Free essay on Reservation – A Boon to the Nation

The reservation policy in India has been vehemently criticized throughout the country. There was such a revolt against it in Gujarat that educational institutions remained closed for a year. All students were promoted to the next class without examinations. It resulted in permanent deterioration in the standard of education in that state. Such movements have also created prolonged bickering between the people of scheduled castes and tribes and others.

The gulf has resulted in a large number of murders in the Hindi belt, specially in Bihar. It is the people belonging to the Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes who suffer the most.

The people belonging to the so called upper castes complain that although they are highly educated they do not get a job while people having lesser rank in education secure jobs.

Apparently the complaint seems correct. But statistics show that a large number of jobs reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are filled by others. It has not been possible to fine candidates having the required qualifications from among these castes an; tribes. They can ill afford to have degrees in the latest specialized subjects.

Most of them become clerks and peons. When they are promoted to upper ranks it is grudged. So to some extent the grudge is substantial. Some people having less experience become senior to the incumbents of the unreserved categories. But it is equally true that a large number of people reasoning to unreserved categories are promoted or get better jobs as they nave pulls at different levels.

Political strings can make a Dhawan even a member of Rajya Sabha when a Supreme Court Judge had passed strictures against him. There are more examples of such irregularities in the political and administrative fields which giving preference to the members of reserved categories. No one voices these. The voice is always raised against the weak and the down trodden.

People belonging to Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes are mostly poor and uneducated. Most of them have to do menial jobs or have to work as landless laborers and bonded laborers. Then and then only they can make two ends meet. The educational institutions in their areas, specially – rural areas are just on papers. They have been tormented, neglected and exploited since 711 A.D. when foreigners started attacking the country and changing the social fabric.

The last thirteen centuries have seen their gradual degradation. The caste system was totally reduced to its present birth equation gradually during the Muslim and European attacks on the country. These people, reduced to the lower rungs, were gradually reduced to the position of serfs.

The economically better people started keeping them away from the main social stream. They were and even now are untouchables while dogs and cats are touchable. This historical background has rather been horrible.

Reservation is its inevitable repercussion. It is not an injustice to anyone but a justice to those who have been discarded by the society in the most abominable way.

Indian society is basically Hindu society. The culture of the country is essentially Hindu culture. If Hindu society breaks off Indian culture too would gradually vanish. It is culture that sustains a society. It may look strange, but is true, that reservation has kept the society from depleting in lumbers.

The Scheduled caste and Scheduled tribes were given these facilities by the Constituent Assembly when it framed the constitution. A clause was added that those who change their religion would be deprived of all the facilities.

Nevertheless a large number of tribal’s have been converted into Christianity. The Catholic organizations aid and educate them. The tribal’s have fallen a prey to their material aid. But the efforts to convert Scheduled castes into other religions have failed.

A large number of people in Tamil Nadu who were converted to Muslim faith with the backing of petrodollars lost all the facilities including reservation in jobs. Ultimately they came back to the Hindu society. Thus reservation has proved a boon in keeping the strength of the nation intact.

It has been experienced by many social workers that it is very difficult to induce the uneducated to get education. The reservation policy has proved an incentive to the poor scheduled caste people. They feel that if they are educated they have an opportunity to get a job.

Thus they can be free from the clutches of the exploiters. Moreover they would be in a position to leave the dirty work that the society has unjustly given them. They would be a part of the main stream of Hindu society that they wish to be. Education would bring a number of changes among them. It would strengthen democratic trends and would control population. It would strengthen the economic programmes in the long run. When some arc not ‘more equal’ but all are ‘equally equal’ there would be no need of reservation.