Amend the Constitution for upholding reservation for SC/STs in promotion.

Reservation is a social remedy not a social malady

Read how the Upper-caste readers spat venomous words against social justice in The Hindu dated 25-08-2012

Reservation

Now that the government has announced that it will amend the Constitution, if necessary, to provide reservation for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in promotions, I wonder whether quota is the only means to uplift the backward sections. When I was in school, I knew nothing about the caste system. I believed that all are equal. But when I grew up and was trying to secure admission to a college, I found that a friend got admission in a very prestigious institution without much effort.

When I asked him how it became possible, he said “ reservation hai yaar, mujhe to aise hi mil jata hai ” (thanks to reservation, I get admissions easily). Only then did the reality of the caste system sink in.

Ajit Mishra,

Kanpur

The UPA government is ready to amend the Constitution to provide promotion quota to those who have got a government job on quota. Where is our country headed?

Vinal Gupta,

Raipur

Reservation in promotions is unjust. It is not only the general category but also efficiency that will suffer. Lawmakers should take decisions in the interest of all.

Faninder Shekhar,

Chandigarh

The SCs and the STs have been discriminated against for thousands of years. They must be helped so that they can be brought on a par with the rest of society. But they cannot be allowed to overtake because of their caste. By extending reservation to promotions, we will do a great disservice to the nation.

K.C. Ramudu,

Kurnool

In this time and age when technology is making rapid strides and merit should matter, we are still talking about reservation for certain sections as if what has been done for them over the decades is inadequate.

Prabhu Raj,

Chennai

My response

It’s ironic that a reader carrying a caste tag like Mishra talks about ‘casteless society,’ ‘reservation as a divisive factor’ etc., Let these readers first remove their caste tags from their names and also have a look at the number of castes in the matrimonial advertisements. I really wonder whether they are reading the newspapers regularly. Had they read, they would have had firsthand information on caste bias and atrocities against the Dalits. Anyway, whatever is said and done, the psyche of the elites won’t change. That doesn’t mean that I should stop speaking to them. I should speak, speak, and speak till the deaf ears listen to the voice of the voiceless.      

My Letter to The Hindu dated 27-08-2012

One can understand the anger of the readers who oppose reservation in promotions. They fear that it will upset the apple cart of the ‘upper’ castes. The policy of reservation in employment has, no doubt, played an important role in the progress of the SCs and the STs. It has provided them a means of livelihood and social prestige. It has certainly ensured the first step towards equality. But the National Commission for SC/ST data shows that the presence of SCs in Group A and B categories is poor. They have been facing discrimination for ages and measures such as quota in promotions are necessary for their progress. The promotion process is not free from caste bias. The risk can be neutralised only through reservation.