Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Reservation issue

Top industrialists have opposed widening reservation in IITs and IIMs and introducing it in the private sector, and have called for strengthening primary education instead. Much of the expenditure on education is channelled in such a way that only the `upper' caste candidates benefit. A small amount is diverted to primary education. There has been no hue and cry over this. But whenever a small step is taken to widen reservation for the oppressed, a lot of noise is made. The need of the hour is a change in the mindset of the `upper' caste people, particularly those in power.

R.R. Kubendran,
Chennai

Most of the IIM and IIT graduates go abroad on astronomical salaries and do nothing for their motherland. India needs good technologists/managers who can serve its industry. The OBCs form a majority of the population and no one can deny that they are not well represented in these institutions. They should be given reservation for 20 years after which the policy can be reviewed.

A. Anima,
Kochi, Kerala

I am opposed to reservation not because I do not want my fellow citizens to improve their lives but because of the way it has been implemented. Had it been implemented properly, it could have been phased out by now. But after 60 years, the percentage of quota is only going up. As for reservation in the private sector, it will turn away MNCs and put Indian companies at a disadvantage in a global economy. There is no denying that the underprivileged need a helping hand but it can be extended without compromising merit.

Pramada Kolichala,
Alpharetta, Georgia

It is time the Government phased out caste-based reservation and evolved a system of helping the poor. Let all the economically backward, meritorious aspirants get help without discrimination.

Divya Chandran,
New Delhi

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