Let us understand who OBCs are. If I understand correctly, they are the group who were erstwhile rulers of India. Coming from TN, the Thevars, Vanniars all fall into this category. When thier kingdoms were destroyed by invaders, the only control they had was land. With land reforms they also lost control over this. The only way out for them to regain some of thier lost identity and prestige is through education, so the politics around education, which everyone recognizes as the only option to wealth, prosperity. Mr. Anbumani Ramadoss is a OBC (vanniar) from TN.
While affirmative action is important, it is also important to see sanity check the concept of blind reservation. It is well established that with nearly 30% of seats being vacant in the reserved categories in TN, that reservation is for the rich upper classes from the non-forward castes, simply to maintain power and control over society.
If reservation is to benefit the under-priviledged then it must first clearly specify the criteria for qualification -- therein lies the weakness in our affirmative action program. While people blindly quote the system in the US, one must read carefully what that system says, it is applied to only very small groups (very small ethnic minorites), socially and historically disavdantaged groups, coupled with economic criteria, such as household income and/or assets.
India must first define the criteria for qualification and enforce that strongly to insure soci
