An excellent article! My congratulations to the author. I am also an OBC by cast but never had to get backdoor entry in college or while getting job. My advice to fellow OBCs - Don't become permanent beggers by accepting reservations. Demand for better schools and primary education to enable you to compete. Politicians are giving reservation since giving quality primary education is tougher and also it will not fetch them vote in next election!
Thank you Sir for opening up and bravely writing this column.Meghnad Saha also did it the same way ...without reservation but it is indeed sad that today india is lacking such honorable people but is getting filled with such empty vessels who do not want to work hard but just wait to get gifted on silver and golden platter.Could you please meet the ministers to show them your way?
Congrats Mr. Gopinathan. For speaking out the truth.
You & your thoughts are more 'forward' than most 'forward cast politicians'.
I am sure this despicable trend of creating vote banks through such harmful legislations, will get defeated by well meaning thinkers, whom the government considers to be 'backward'!
I am thoroughly impressed by this article. The idea of reservation for votes without true upliftment will in reality hurt the briliant people amongst the OBCs who forever will be viewed by others as being of inferior quality.
The only way of standing up in life is to fight your way through (remember what happened to indian goods and industry till 1990 when license raj prevailed). I am afraid the fate of these hapless OBC and SC ST students will end up being the same.
I am an engineer and still remember the SC ST students at REC Rourkela from Tamil Nadu who took over eight years to clear their engg and that too with grace marks and other dubious means. They came from very poor families who could barely afford the cost of education leave alone the cost of the extended eight year education
The point about these poeple not being able to fit in the campus is an extremely valid point and i am sure some of them felt like outcastes in the system.
I hope the senseless politicians see the virtues of standing up on your feet and competeing against the best for only that will help society improve and help the induvidual attain stature
I am thoroughly impressed by this article. The idea of reservation for votes without true upliftment will in reality hurt the briliant people amongst the OBCs who forever will be viewed by others as being of inferior quality.
The only way of standing up in life is to fight your way through (remember what happened to indian goods and industry till 1990 when license raj prevailed). I am afraid the fate of these hapless OBC and SC ST students will end up being the same.
I am an engineer and still remember the SC ST students at REC Rourkela from Tamil Nadu who took over eight years to clear their engg and that too with grace marks and other dubious means. They came from very poor families who could barely afford the cost of education leave alone the cost of the extended eight year education
The point about these poeple not being able to fit in the campus is an extremely valid point and i am sure some of them felt like outcastes in the system.
I hope the senseless politicians see the virtues of standing up on your feet and competeing against the best for only that will help society improve and help the induvidual attain stature
u r just a right example sir...i hope that others too become like you i think so we need politicians like you who can think justice 4 every1 u have set a great example............ good luck sir......!!!!!!!!!!
Your column is excellent. I strongly believe that india needs people like you in POLITICS. why dont you be a politician? I love to see my country's future in the hands of intellectual and challenging people like you, not in the hands of .......... Once your column is great.
First of all it needs to be understood why do we have these different classifications.Let us start with the recent case of introduction of computers in offices, banks,Rajya/Lok Sabha and now in the POST OFFICES.All those who have no computer education get terrorised by the very look of the computers and feel very threatened.The same thing happens in industries at the time of introduction of new machines and the workers go on strike.In our country,it has been the tradition that families follow professions which have come down to them from their forefathers and they are very comfortable with the known.Shopkeeper son knows all about running the shop even ifhe has not gone to any school.It is the most difficult thing to change profession even for the most highly educated.That exactly is the problem created by need to go for modern education so that the new generations can be trained to take on new professions for which jobs are going to be available in the times of rapidly changing technological environment.The children of school teachers generally dovery well because ofthe home atmosphere which is not the casewith the children of other professions.Hence,quotas are a must. K.K.Vaisoha
RE:What should OBCs DO
by Parul on Jun 09, 2006 08:47 PM Permalink
I want to say this to the 2 of you:
If you want reservations to continue, fine. But let's take this a step further: Are all people who are from SC/ ST/ OBC, necessarily poor? And are all people from so called forward castes, necessarily rich? Not so. There are many rich people in SC/ ST/ OBC castes and many poor in the Forward Castes. Hence, if you want reservations to continue, I want to add a clause to it - that is, I want reservations to continue - but ONLY FOR ALL THOSE WHO REALLY NEED IT - that is, the poor and the really needy among EVERY CASTE - SC/ ST/ OBC AND YES - FORWARD CASTE TOO.
Before you present your views on the reservation policy of Mr. Ambedkar, I think you should first analyse what those policies have done to this once great country. Don't you think that the reservation policies implemented back then have not been able to achieve what was expected of them. If you still complain that the so-called backward caste citizens are being discriminated against, I ask you all what benefits have they achieved from the policies that were implemented for them more than 50 years ago. It was such thoughtless quota systems that were implemented then, and might again be done so now. I fully agree with Prof. Gopinath's views. I urge the OBCs to please read his article with an open mindset and analyse it in the spirit in which he hopes you would. Unless the OBCs have no desire for respect from the privileged sections of the society, they shall not get it; rather, they don't deserve to get it.
RE:What should OBCs DO
by karan on Jun 09, 2006 06:00 PM Permalink
Hi, This is a complex issue. All people from the OBC community wont get oppurtunities like you to groom their skills. Many of the OBCs are economically backward and whose parents are illiterates. Reservation proposed by Mr Ambedkar was to lift socially and economically backward classes. I too agree that this reservation should not remain like for ever. But for some years this should remain. The government should make some amendments to the existing reservation system to allow the really deserved people to make use of it.
RE:What should OBCs DO
by Bimal on Jun 09, 2006 03:57 PM Permalink
"The children of school teachers generally dovery well because ofthe home atmosphere which is not the casewith the children of other professions.Hence,quotas are a must. "
Try to change this difference in atmosphere instead of asking the quota....
RE:What should OBCs DO
by Ramki on Jun 09, 2006 04:22 PM Permalink
Stupid argument. For how long you guys are going to repeat this same line? If you are not capable whether you have gone through reservation or not, you will be ignored by the society. "Survival of the fittest" is the rule of nature and you can't change that. I pity you.
RE:What should OBCs DO
by Himanshu on Jun 14, 2006 12:31 AM Permalink
Parul,
Why dont you ask for removing cast completly? why still want to give reservation keeping the cast, when you are clearly asking for need to need basis or on the basis of poverty? doesnt it show something in your attitude of wanting to feel superior?
