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The
country needs killers for the Caste Dragon. It
will be really dangerous for the nation, if
steps such as reservations perpetuate. Do we
wish to be known as Indian or by our caste? But
who will do that rather who can do it?
Naturally, politicians will not do it rather
they will like to perpetuate it, as it gives
them a bigger leverage to divide the society to
get vote that is an essential feature of
democracy.
Our religious leaders could have taken the lead.
But alas! There is no Pope in Hindu religion,
who is feared or followed. Neither there are
some Vivekanand or Dayanand Sarswati today who
can hit at the caste system hard enough to kill
it.
The best part of Hindu religion is its
flexibility. You can have a customised religion
for yourself. The religious leaders today are
not ready to change themselves, neither they
wish to get integrated in one body that can be
respected by all Hindus. Those who matter in
Hindu leadership are so much divided and are
having so much of vested interests that they
can’t be expected to declare a war against caste
system. Unfortunately, the poorer and backward
states of North India are facing the worst
menace of caste system.
However, there is a community that can do it and
must do it. It is the student community of
India. There are already some pockets of
uprisings against caste-based reservations in
the country. Many students from the SC/ST/ and
OBC communities are also coming out and joining
the mainstream of the student community to
protest against reservation policy of the
government. This must increase in intensity and
must spread through out the country. Caste can’t
be the differentiation factor. Rather anyone
with self-respect will not like to get the
benefits of reservation and move ahead of his
friends based on parentage.
Reservation is divisive and so antinational.
With education spreading so fast, will the
student community not like to have freedom to
select their life partner without a bias of the
parentage? Will they like to be limited to their
caste? If not, there will be some questions.
What will be the caste of the couple? Will the
stronger partner- physically or mentally,
prevail over the other to decide the caste of
their offspring? Will there be peace in the
household with dragon of caste present in their
minds? Caste system must die. It is man-made and
can be changed by a progressive new generation.
Please start with a death nail on reservation to
start the process. Can’t there be more general
secretaries as the one of IIT-Roorkee’s student
affairs Council? He recently said, “I am an OBC
but I refuse to let my social status overshadow
my abilities. I take pride in having made it to
IIT through my own talent?”
Student leadership must not loose this
opportunity to serve the nation in big way. It
has been the student community that has brought
about many social changes. Let them show their
nationalism and kill the caste forever.
However, it will not be easy. The student
community must come out to help their friends
who are weak and need help education-wise
through in-house coaching or in some other way.
Teachers must go also give more attention to
those weak students without any consideration.
Let some more Avayanad grow in the country. The
student community must do every thing to remove
all the barriers. If the opportunities are not
differentiated, there will be no grumbling too.
Only student community can get the country rid
of legislated reservations by winning over the
fellow students belonging to reserved
communities. If the country does not improve its
excellence in knowledge with merit, our
customers that will expect only the best of the
services at competitive price will discard us.
There are many countries in developing block
that are eager to take advantage of this
weakness of the Indian society and take our
businesses away. Can the government convince
those customers or the countries of those
customers to accept poorer quality of services,
as we are to accommodate reservation at the cost
of merit?
Can the students of all communities and caste
take some bold steps against reservation and
save the nation’s biggest cause?
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Comments: |
I
fully agree with you that caste
system should be given up. It is
heartening to note that the average
Indian, particularly the educated
ones, no longer care for caste
taboo. While traveling in a bus or
train, they don't bother to know the
caste of the fellow passengers.
Similarly they enjoy meals and
drinks in a restaurant without ever
bothering about the caste of the
server or the cook. But
unfortunately, he becomes conscious
of his castes when he comes to
college or university. He knows that
the boy sitting beside him belongs
to a backward caste and that he is
entitled to special privileges in
admission and employment. From here
the division starts. It hurts
general category students when they
discover that their their
classmates, who are rich and
affluent but belong to backward
classes, are entitled to some
special privileges in matters of
admission and employment whereas a
poor general category student has no
such option. Now the general
category students become conscious
of their castes and start to look
down upon the backward caste
students. The hostility increases
and the feeling of superior and
inferior castes starts. - Sanjay
Dubey - Apr. 21, 2006
Ancient India had Varna System not
the caste system. Varna means
"Characteristics/skill/quality/color".
As the Varna System eroded in its
spirit, it became cast system of
present. Fortunately once again we
no longer believe in the bad
practice of "Caste System" rather we
believe in the Varna System which is
natural, and it will always be there
as nature never creates living being
of the same qualities. Every body is
free to develop her/his skills (Varna)
and get the employment appropriate
for her/his skills (Varna). If a
person with Engineering Varna wants
to adapt Military Varna that is
possible today.
In Ancient India, there existed
mainly four types of work.
1) Brahman (those who had more
inclination towards Adhyatm
(spiritual science), spent their
time in understanding Braham 2)
Chhatriya (those who had more
inclination towards war and
authority, took part in defending
and organizing the Rajya (kingdom)
and Praja (public) and sometimes
expanding their Rajya 3) Vaishya
(those who had more inclination
towards business activities were
involved business activities, and 4)
Shudra (those who had no particular
interest, they helped others in
their activities.
One could change one's work (varna).
For example once when kings (chhatriya)
became without control, then Rishi
Parushram, gave up his basic
inclination of Adhyatm and started
punishing kings. Thus he switched
his job from "understanding Braham"
to "managing the society for its
good". And he adopted Chhatriya
Dharma.
In the beginning people were
attributed to the one of the four
categories based on their merits.
But later as the system degraded
that attribution method transformed
to by birth. This change was natural
though but not good in the long run.
Later on two bad changes happened-
1) the people could not change their
work (varna). Society started
accepting people in those works by
birth. 2) People started comparing
their work (varna). Instead of
excelling in their aptitude, they
got lost in the pride of their
caste.
These days again, people have
attained their basic, true Varna
Vayastha. People have started doing
work of their aptitude. They are
excelling in their aptitude. They
are choosing different works
(professions) like, science,
business, management, medical,
engineering, public service,
philosophy, art...
Reservation in Education
But due to above mentioned bad
changes, a huge gap has been created
and the only way to bring about the
leveling of castes is to appropriate
the culture, the education which is
the key strength will elevate the
differences.
The solution is not by bringing down
the higher, but by raising the lower
up to the level of the higher.
This can be done by increasing the
number of IITs and IIMs to 10 times
so that people of present India do
not need reservation of any kind. In
50 years, the IITs have barely
doubled. For a country that aspires
to grow at the pace we want, it’s
choking the opportunities for our
young people. Every segment of the
society should have access to higher
education... we have to create space
for them even if it pinches the
purse of an institution.
This can also be done by paving way
for lower section to educational
institutes and then train them to
certain level such that they become
equal technically and financially.
Merit may suffer due to second
approach but the huge gap which is
there will be covered. But thinking
that quality of these institutes
will degrade is not true. Harvard
should have come down by now with
affirmation action providing place
for blacks and ethnic minorities for
many years. Statistics say - of the
700 students, barely five persons
fail, of which some may be Dalits.
Some may take longer to finish the
course, they are allowed to do so.
There is no reason why professionals
should come from only the affluent
section of the society. Ideally, the
government should push a good
primary and secondary education for
all, followed by affirmative action
such as reservation.
The government's plan could mean the
end of a dream for many of us -- of
obtaining a degree from India's
premier educational institutions.
For many others, it could also be
the beginning of a dream -- an
opportunity to join the hallowed
ranks composed of IIT-IIM graduates.
We make a mistake when we talk in
either/or dimensions. The country
needs all of it. The question that
one should be asking is not why
reservations, but how do we go about
building a just and equitable
society. - Narayan Prasad - Apr.
22, 2006 |
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