Economic Basis For Reservation Is Redundant & Obfuscatory – Nikhil Sablania
Those who decry for reservation, disparaged its paramount goal, unifying and strengthening a nation torn apart by sacramental impalpable forces, rooted and consolidated in social perception not susceptible to economics. Reservation is a means, not an end. To classify it through the lens of economics as an ‘end,’ is diverting the train of national building off track into a murky future.
The apartheid in South Africa, the massacre of Shias in Iran, and anti-semitism in Europe, have not sprung up due to economic factors. They were a cumulative product of frauds, historical misunderstandings and religious bigotism. Economics is a product of hegemony, delivering resources under a tight compartment of financial policies. The apex goal of such economic policies is not equitable distribution of wealth of a nation, but to keep the social stratification intact. A system for reform adjunct to economic policies only, is so dubious, that far from being a preemptive force to off repeated alluring messages of economic apostates of, ‘inclusion of the marginalised on economic base,’ often and historically, have proved futile than to reconcile. The recondite principal or reservation needs an astute study before reaching any climax. Social threads unshattered by smacks of time, never dissociated themselves from any ravenous compulsion to change, or break, even in the devastating apocalypse, like the partition of India.
The modern economic system of governance through a centralised currency and bank, and supplanting the mechanical system of production over human skill, labour and discretion, is hardly a century old, and still an experiment of human civilisation. It doesn’t debunk the sacrilegious sanctions barraged in a routine life. The beliefs and social norms ingrained for an immemorial time unlikely to disappear by an exalted admiration of a system of modern economics, designed to transfuse wealth of the nation to en masse, have not yet passed a threshold to embody a quintessence of a policy, to replace, ‘social base,’ for reservation.
Reservation in India shouldn’t be seen as an American concept or affirmative action, or, positive discrimination, or, reverse discrimination. It has a distinct character in India. In the USA, the natives and of African origin, form distinct classes. However, in India, people getting reservation on a social basis have a complex social character. Racially, by appearance, they are not different from other Indians, nor are they of the same social class, like Blacks in the USA. While both Blacks and Whites profess Christianity, which doesn’t discriminate in principle, but in India, discrimination is sewed in the religion and social culture. It keeps people separated and divided, blocking them to make a uniform class. Thereby, they can’t be united merely on the basis of economic equality and remain away from the goal of forming a unified society. Economic equality would soon turn to economic discrimination. It would diminish the principle for which we strode on a nation building path through the policy of reservation on social basis.
Another important aspect of reservation is to participate, supervise and protect the making and implementation of policies. This is the task of the elitist and they’ve been doing it for generations. It also requires an inter-generational and inter-societal wisdom to look after this arcane procedure. Such a creed should have venting to join this process. A fit-man there, could fix multitudes of cogs blocking millions of deprived people. But someone incapacitated with such resources and virtues could bring misfortune to millions.
A good role of reservation is that it creates a class of people unbent by forces detrimental to our hard earned democracy. This class studies new things and aspires to follow a democratic path for their upliftment by political movement. Thus, they form a strong politically proactive class which can hinder and thrash any primitive or authoritarian ingress in our democracy. An authoritarian rule has the capacity to put freedom and fundamental rights of millions of people on hold. An economic base of restructuring reform could turn the socially united combatants into vying soldiers. The stimulus based economic environment breeds relentless greed, dishonesty, dissatisfaction and a strange hostility against one’s own nation. Many rich Indians migrating to other countries manifests how fragile the economic motivation to bind unity of a nation. Such infection of the rich, when meeting the underprivileged, gives a hard setback to our democratic institutions and devoids of sense justice in the gloomy eyes.
The good news is, India has moved successfully on social-based reservation policy. We have allocated seats in educational institutions, jobs, and housing, not on the basis of economics. We have incentivised inter-caste marriages on social basis and not on the economic basis. Such policies have successfully included millions socially excluded, forming a unified mass of people. Changing such a policy would jeopardise our success story and create a cleavage of unknown dissatisfaction.
An imminent danger for adopting economic policy for social reform might call for similar action for all classes. Shall we disallow the son of a judge of a distinct character to become a judge despite his great education and acumen, because his father earned more than other aspirants? Or, shall we disallow the daughter of an ardent doctor to be admitted into a medical college just because her father is paid handsomely for his service? This pandarabox could vent infinite impositions of unsound character.
So, is there a remedy? Laties expect a short cut for the solution. A group of tribals in a hilly area, find it difficult to give education to their children at par to tribals migrated into cities three generations back. Making a distinct class for another separate level of reservation on an economic basis won’t work. Because they can’t clear the same exam that needs guidance, preparation and mental strength for many generations. In case they can’t get through the exam, their seats would remain vacant or given to other tribals or to other classes. This status quo needs to be broken. The solution was already given by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar many years back. Fill the seats on the basis or minimum qualification, and not on the basis of exam or interview. This is a far better answer for those who decry for reservation on the basis of economic base. We need to make a balance and must not forget our paramount goal of a homogenous society for a unified nation. Any deviation from any already tested and successful policy could smash our goal.
About the author:–
Nikhil Sablania is a filmmaker, author and social activist. He has also written books on economy, social issues of marginalized people in Delhi and translated works of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. His short films and documentary films have been screened at various film festivals around the world.
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