The debate on reservation is a very emotional one with a clear divide between the pro and anti reservation lobby. It has become an issue of Us vs Them. In debating reservations let us answer 2 questions (1) Should there be reservation in education (2) If yes, at what level.
There can be no two views on the issue that every Indian is entitled to the same quality of education irrespective of caste. If to ensure this, reservation is necessary then so be it.
Ideally reservation should be provided during school education. The govt should increase the allocation for primary education manyfold. The corporates will willingly contribute to this provided there is transperancy and accountability. The socially weaker sections will initially be at a disadvantage but they should be provided special coaching free of cost to bring them on par with others. Once this is done, they will compete on equal terms with others.
At the same time the number of IITs and IIMs should be increased so thet more number of seats are available. To cite an example, in Maharashtra there was a common admission procedure for Engineering till a few years back. About 50% of seats were reserved for SC/ST/OBCs. Nobody used to complain about this because the number of seats available were more than the number of applicants.
So the ideal solution would be to increase the seats in Engineering and Medicine and standardise the quality of education so that there is no clamour for seats in elite institutions.
