Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Creamy layer debate

Cream is found only at the top. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court ruling seeks to whip the cream off from the section that is at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The analogy of the creamy layer that applies to the OBCs cannot be automatically applied to the SCs and the STs. The socio-economic profile of the OBCs shows that their status is not uniform. In many States, they are the ruling elite. The SCs and the STs, on the other hand, have had the worst form of social and economic existence for centuries. The intensity of oppression may vary. The exclusion of the creamy layer among them from the purview of reservation is a crippling assault on the most vulnerable sections.

N. Sekar,
Salem

The creamy layer concept ignores the widely prevalent forms of caste discrimination. Can the bureaucrats and professionals identified as constituting the so-called creamy layer openly reveal their caste while seeking rental accommodation in non-Dalit areas, even in cities and towns? Those who advocate the concept are far removed from ground realities and fail to appreciate the suffering of those at the bottom of the caste hierarchy.

P. Saravanan,
Coimbatore

Even today we find government advertisements calling for applications from SC and ST candidates to fill up the backlog accumulated over the years. When this is the reality, where does the question of keeping the affluent among them away from the purview of reservation arise? On an experimental basis, let the affluent among the forward castes be excluded from employment in state services and the poor among them be given a chance. Let them show the way. The refrain "we are the third generation of doctors/bureaucrats" is not uncommon among the forward castes.

S. Krishnasamy,
Chennai

The exclusion of the creamy layer will only result in the exclusion of that section which has some merit. It is strange that advocates of merit are demanding that the meritorious be excluded.

R. Gunasekharan,
Chennai

The argument that 60 years of reservation have created a creamy layer and that many among the SCs and the STs have become socially empowered is absurd. Are the supporters of the concept saying the SCs and the STs were fully equipped to grab the benefits of reservation soon after independence? God knows what their condition was!

It is amazing that within about 30 years of implementation of the policy in word and in spirit, a fancy term has been coined.

S. Sethu Mahendran,
Dindigul, T.N.

Reservation in education and employment for the SCs and the STs should continue until those who enjoy it feel confident of being equal partners in society. They should then give it up in favour of the less privileged voluntarily. Those who continue to demand it after reaching the top have no wish to go forward and challenge the so-called forward castes. Backwardness is in their minds; hence they wish to remain backward forever.

Ramaswamy Krishnan,
Fremont, California

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