60 years of reservation

If one looks up the dictionary meaning of the word RESERVATION, chances are that you'll come up with 3 meanings:

1. Act of withholding or keeping back or setting apart.
   
2. Written record or promise of an arrangement by which a place is secured.
   
3. The act of making an exception or qualification.
   

In India, reservation is all 3 – It withholds and keeps back, is a written record of an arrangement and is an act of making an exception.

INDIA'S CASTE PROBEMS & ARTICLE 46

India is a country with a rigid caste based hierarchical structure where the highest castes enjoyed most of the benefits while the lower castes were looked down open.

A majority of the population was backward socially, economically and politically.

Therefore, on independence, Article 46 was framed which stated that the state should promote with special care the educational and economic interest of the weaker section of the people, also protecting them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.

It was thought to be the best mechanism to correct the mistakes of the past many hundred years.

Reservation today, is not just on the basis of caste, but looks into other factors such as:

1. Socio-economic condition.
   
2. Disability.
   
3. Displacement due to political instability or terror or calamity
   
4. Dependents of war heroes / Martyrs.
   
5. Children/Grandchildren of Freedom Fighters.
   
6. Reservations for women, to promote gender diversity.
   

Incidentally, while googling "Reservations in Public and Private Sector", most of the viewpoints one comes across seem very biased, focusing mainly on caste based reservations. What we seem to overlook, is the fact that there are many other sections which are important when we talk about reservation, some of which had just been mentioned.

As far as the figures for caste based reservation are concerned, the government states that it is 22.5% for SC/ST, and 27% for OBC.

Reservation in jobs on the basis of caste or community is not always correct, whether it is the public or private sector. In the words of Mr. Sam Pitroda, the Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC), "Reservation cannot be used as a blanket solution for all our problems." Mr. Pitroda, we know, comes from a very modest background.

Reservation in India has always been a controversial topic and as originally envisaged was meant to help the marginalized sections of the society by giving them an advantage, and was to be a limited phenomenon.

It has presently grown into a debate on the nature of Indian society and is often seen as a system that is biased against the meritorious in society.

This debate is compounded by the lack of proper census data on the position of various marginalized sections of the society.

It is interesting to note that most "Pro Job Reservations in Pvt. Sector" leads come from political parties – both in and out of power whose only interest is their own vote bank!

Job reservation, whether in private or public sector introduce additional market distortions and lead to suboptimal outcomes.

To be efficient, it is desirable that enterprises be allowed to hire the best available talent, regardless of the caste or class the latter may belong to, with selection being based only on the suitability of the candidate for the job based on his or her qualifications, experience or potential.

Indiscriminate reservation in private sector may lead to many problems, some of which may be:

1. Talented people not getting their due, leading to brain drain.
   
2. MNCs not entering the Indian market.
   
3. Existing companies halting their operations in the country and moving elsewhere.
   
4. Violence and discrimination on the basis of caste.
   

Therefore, a better alternative for improving the standards of the socially deprived is providing better access to education, generation of suitable employment opportunities and a social safety net.

The private sector can and does have an important role to play in supporting opportunities for the deprived groups, but not through job reservations.

The private sector can contribute through greater private-public partnership in providing education and other amenities.

It is important for the Government to concentrate on creating conditions that would allow the private sector to function in an efficient manner, and not create distortions in the name of correcting other discrepancies.

I feel it is high time the Govt. evaluates the result of the 60 years of its reservation policies, before taking any more decisions or vote bank based divisive policies.

HINDI CHINI BHAI BHAI

"Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai" was the catch phrase of the 1950s. This phrase, coined by the Government under Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru remained quite popular till the Indo China war of 1962.

It is interesting to note that in the late 1950s, it was Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru himself, who told his then envoy to China that in his opinion, China was "Arrogant, Deviant, Hypocritical and Highly Unreliable".

However, the two countries have come a long way from the time they viewed each other as enemies, after the 1962 war, as they seek to become leaders in the global economy with many joint business ventures. They also have to deal with many cobwebs of the past and suspicions of each others intentions.

It is relevant to note that both India and China are key players from Asia in the global market. The economic strengths of these 2 countries are considered by many as complementary. China is perceived to be strong in manufacturing and infrastructure, whereas India in services and IT. China is stronger in hardware and India in software. China is stronger with physical markets, while it is financial markets for India.

At the industrial level, China is our major competitor in sectors like hardware, electronics etc. The Small Scale Industries (SSI), which contributes 35-40 percent to total manufacturing in India suffers most because of Chinese goods in the Indian market. For example trade data reveals that almost 60 percent of Small Industrial Units in the Thane-Bhiwandi belt near Mumbai have closed down. Many others have stopped manufacturing their own goods and now import them from China. That being so, many Indian workers have lost their jobs. Thus the SSI's objective of providing employment to rural youth is defeated completely.

A point to note is that in the past one decade, Chinese labour has been trained in the skills of manufacturing electronic goods like semiconductors, telecom equipment, power equipment etc. This has helped them capture the Indian market. If not for certain roadblocks, the Indian labour can also meet these challenges.

Chinese manufacturing units produce goods on a large scale, and are using the Indian market merely to dump their products, killing the Indian units.

During Diwali Chinese crackers are sold, which reportedly contain the very harmful & toxic Sulphur. The Chinese crackers being cheaper, attracted many Indian shoppers. As a result, the Indian fireworks industry saw a decline in revenue.

Most of us sitting have at sometime done the same…that is bought a Chinese toy, light bulb, plug, rakhis, holi colours, or maybe the festival lights or a deco item!!

This is how even the home based or cottage industries of India have also been affected.    

However, I believe that the Indian tiger has what it takes to take on the might of the Chinese dragon. However, there are certain roadblocks which we must take care of first:

1. The biggest hurdle is bureaucracy and red tape, which poses as a major hindrance to industrial growth must change its way of working.
   
2. Secondly, the weak labour policies, due to which Indian labour is unable to compete with the Chinese in the skilled sector (Electronics, Hardware etc.)
   
3. Additionally, we must introduce stringent quality measures, to ensure that the "dumping" of substandard Chinese products does not take place.
   
4. The Indian govt must offer better rebates to home based and SSIs so that their products reach the consumers at a lower cost.
   

Where's it all going??

I know its been some time since my last post, and I can't even find any good excuses. Guess all I can say is that I'm lazy! Been an uneventful couple of months. Nothing happening. December was chockablock with exams, each for some institute or the other. And it now seems as if each one was more pointless than the other!!

The oh so familiar feeling of rejection has started crawling in. Yes, the one which took over me after my 12th class exams, where I messed up not just my boards, but the engineering entrance exams as well!! But considering the fact that the years that followed were probably the best of my life, I guess something totally awesome awaits me once this phase of my life is over.

Well, if you're wondering why there's a sudden change in my attitude from the first paragraph to the second, it's because the first part was written about 2 weeks ago, when I thought I'd hit rock bottom, the metaphorical abyss if you'd like to call it that. But now, I've just come back from a crazy ass vacation. A short one, but a great one nonetheless.

It's weird how you might plan things well in advance, but they just don't seem to work out the way you want them to. Take 2010 for example. Here I was, in December, planning a break to Bombay, Goa, Nasik, Pune, Hyderabad.... (phew!!) once my XAT got over, and then once it did, I just didn't feel like it. Partly because my dad had just had a surgery, and partly because I royally screwed up the XAT paper. I knew I was messing it up, and I just kept making it worse.

Well, forget XAT man.. XLRI can kiss my sweet behind!! The point that I'm really trying to make here is that even though I'd planned a loooong itinery, it never worked out. So I decided to do the next best thing. Took a really short break. And I mean reeallly short!! But it was amazing. Best 2 days I've had in quite some time. Managed to get some mountain air, got hold of "Old Monk"( which actually made me quite emotional, by the way!!) and found this really nice eatery with a jaw dropping view! A pretty cool way to spend 2 days, I must say!

Even though it was quite hectic, it really helped me clear my head and get rid of all the clutter inside. Managed to analyze a few things rationally rather than feeling shot down. So yeah, get ready world, I'm coming for ya!!
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P.S.: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Anket Mohanty, for being the true nature Baba and making this trip happen!! Thanks for showin me the light baby!!