How naive can you be? The affirmative action for Blacks in US is not because they are minorities but because they are backward. Otherwise the jews would be entitled to it. And what about affirmative action for women, are they minorities too? And talking about Myths do take note of the Myth athat affirmative action at earler stages is more effecrtive. Isnt that what the upper castes are trying to say? That gice them reservation in primary school.
RE:Naive logic
by Badhri on May 01, 2006 06:50 PM Permalink
Definition of "Affirmative Action",WordNet,Princeton University suggests
n:a policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities;
So,the is right about affirmative action.I think the author's referrence to reservation for Brahmins was derisive. There is no analysis in the column.Appalling.I second that authors opinion on Arjun singh.In India reservation for OBCs is implemented for votes.Otherwise, as a friend of mine suggested,after so many years of implementation,there would have been an independent review of whether the whole reservation has really paid off in improving the life of the disadvantaged. Myth5:It is far from a myth in India. Most of the SCs and STs dont go past primary,let alone into college.School education should be a fundamental right.College education should be based on performance. Special incentive to merit student from backward community can be given. Myth6:Same Not a myth here.Just look at the Indian government employees and beurocrates and one will know. Bottomline:Reservation in India must include economic condition of the beneficiary.But it wont happen
RE:Naive logic
by raj on Apr 29, 2006 01:14 AM Permalink
utkal - i agree with you. in fact i was also going to say about jews in us being in minority. seriously i was. good to see some responses from this side. by the way do people know that in pakistan the religious minorities have reservation in parliment etc and in medical colleges. i have not heard of any of these socalled 'merit people' brethren fore-going or giving up medical seats since it was not merit. i mean let us face it and put ourselves out of misery. it is not about merit, it is about our interests. and that is fine and understandable. so let us get things straight about ourselves.
Mr Raghavan's article is at best illogical, and at worst deliberately obfuscatory in nature. He equates the very fact of being in a numerical minority (which the Brahmins may be) with a need for affirmative action or reservation. Affirmative action seeks to redress the disadvantages suffered by a group; these disadvantages may be secondary to their minority status, but may also be due to any number of other factors. The key point is that this is a disadvantaged group. Brahmins in India are not by any stretch of the imagination a particularly disadvantaged lot. Look at any field, be it politics, civil service, professional groups-Brahmins still retain key positions. Of course, there are many poor Brahmins, just as there are (many more) poor SC/STs etc. Using Mr Raghavan's logic, maybe the government should consider reservations/affirmative action for billionaires, given that they are one of the smallest minorities in our country.
RE:Did they actually publish this nonsense?
by raj on Apr 29, 2006 01:08 AM Permalink
touche on the billionaire point. ya i also thought did they actually publish this non sense. r4j : you really brought out good points and saved me some typing too. if it is all about merit then we would have heard some murmers when the capitation fee colleges were started.
Quotas is just not the way for the upliftment. Besides the OBC has many formerly ruling classes included in the list for political gains and they dont deserve reservation.
hi, why this hell is going on???people should be placed according to merit list not by quota.when reservations for OBC were done 20-25 years back ,no one objected because it was needed.When most of OBC has come up than in 21st century why OBC people are given reservations.Now there would not be any difference between the intelligent one & the non-intelligent one.I think now quota to be given to "general caste".In all colleges rarely 5-10 seats are there for general caste because all seats have gone QUOTA ONES.Now the general caste is suffering.
RE:This is too much
by Vivek Arya on May 15, 2006 01:12 AM Permalink
You have made an excellent point. May this point reaches to those 2 vote hungry politicians.
I am deeply hurt by the lathicharge by the police on medical students, I humbly request to the agitators why not to bycott the medical treatment to all the policemen and politicans who has not opposed the reservation policy especially V.P. Singh and Arjun singh who can not survive even for a single day without medication. as well as ask them to get treated by a reserved catagory Doctors to show their solidarity with them.
India is fast emergicing an economical super power and more and more becoming a caste-less society. Is it therefore not ironical that the government is propogating reservation? About 2-3 decades back, it was cool to do an inter-caste/inter-faith marriage. Because of all these debates on castes and religion, how many in their right mind would go for it these days? Many seminars were held and porposals submitted to the state that no caste or religion is asked for, at least, in government job applications. Ironically, the same state is now baying for reservation, and more sadly even in private sector. If reservation is the only tool to uplift the downtrodden, why not take 'the economic condition' as the real yardstick? And if reservation is must for the SC/ST, OBC, etc. because they form the majority of the masses, then the first thing to do is to reserve the all top protocol positions of the government like President, Prime Minister, all Cabinet rank holders, MPs, Chief Justice, Military Chief, Governors, Chief Minister, Minister, etc. for them. It would be a good idea to reserve the post of president of all political parties for the SC/ST and OBC? After all they are the majority
