day. But when the society is yet to acquire the moral right and worthiness to compel for it, we can say, "we will see when (if) that happens", with an assertiveness and even with a little audacity ,to the people who are arrogantly opposing the social reservation.
Because equality should not lead to inequality of outcomes.
