Some shocking Facts

Here I present some shockingly glaring facts which strengthen the case against reservation. These facts will show that:

-->There is no real need for reservation for OBCs

-->The existing reservation for SC/STs is not working and even after 50 years of its existence the reservations have not been able to achieve the motive behind them

-->If the govt goes ahead with the decision to increase seats it will severely hamper the quality of education and infrastructure available to the students. This is because the educational institutions simply do not have enough infrastructure and facilities and these restrictions cannot be overcome in a short time.

-->Even the first congress prime minister did not like the idea of reservation even though he was the one who initiated it.


***What is the proportion of OBCs in this country?
The report of the Mandal commission which came out many years back, states that it is 52%. But the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), a govt appointed body reported in a more recent study that OBCs form 32% of the population.

***The NSSO in its research in 1999 (which is the latest available research) stated that OBCs occupy 23.5% OF ALL UNIVERSITY SEATS

***A study done by the IITs themselves shows that 50 per cent of the IIT seats for the SCs and STs remain vacant and for the remaining 50 per cent, 25 per cent are the candidates, who even after six years fail to get their degrees.

***A report of the Parliamentary Committee on the welfare for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes says that looking at the Delhi University, between 1995 and 2000, just half the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Castes level and just one-third of the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Tribes level were filled. All the others went empty, unfilled.

***Sukhdev Thorat, the Chairman of the UGC. He points out that today, at higher education levels - that is all universities, IITs and IIMs - there is already a 1.2 lakh vacancy number. 40 per cent of these are in teaching staff, which the IIT faculty themselves point out that they have shortages of up to 30 per cent

***Jawaharlal Nehru: “On the 27th of June 1961 wrote to the Chief Ministers of the day as follows: I dislike any kind of reservations. If we go in for any kind of reservations on communal and caste basis, we will swamp the bright and able people and remain
second rate or third rate. The moment we encourage the second rate, we are lost. And then he adds pointedly: This way lies not only folly, but also disaster”

***In India only 16 per cent of the places in higher education are occupied by SCs and STs. The quota is 22.5 per cent, which means that only two-thirds of the
quota is occupied. One third is going waste.

Let me make it clear that I am not questioning the capability of students from the so called backward classes. I am a person who believes that all humans have the same inherent capability. My only point is that if there is to be any reservation, then that should be given to people who are really handicapped in a certain way in the society and are at some disadvantage. Basically it should be given to people who come from economically backward and oppressed sections f the society. Because these are people who are genuinely at a disadvantage when it comes to education. I wouldn’t really mind if a guy whose father is a railway porter and mother is a housewife, gets into an IIM even if he has a 75 percentile score and I don’t get through even with a 95 percentile score. But once a person gets the benefit of reservation then the same should not be given to his/her offspring.

Finally students in my institute have started discussing about this issue. We have decided to come out with a statement in support of the anti reservation protest. Students from the IIMs have also declared their solidarity with the protesting medicos. Students from DU and IIT Delhi have also joined in the protests. I, along with a few friends will hopefully be joining the protests in Azad Maidan this Sunday. Lets see how it goes…