Reservation

Reservation, popularly known as 'Aarakshan' means reserving a fraction of seats for the people of a particular caste, mainly in government jobs, various legislatures and in enrollment for higher studies.

The system of reservation was given by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a jurist and a social reformer, who was given the responsibility for the designing of the Constitution of India after independence. He wanted equal rights to be given to every citizen so he introduced the concept of reservation for Schedule Caste (SC), Schedule Tribe (ST) and other backward classes so that their fundamental rights do not get hampered by the upper castes of the country. At that time, his proposal for reservations got the majority support in parliament.

But the picture has totally changed now. Most of the consequences of reservation were not known that time. It must have remained out of everyone's mind that reservations can cause much violence, riots and chaos in the country. Nobody must have thought that reservation would only promote the caste system and suppress the talents.

Countless examples are being witnessed which clearly confirm that reservation system is now proving to be a bane for the capable talents and progress of the country. Many less capable candidates qualify the competitive exams and the real talent of the more capable candidates remain unexpressed. In every exam, the cut off marks for SC/ST categories are kept much lower than those for the general category. This is not only unfair to the general candidates but also a waste and negligence of talent.

I am not against reservation because I belong to the general category but I am against it because I really believe in equality on the basis of caste, creed and religion. We can even find so many people belonging to SC/ST castes and then too, against reservation because they are aware of the true essence of equality. However, it is also true that to a much larger extent, the favor and opposition of reservation depends on who gets its benefits and who doesn't. The people who get greater advantages because of this are mostly bound to favor it, despite that reservations never allow them to become self capable and skillful. It gets them away from hard work. On the other hand, the people who are at a great loss of opportunities due to reservation are always bound to oppose it.

Yes reservation must be there, but the criteria, on the basis of which it is provided in India must be changed. Reservation must not be given on the basis of caste or creed. The people below poverty line who do not get any opportunities or even primary studies, should be provided with better facilities and reservation. The laws of reservation need to be critically amended with time so that its benefits go only to the actual needy mass and the talents of much capable citizens are not overshadowed.