Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Reservation issue

The Supreme Court's remarks on reservation, while staying the implementation of 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, point to a lack of understanding of the social realities. The need of the hour is to show the political will to implement one of the most successful policies in the interests of the marginalised sections. The idea of preserving IITs and IIMs as centres of excellence is an attempt to make the sphere of higher education the exclusive privilege of the dominant. Such an attempt would be anti-democratic and suicidal.

Ranju Radha,
New Delhi

When Parliament formed by elected representatives of the people has taken a unanimous decision to extend reservation for OBCs after taking all factors into account, is it proper for the Supreme Court to question it? If a caste-based Census is held, surely the findings will show that the OBCs make up more than 27 per cent of the population.

K.P.K. Pechiannan,
Coimbatore

If reservation for SCs and STs can continue on the basis of existing data, there is no reason to deny OBCs reservation. It is unfair to argue that most of the OBCs were rulers and wealthy. Education is different from wealth or affluence.

Reservation should be implemented and systematically withdrawn in the course of time. There can be many grounds for withdrawal — educational status, educational background of the family, and so on. If even one percentage of reservation is reduced from every category and added to open competition every year, in a few decades there will be 100 per cent open competition, which is the dream of every Indian.

S. Elumperiyar,
Chennai

The Indian political class has formed a new caste — the creamy layer among the OBCs — to extend reservation in higher education. Those getting admission under this category will comprise the kin of the powerful political class. Politicians have cleverly adopted the colonial approach of maintaining the status quo of the backward. They have denied quality basic education to them. If the truly backward are given good education, they will choose the right people to govern them and this will be detrimental to the interests of powerful politicians. Hence the eagerness of the political class to extend the benefits of higher education to their own without merit. Creamy layer reservation will create a permanent caste divide. It is against the principles of natural justice.

T.C. Ramachandran,
Bangalore

Why did the founding fathers of the Constitution, in all their wisdom, not favour the identification of OBCs for reservation? The Dr. B.R. Ambedkar-led reservation policy for SCs and STs was justified because it was aimed at rooting out caste discrimination in all its forms. But the OBCs have not faced any such discrimination. They dominate every field of activity today, from politics to trade and government employment. Reservation for OBCs will perpetuate caste-based vote-bank politics.

K.S. Varada Desikan,
Chennai

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