Hundreds of medical students were arrested for protesting against the proposed reservation quotas in institutes of higher learning. Media described it as the second Mandal agitation. During the first Mandal agitation these students were starting school in class one. They belong to a different time, a different century. Life has changed. Our politicians haven’t. Like the Bourbons of France they remember nothing, they forget nothing.
Despite subsequent denials, V.P. Singh announced Mandal quotas because of political motives. It ruined his career. His party was wiped out in the ensuing polls. He never returned to power. Later, when he teamed up with Laloo Yadav on the Mandal plank for the UP assembly polls, Mulayam Singh and Kanshi Ram trounced them. Now Congress leaders announce Mandal quotas for higher education during assembly polls. This will harm society. A heated debate will follow and sharpen social divisions without helping the needy. At present, vacancies for many reserved jobs remain unfilled because of insufficient qualified applicants.
In the early years of BSP, before Mayawati emerged, I interacted regularly with Kanshi Ram. I was heading a small party. Our party differentiated between Dalits and OBCs. The Dalits are untouchables. The OBCs are not. Therefore, Dalits alone deserved caste-based reservation. But Kanshi Ram opposed reservations even for Dalits. He wanted power. He wanted Dalits to rule India. He believed that alone would end all discrimination. S.S. Gill—who, as secretary to that commission, authored the Mandal Report—in anarticle rubbished politicians for focusing on reservations and ignoring other proposals. He should have known that politicians want only to consolidate votebanks.
Long before Mandal, Karpoori Thakur, a Lohia follower, introduced scientific measures to help backward sections. As Bihar CM, he introduced reservations that distinguished land-owning from landless OBCs.
The truth is that Dalits and OBCs comprise the vast majority. And the vast majority is poor and deprived. Affirmative action based on economic and social criteria would uplift the needy without reference to divisive caste. To create a level playing field, the first requirement is to set up neighbourhood primary schools throughout the nation. Rich and poor kids would study together. That would bring down class barriers. Increased scholarships could take care of advanced education. Uplifting deprived sections will not only bring social justice. It will bring national prosperity. India could augment its most precious resource: human talent.
Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com
