Reverse Reservation- 4.5

Have you ever wondered about reservation to lower caste, and found it disturbing? Ever wondered about a country with no reservations? But what if I tell you, there is a country, with Reverse Reservation system, a system where upper caste rules the country.

Somalia

Welcome to Somalia, a country in Africa, with a vast coastline. It is also a failed state, where the government, the police and the law cannot function properly. Somalia follows something called 4.5 system, let us dive deeper into understanding what it is.

Somalia is also famous for one other thing, to find it out, read my blog.

About 4.5

"4.5" clan structure is a system, in which higher positions are split between the four main clans of Somalia. The remaining 0.5 share is given to a group of smaller clans sometimes called the Fifth Clan.

Simply put, the 4.5 system divides the country into 5 clans. The first four clans, constituting a small population, are the called the major clans and are given the majority of power. The last, fifth clan is given 0.5 of the power. Seats of the parliament, the president and even the prime minister of the country are all divided to favor the upper class.

The 4 Major Clan groups are the Darood, Dir, Hawiye, and Digil-Mirifle also known as Rahanweyn.

If you have been affected by reservations in our country, in a bad sense, you must have thought of a place without reservations. Somalia is not a haven of any sorts though, for people who despise reservations. This system has halted the progress of the country.

This political structure makes Somalia unable to function and has caused major turnovers in the country’s history. In 18 years, the government has changed 11 times. In the corruption perception index in 2016, Somalia topped the list. All because of the 4.5 System.

This 4.5 system came into Somalia after the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was forced to exile in 1991. Barre was often blamed by Somalians to favor his sub-clan, Maheran and discriminating against the rest, often with brute force. This caused major clans to revolt against him and once his reign ended, they occupied major positions in the parliament.

The only way Somalia can prosper is by removing the decimal .5 and making 4.5 a complete 5, giving people equal power. It is the end of the road one cannot see, but Somalia has to travel the road nevertheless.