Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Unacceptable

The authors of the article, `OBC quota: stirring wider issues' (May 18), say that "merit, in the context of health care, should also include compassion and the spirit of service." However, compassion and spirit of service are of no use to a patient if the doctor does not possess the professional skill to treat him. Hence, the statement that "it is misleading to define merit in an academic fashion" is unacceptable. The very fact that we still need reservation after more than 50 years of Independence should make the government sit up and take a hard look at its policies and actively seek to target and uplift the really deserving, instead of resorting to further reservation.

Divya Gupta,
Pondicherry

Since when have peaceful debates moved our lawmakers? Was there any thorough debate or discussion in Parliament before the constitutional amendment was introduced? It has become fashionable for social activists to demand that the so-called forward castes give up their privileges and rights so that the deprived classes can come up to their level. While no one questions the motive, it is the means to implement these noble intentions that are questionable and which anyway have not yielded satisfactory results.

A. Palvannan,
Dubai

"If the condition of the OBCs has remained abysmal after 50 years of following the policy of reservation, how will it improve in the future by resorting to it? "Is there any scientific proof to show that a person's intelligence depends on the community he or she belongs to?

S. Seshadri,
Chennai

Caste-based reservation is unacceptable. It puts poor members of "upper castes" at a disadvantage against rich OBCs with access to everything. Scholarships to needy students irrespective of caste could be a better option.

Santosh Reddy,
Hyderabad

This refers to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's statement, `Even in a running race, the handicapped are given concessions' (May 20).

There are better ways of making the backward classes capable of competing in the tough educational and job market. Never before in the history of free India have the citizens come out so strongly against the government policies. I only hope the ruling party goes back on its agenda of divisive politics.

Prasanth T. Nambiar,
Kannur, Kerala

Mr. Karunanidhi's statement regarding the concessions to the handicapped in running races is contestable.

The athletes are given the concessions only at the start or in the heats but not till the winning posts. The protesters are only objecting to reservation in higher education, not to the policy as such.

M. Subramanian,
Chennai

The policy will serve its purpose only if children of government employees, legislators, and those from relatively decent financial backgrounds are completely excluded from its purview.

K.S.K. Siddhartha,
Secunderabad

What the deprived sections need is access to the basic amenities of life, good primary education, and proper employment opportunities. Reservation in professional courses and post-graduate programmes will only improve the life of a minuscule proportion of the underprivileged.

S. Indu,
Bangalore

The huge investment to create the necessary infrastructure to satisfy the reservation policy is an impediment to solving the contentious issue. Instead, the Government can buy the "capitation fee" seats from private institutions and distribute them to the needy. By this it will satisfy the political agenda, the needs of the rural poor, and of course the commercial interests.

S. Rajagopalan,
Chennai

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