C'est La Vie....

Think about this :
We are living in an India that has a GDP growth of over 8%, a Forex reserve surplus of well over $250 billion and which boasts of having one of the highest English speaking populations in the world. We are an IT powerhouse, a country that causes outsourcing blues in the US Senate and an economy that gives old hands China a run for their money.
But behind this entire hullabaloo, do we miss the true picture? Let us analyse.
India in reality is just a developing economy in a rudimentary stage. The economic disparity among the masses is huge and there are factors that ensure that it remains this way. Illiteracy and corruption are rampant. Every move undertaken here is politically motivated and the interests of the nation take a back seat whenever self interest is concerned.
The recent issue that has brought this unpleasant fact to the forefront yet again is the issue of caste-based reservations. As if 7.5% reservations for the STs and 15% for the SCs was not enough (do not ask me how the govt. actually defines these categories), the govt. has created another category called the OBCs and has sought to provide an additional 27% reservation for them in premier govt. institutes in the country including the esteemed IITs and IIMs. That makes the total reservations in these institutes a whooping 49.5%. Let us see what implications this move has for different sections of society.
Understandably, no political party has stood up against this move of the govt.because that would endanger its vote-bank and would also make it seem anti-poor. But the question to be asked is how many of these politicians actually think this move would benefit the so called unprivileged classes of the society (whether socially, economically or otherwise is anyone's guess)? This politically motivated move would, in my opinion, further demean the long oppressed 'lower classes'. Then who stands to gain from it? No one except the politicians for whom such acts of despair every now and then are their only modus-operandi in this age of competition. And do not forget the unscrupulous elements in society for whom a back-door entry to an esteemed institution is just a fake caste-certificate away. As Abraham Lincoln once said, "You cannot enrich the poor by impoverishing the rich." Similarly, does the govt. not realise they cannot develop the lower sections by putting the better sections at a disadvantage?
The following words or phrases fromt he Preamble to the Constitution stand out as very relevant to our discussion - EQUALITY OF STATUS AND OPPURTUNITY. Meaning that the State cannot discriminate between its citizens on the ground of caste, creed, language, sex or origin in providing oppurtunities. How well does the reservation policy agree with the Preamble to the Indian Constitution? For B.R.Ambedkar, the Father of the Indian Constitution, had himself siad that the reservations at the time of independence were the need of a dormant society, one that needed to give someextra 'concessions' to a long oppressed 'lower socety'.to rise, but that reservations should be done away with after a period of a few years because otherwise it would pose a hindrance to the development of the nation. These views of his were recently echoed in Parliament by his grandson Prakash Ambedkar who actually felt that the use of the word 'caste' should be banned from the country for its betterment. But is the govt. listening?
The IITs and IIMs are considered hallmarks of excellence worldwide. Just imagine what would happen to their reputation if half their campuses were inherited by not-so-competent people. not-so-competent because in the past most people admitted to the IITs and IIMs under some reserved category have been seen to be below par as far as academic performance is concerned. Such people are also almost routinely neglected by the pvt. sector companies taht come to these campuses for recruiyment. As a matter of fact, these reservations only set out to compromise the regime of intellectual meritocracy that these esteemed institutes have developed over a period of time.For much of India's success story in the global economy today can be attributed to these institutions. And a near 50% reservation in these institutions would spell a slowdown in the nascent Indian economy, which in the long run would hurt the very people it is supposed to protect. Another point to be considered here is what would happen to those meritorious students who miss these institutions narrowly. Would they not blame it on the quota sysytem that the govt. is following and would this not add to the unrest and frustration in the country? In short would it not go against the principles of a just society?
If the stste of affairs continue the way they are, with reservations being extended to almost every sector, we might soon have a caste-based reservation in the Indian Cricket team. Can you imagine that? If the govt. is so adamant on including the OBCs in the reservation circle, why do they not start with the Parliament, which at present does not have any reservation for the OBCs? But rather than playing these political gimmicks, can we not concentrate on improving the education facilities for the deprived few at the grassroots level and try to integrate them with the mainstream of society instead of giving them reservation where it would not matter to them?
As auch the hype surrounding the economic boom in India can be best described as "Much Ado About Nothing". This is because of the simple reason that the issues that matter are far more despairing than the glorious ones taht hog the limelight. And even more despairing is the fact that there is little that the common man has done or can do to improve the sorry stste of affairs that exists currently. So, at the end of it all, i'm still tempted to ask, "Is India really shining ?"