Our October 1990 cover

Reservation is in the news again with latest government initiative awaiting Cabinet approval for 25 per cent additional quota in Central educational institutes like AIIMS, IITs, IIMs and universities. The real answer to reservation would have been to increase the number of such institutions. Instead, our political leadership has chosen to indulge in cynical vote bank politics.

Expanding the base of reserved seats to unrealistic and unfair levels is a selfish ploy by a party to increase its electoral appeal irrespective of the cost to society. Nearly 60 years since Independence, India should ideally have less reservation, not more; where they exist, quotas must be based on economic need and not caste distinction. We must build a meritocracy, not a 'caste-ocracy'.

This, unfortunately, is not the end. There is a proposal to reserve jobs in the private sector for which the government is preparing to amend the Constitution. We have been there before in 1990 when we watched in horror as students set themselves on fire in protest against the Mandal Commission recommendations raising job reservations in the government and public sector by an additional 27 per cent for OBCs over the existing 22.5 per cent for Dalits and tribals. Today there are over 1,00,000 reserved government jobs still vacant for want of qualified candidates. The organised sector accounts for only seven per cent of jobs in the private sector, the latest target of quota politics. Obviously, the problem is elsewhere.

Our cover story this week, put together by Managing Editor Shankkar Aiyar, is a close, hard look at reservation. We expose its loopholes, examine the politics of Human Resource Minister Arjun Singh, who is spearheading this exercise, and seek the views of Dalit students.

Great leaders can change the face of a nation but self-serving politicians can scar a country forever. The worst ones are those who choose to divide the nation on the basis of religion and caste. Unfortunately, India has had too many of them. All that stands between India and widespread reservation is a notification from Parliament. The pity is that no party will oppose it for fear of losing votes. Political philosopher Edmund Burke once said in another context which is relevant here: "All it requires for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing".

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