Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Quota issue

This refers to the report "Arjun rejects relook at quota issue" (May 15). Arjun Singh is discharging his constitutional duty by resisting the protest against reservation for OBCs in medical and higher education. The raucous opposition is a camouflaged resentment against social justice. In an uneven society like India, where SCs, STs and OBCs have been discriminated against for centuries in the name of caste, how can one talk about merit-based reservation? Reservation on the basis of economic condition is illogical because social suppression is not the same as economic inequality.

T. Marx,
Karaikal, Pondicherry

* * *

Reservation has helped to bridge the gap between the oppressed and the privileged to some extent. But for it, the backward would have remained backward all these years. It has worked very well in the southern States; there is no reason why it will not in Central institutions of higher learning. India can do away with reservation once there is 100 per cent literacy and there is no population below the poverty line.

M. Gowri Shankar,
Coimbatore

* * *

Those leading the no-reservation camp are medical students and their fraternity. If one looks at private educational institutions, the medical field is the one in which they have made more inroads than any other field. What governs admissions in these institutions is well known. But all those who are now on the streets saying they fear dilution of standards never raised their voice against the mushrooming of such private colleges. Further, what is merit? Marks scored in a qualifying examination or the ability to carry on a task? All of us know many doctors who are academically sound but not professionally so. The bottom line is while merit should not be discarded, it alone cannot be the basis.

D. Darwin Albert Raj,
Kancheepuram, T.N.

* * *

Everyone knows that admissions to private engineering and medical colleges are not necessarily merit-based. But no one seems to mind. By reservation, the Government does not mean to give admissions to those who are inefficient, and certainly the extent of compromise on merit cannot be as much as it is in the management quota seats of private colleges.

S. Sajish,
Palakkad, Kerala

* * *

Is the elusive concept of merit just about high marks in the qualifying and entrance examinations? Does not everyone concede that it is possible to score high marks without being adequately knowledgeable or skilled? Can the no-reservation camp substantiate the claim that those who have availed themselves of reservation have performed poorly in their professions? Do we have information on the proportion of open category students fleeing to the West vis-à-vis quota students? These issues are important in the debate on reservation.

Rama Krishnan,
Shillong

* * *

One ironically overlooked factor in the din is about 80 per cent of successful IIT graduates go on to work in foreign countries. While the society that created these institutes fights on who gets to study there and who doesn't, IIT graduates see it as just another opportunity to a grandiose life abroad. Reservation must be extended to those who promise to serve their motherland for at least 10 years after their graduation.

B. Parthasarathy,
Chennai

* * *

The Constitution provides for reservation in all categories in which it is required for the uplift of the weaker sections. All concerned should realise the need of the hour and fall in line with the social necessity of the nation.

Muneer K. Hanif,
Kochi, Kerala

* * *

Our politicians should streamline the reservation process. There are many MPs, MLAs, etc., who come under the OBC category. What is the need for their children to be placed under the cap of reservation?

Varun Kumar Jilla,
Secunderabad

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Quota is not a solution for the problem of economic inequality. On the contrary, SCs, STs, and OBCs stand the risk of being permanently branded as intellectually inferior. A large number of people who belong to the backward classes can make it to the elite class. All they need are economic prosperity and opportunity, not spoon-feeding.

Kodali V. Rao,
Reston, Virginia

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