Mandal II - Why?

I still have very vivid memories of what happened during the VP government rule during the Mandal Commission crisis, though I never understood why that happened. I was still in school in my 6th or 7th standard and was too young to understand the consequences of such an act. First time I had heard young students burning themselves live and first time the word RESERVATION.

It was our mid semester exams and a group of students from local university came inside our school exam room and asked us to shout "Mandal commission murdabad". I don't know how come the school authorities allowed them (school authorities do had troubles managing the mob and we had even later police deployed at the compound) but our teachers also insisted to say one or two times so that the mob can then go back and we can safely pursue our exams.

And then for next 1-2 months it was holiday time, every one or two days we used to go and check if school would reopen. I was not an avid reader and did not quite understand what was it all about and with time I forgot about what all that happened.

Today after having gone through the entrance examination route, having an IIT degree, having spent around 3 years in Austria, and now trying to build a product company in India, I am seeing the same stories in newspapers again. Any my heart and my mind questions my soul - why - why again? Haven't we learn't any lessons from the past ?

I am not against doing quotas or reservation but to what extent ? In school I had friends from all castes and I myself never knew what SC/ST actually meant? Had we had the same quotas for getting admission in school, the fact that something like this exists would have created more hatredness amongst various communities.

IIT's have maintained a good standard in providing education irrespective of the quota system. We do had colleagues from the SC/ST category but at times they excelled and scored more marks and others appreciated it. Teachers to my knowledge had never been impartial in giving marks. And the IIT system that one has to clear degree maximum in 6 years or providing a preparatory 1 year course to weak SC/ST students has never affected the high education standards set up by them.

But moving from 25% to a reservation of 49.5%, is that justified even if IIT's maintain that standard of education? Students burn their midnight oil - studying at times 14-16 hours a day and their parents spend an equivalent amount of time guiding them. Visit any IIT- JEE examination center, the day IIT entrance exam is held, one can see the worries of the parents and their concern about their student's future career.

Are we as humans justified in making policies that puts reservations/quotas above excellence and that too of young minds who have yet to start a career and experience life?

The aim of reservation was to make weaker socities economically stronger, so where is the economic justification to reservation? If politicians want to do a 49.5% reservation, I would ask them to add a clause along - Annual income of all those people who want to file a reservation seat should have an annual income below 1 lakh or 2 lakh. Economically a SC/ST family earning 2 lakhs as annual income should be at par with a general category family earning the same amount. So opportunities for kids for both families should be same. But politicians won't do it, it's another issue , it's another day for them!