Reservation policy must go

  Mr M.R. Sharma has aptly brought out the ill effects of the reservation policy in his article, "Policy of reservation" (Sept 28). The policy has benefited very few persons, and the majority of those for whom it was meant are still no better than what they were 50 years hence. A caste-based reservation policy only exposes the poor to exploitation at the hands of the politicians who consider them nothing more than their vote banks. It is, therefore, no wonder, as the writer has rightly said, that even the present government also seems to be inclined to continue this policy.

No doubt, the caste-based reservation policy has polarised the country on caste lines. The advent of parties like the BSP is a clear example. Even some sections of the religious minorities supposed to be casteless — like the Muslims, the Christians and be Sikhs — have started claiming themselves to the SCs/STs/OBCs and demand privileges accordingly. In other words, we, the wise people of free India, are undoing the social reforms brought about by our great men. I feel Mahatma Gandhi would have been a frustrated person in a free India like this.

BHAGWANT SINGH
Mohali

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Case for review: Well, whereas Mr Sharma’s well-argued article makes out a strong case for scrapping the controversial policy, the angry rejoinder (Oct 3) — generating more heat than light — simply helps make the debate acrimonious.

Conceived as an interim measure to help the disadvantaged sections of society, the policy proved self-perpetuating, thanks to the vested interest. The worst part of the story is that the benefits of the policy failed to percolate down to the targeted sections. The benefits, by and large, were siphoned off by the affluent few among the Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

The position viz-a-viz the “reserved seats” in Parliament and state assemblies for the Scheduled Castes/Tribes is simply deplorable. Incredibly enough, some constituencies — the Gagret assembly constituency of Himachal Pradesh, for example — continue to fall under the “reserved” category ever since they were carved out several decades ago. Indefinite reservation of a constituency, as the article rightly points out, is palpably unjust and unfair; it inflicts acute political injustice on the people belonging to other sections of society. The hapless people perforce reel under the accursed category of “second rate” citizens as, under the existing scheme of things, they find that the road to the legislature is blocked for them. What an unenviable plight and how discriminatory, indeed!

No doubt, the unfair policy must be reviewed in the light of the experience. The sooner, the better. Enough is enough, as they say.

TARA CHAND
Ambota (Una)

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Threatening signals: “Policy of reservations” has incisively portrayed the plight of the country which has been blindly following the caste-based reservation policy for the past 50 years.

How shameful it is that when the whole world is striving hard for perfection, superiority, brilliance and worthiness in all fields, we are doing injustice to millions of talented young persons by denying them their legitimate right to get admission to various educational institutions or jobs. The path chosen by us will lead us nowhere. The threatening signals should open the eyes of the administration and the judiciary.

SUNIL CHOPRA
Ludhiana

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Why discontinue it?: I went through the article of Mr M.R. Sharma on the reservation policy (Sept 28) and felt very sad. I am not in agreement with him in full when he tries to prove that the policy of reservations has been unhelpful in improving the lot of the disadvantaged people, and, therefore, it must be discontinued. This is not true. One can see improvement in the social status of the traditionally poor people living in our villages.

The writer has mentioned that inefficiency is being sacrificed because of this policy. Sir, in this regard I would like to ask: is inefficiency in most of the government offices due to the policy of reservations? The answer, obviously, is “no”. No one can deny the fact that much of the structure of the government has become corrupt, but the people of the lower castes, including the backward classes, are in no way responsible for it.

MANGAL SAIN
Sampla (Rohtak)

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In defence of merit: I fully agree with the views of the writer. Even the Father of the Nation was against the reservation policy and opposed it at one stage. Both he and Jawaharlal Nehru considered it as a great evil. It is the vested interests who have been getting it extended till today. I am sure these people are going to demand its continuation forever.

The reservation policy has created an atmosphere of acrimony, inefficiency and bitterness which is promoting casteism, parochialism and narrow-mindedness.

K. B. SHARMA
Ambala Cantt

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Biased criticism

The review of the variety programme “sabras” presented at Tagore Theatre showed a harsh attitude of critic Sonoo Singh (Sept. 26). The critic observed a minor technical flaw in the beginning of the performance as a blunder.

A variety programme always has a graph. It begins on a slow note and rises to its dizzy heights. Moreover, the critic didn’t witness the entire show. This is reflected in the wrong titles of the items she has mentioned. The name of the skit “Kilkari se cheekh tak” has been written as “kilkari ton cheekhan tak”, which gives an indication of its being a Punjabi skit whereas it was a Hindi one.

Similarly, the song “jab deep jale aana, jab sham dhale jaana” has been written as “jab shaam jale aana”. It is clear that she had not witnessed the whole performance.

The fact is that she left the hall after witnessing the first three items. Dances and mime shows were enjoyed a lot by the audience, but were totally ignored by the critic.

ASHOK C. BALI
Chandigarh