Rajasthan Government surrenders to Gujars

Rajasthan Government surrenders to Gujars and agrees to give them 5% reservation.

 I have 2 comments to make about this :

(1) I am opposed to caste or communal reservations. In fact such reservations are doing great harm to the country by perpetuating casteism and casteist hatred. Politicians, however, benefit as they rely on such vote banks in the elections

 And how many SCs or OBCs benefit from such reservations ? Hardly .01%, and these too, of the 'creamy layer'. Most SCs and OBCs are still living in miserable conditions. The persons who are really benefited by such reservations are our crooked politicians

 What should be done is to give facilities and financial help to the poor of all castes and communities ( and there are many poor among the 'upper castes' too ).

Boys and girls of the 'upper castes' getting over 90% marks are often denied admission or jobs, while SCs and OBCs having 40% or even less get them. This naturally causes a lot of heart burning in the former. In fact it is 'reverse discrimination', which was declared unconstitutional, being violative of the equality provision, by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bakke's case in USA.

 I was told by a Principal of a Government Medical College in U.P. that he was pressurized by the Minister concerned to give pass marks to some SC students who repeatedly failed in their exams. What kind of doctors are we inflicting on society ? Will they heal the patients or harm them ? I am not saying that all SC doctors are incompetent, but those who pass their exams in Medical Colleges in this manner certainly are.

(2) I never go to vote, because my vote is meaningless. Most people in India vote in 'vote banks' on the basis of caste and religion like sheep and cattle. What value does my single vote have when we see most people in most states voting in droves and herds for their caste candidate or caste party ? Most people do not see the merit of a candidate, whether he is a good man or bad man, whether he is educated or not, etc but only the candidate's caste or religion. That is why a large section of our M.P.s and MLAs have criminal antecedents. Phoolan Devi who was alleged to have committed many murders, was elected an M.P. only because she was of a backward caste. Democracy was never meant to be run in this manner

 So thank you very much, you may have your democracy as much as you want, but please do not ask me to be a party to it

http://www.hindustantimes.com/jaipur/govt-agrees-to-introduce-a-bill-ensuring-5-reservation-outside-50-limit/article1-1352416.aspx

Reservations

This is a message I received on fb, and my reply ( I have deleted the name of the sender ):

May 20th, 6:22pm

Sir,

 I am a dalit. I understand you are very well aware of our history, social structure and the atrocities  society did to my community. My question is : are you against dalit reservation...if so, is there any assurance that this caste prejudiced society will not keep us downtrodden forever saying that they we are not fit enough for job/college admission ?

Markandey Katju

May 20th, 6:29pm

I am against reservations, but believe that dalits and poor people of all castes should be helped financially and given special facilities.

It is true that dalits ( like blacks in America ) have been historically oppressed and humiliated. But now the time has come when they must stop crying about this like babies, and stand up like real men, and prove to the bigoted 'upper castes'  and whites that dalits ( and blacks ) are intellectually their equals.  For doing this, dalits ( and blacks ) must win Noble Prizes in physics, chemistry and medicine, and similar prizes in mathematics, genetic engineering, and other intellectual fields. And for this they must study and work doubly hard, despite all their handicaps

Reservations in India

Originally reservations of seats in educational institutions and jobs in government and public sector services,etc were only about 22%, 20% for Scheduled Castes (SCs ) and 2% for Scheduled Tribes ( STs ).

In 1989 by one stroke of the pen the then Prime Minister V.P.Singh added another 27.5 % for OBCs ( Other Backward Castes e.g. Yadavs, Kurmis,etc ), by implementing the Mandal Commission Report, making a total of 49.5%.

This was challenged before the Supreme Court, but the Court upheld the reservations for OBCs in its decision in Indira Sawhney vs. Union of India, A.I.R.1993 S.C.477.

 I met Justice B.P.Jeevan Reddy, who had delivered the majority decision in Indira Sawhney's case, at a function at the National Law School, Bangalore after he had retired, and told him that his decision was not correct. He asked me why ?

 I explained to him that in U.P. and Bihar the position before Independence in 1947 was that there was a zamindari system. The zamindars ( landlords ) were mostly upper caste Hindus or Muslims, and their tenants were Yadavs, Kurmis, etc (the present OBCs ). At that time Yadavs, Kurmis, etc were really poor and backward, and almost all illiterate. After Independence, zamindari was abolished, and the former tenants ( Yadavs, Kurmis,etc ) became bhumidhars i.e. landholders. This enabled the Yadavs, Kurmis,etc to use the income from their landholdings to educate their children, and now Yadavs, Kurmis, etc are doctors, engineers, lawyers, High Court judges, etc. In other words, they are no longer backward.

 So when the Yadavs, Kurmis,etc were really backward ( that is, uptil about Independence ) and needed reservation or some other kind of help they were denied it, but when they are no longer backward they are being given reservation. In fact this was the very reason for which the only dalit member of the Mandal Commission, L.R.Naik, refused to sign the report.

 Justice Reddy replied to me that he had to rely on the report of experts, i.e. the Mandal Commission Report. I said that I was not blaming him, but only informing him that he was not given correct information.

 I have always been a strong opponent of the caste system, and believe it is a curse on the nation, and the sooner it is destroyed the better ( see my article on the Caste System on my blog justicekatju.blogspot.in ).

However, in my opinion caste based reservations, which have benefited only a miniscule number of such castes ( and that too the richer section, which did not need any help ), has done great damage to the rest, and ensured that they remain as wretched and poor as they were before.

In my opinion financial help and facilities should be given to poor people of all castes, There are poor people in all castes, not merely among SCs and OBCs, and they should all be helped.

Caste based reservations are like permanent crutches. Unless they are removed SCs and OBCs cannot walk erect. These categories should certainly be helped by giving them all facilities, but thereafter they must work hard and make it on their own merit. It is totally unjustified that open category boys and girls who get 90% marks are denied admission or jobs, while those getting 40% get them due to reservations.This is reverse discrimination, as pointed out by the U.S.Supreme Court in Bakke vs. California,438 U.S.265 (1978).

I spoke to the Principal of a Government Medical College in U.P. He told me that if an SC boy fails in a test, oral orders come from above to pass him, otherwise the Principal will get into trouble. In this way we produce many ( though not all ) incompetent SC doctors, without thinking of the risk to patients.

No doubt reservations have helped many politicians by creating vote banks for them, but it has made casteism more deeply entrenched in our society, and has further divided our people on caste basis at a time when we must be united to solve the country's massive problems. It is time to end caste based reservations

Reservations

In India reservations for scheduled castes and backward castes in educational institutions and in government jobs have acquired the character of a holy cow which no one dare challenge. In particular, no politician dare object to it for fear that this would destroy his political career.

Not being in politics, I can take a more detached and objective view. My view is that whatever may have been its utility earlier, today such reservations are doing great harm to the nation.

 I have in my blog on the caste system ( see justicekatju.blogspot.in ) expressed my strong opposition to the caste system, and I fully sympathise with the depressed castes who were treated as inferior and oppressed for centuries. I have said that the caste system is a curse on our nation, and the sooner it is destroyed the better.

However, in my opinion reservations, which have benefited only a miniscule number of such castes ( and that too the richer section, which did not need any help ), has done great damage to the rest, and ensured that they remain as wretched and poor as they were before.

 In my opinion financial help and facilities should be given to  poor people of all castes,  There are poor people in all castes, not merely among SCs and OBCs, and they should all be helped.

 Caste based reservations are like permanent crutches. Unless they are removed SCs and OBCs cannot walk erect. These categories should certainly be helped by giving them all facilitties, but thereafter they must work hard and make it on their own merit.

 I spoke to the Principal of a Government Medical College in U.P. He told me that if an SC boy fails in a test, oral orders come from above to pass him, otherwise the Principal will get into trouble. In this way we produce some ( not all ) incompetent SC doctors, without thinking of the risk to patients.

 No doubt reservations have helped many politicians by creating vote banks for them, but they have made casteism more deeply entrenched in our society, and have further divided our people at a time when we must be united to solve the country's massive problems