By Anya Rohatgi
Every student has a point of view on reservations. Most of these opinions are influenced by those of teachers, parents, MUNs and debates. How do we choose which side of the argument to believe?
The reservation policy has a big impact on our future. It's imperative that we, as students, develop our own opinion on it. We need to know why our country needs reservations and how they affect our future. If we understand what we stand for, we can justify ourselves and even influence others.
Here is the first side of the argument. Positive discrimination means discriminating for the benefit of others. This leads to equal opportunities and helps maintain a peaceful and equal society. Our constituent assembly believed that society should be willing to give equal opportunities to everyone and give a ‘leg up’ to those who do not have them. Reservations help people realize their potential. Do you think your maid’s daughter will be able to teach at a school without reservations? Are her chances of getting to a good college same as yours?
The poor rule out high paying career options too early in their lives; a beggar’s son would count himself lucky to become a cleaner. A cleaner’s daughter, who went to government school, would count herself lucky to own a cleaning supply shop. Aside from obvious exceptions (our Prime Minister, for example) people from that walk of life would rule out political office as a career option before they even consider it. However, Rahul Gandhi strives to stand up for elections because he knows that as the son of a prominent politician he has a chance at office. So do the sons and daughters of the general political elite.
This is what positive discrimination is trying to eliminate.
Positive discrimination ensures that a person can aspire to lofty goals. It ensures that people are given a chance to know who they can be if they try.
It ensures that the government is there to help. How can a beggar have the same chance as we do at getting a good job or to study abroad? Reservations will give them a chance. Why would any country deny equal opportunities to citizens that do not have them just because they were born into a lower strata of society?
This side of the argument believes that reservations are a net positive for the country as more people get pulled out of poverty. A good education, which will increase our chances to get the job of our choice, is only accessible to rich people. IGCSE and IB students strive for an Ivy League Education. These applications require us to have extracurricular activities, straight A’s in every subject and references that prove that we are the best at everything. It needs us to be able to sing like a nightingale and row like a professional while acing tests.
Furthermore, we also have to be able pay the high fees at such universities. How will you pay for rowing and singing lessons and a tutor if your parents cannot afford it and you do not have the time to get a job if you are looking after your siblings, helping around the house and doing schoolwork? How will you have the qualities an Ivy League university needs you to have if you do not have the means to get them? Reservations help people who are bright but poor to have a chance at getting an education they deserve. It increases the possibilities for merit to thrive over money, making society that much more equal.
Now let’s move on to the other side of the argument. The more public opinion of reservations is quite the opposite. If I ask the person sitting next to me what they think of reservations, it is likely that they believe that it limits opportunities for the general population. They tell me that we will have to work twice as hard as a Dalit would to get into a good university because they have reservations on their side. Sometimes SC/ST’s pull themselves up and their family thrives from the reserved seats over generations, regardless of personal merit. This might not be true as the government limits reservations for the “Creamy layer”. It can be argued that reservations is not be the best decision for an equal society. Instead of using reservations to give people a more equal opportunity, our educational ministry should improve public school standards so that children from the lower strata of society get access to good education.
Reservations might make it harder for people like us (Heritans) to get into the best colleges. That makes us want to apply to colleges in foreign countries. Many of us settle there after our education, preventing the smartest people in the middle class from benefitting our country. This is called brain drain, which will only prevent our country from reaching its full potential. This side also does not believe that positive discrimination will really end discrimination and inequality. Think about it. Let’s say your maid’s daughter got into an IIT because of reservations. Wouldn’t she be discriminated even more by her classmates for getting in because of reservations and not because she was smart? Whatever she would do, she will always be discriminated against because her status as a minority would matter more than her merit. Wouldn’t that lead to more inequality - more alienation in a society where it is abundant anyway? Does this open doors, or close them? Is it right to put her in such a situation?
The first side of the argument will argue back saying, “this speaks more to the apathy of her classmates than anything else.” So the arguments continue. Which side of argument are you on? Think about it.
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