Hi All,
In continuation of the first post, here are answers to some of the questions raised.
A healthy debate is a hallmark of mature and educated
society/group. Hence there is no harm in discussing
the 'issue of reservations' in this group. Unlike
politicians we are trying to finding solutions which
can make our alma mater proud of our education and
intellect.
Having said that, we all agree to the following:
1. 'Affirmitive action' is necessary
2. Affirmaive action should not be only 'reservation
based on caste'.
3. Alternative solution should be based on
a. data of past experince,
b. current reality of backward people living in
villages, and
c. future vision for this country in 21 century.
d. Global scenario where we as a nation will
compete for market, resources, jobs etc.
On point 1. Giving reason of Merit alone confuses the
argument. Some people assume, that 'Youth for
Equality' (YFE) does not want to help the poor.
Categorically speaking, YFE does want to help the
poor. This includes engineers/doctors and all common
poeple supporting YFE.
On point 2. Alternative is not just one, it can be a
'basket of solutions' from which each state/
institution/ corporation can use the appropriate
solution. They can be Grace marks, more easily
available student loan at school level or further
liberalization of higher education.
On point 3a. Those praposing further reservation must
provide data(statistics not stories) that past
reservation have been a success and must be continued.
On point 3b. Current reasons for backwardness are more
economic than social. Other reasons are govt.
curuption, inefficincy etc.
On point 3c. It has to be a strong, self reliant
developed nation. All citizens should have equal
opportunity and freedom to pursue thier life.
On point 3d. We will be competing with the other
countries on each front. We need good institutions to
enable our citizens to compete effectively. Note that
the best of Indian Universities which were among the
best in the world like Calcutta, Allhabad, Mumbai,
Varanasi have lost the race globally. This is mainly
due to political interferrence. Can we afford to let
IITs/IIMs/AIIMS/NITs etc to go that way. (Thats the
reason I asked Faculty and staff to oppose reservation
policy)
Friends, lets bring out our thoughts on this and build
a consensus.
I have the following request for those oppsoing
Reservations:
1. First highlight the weakness of the policy then
talk of alternatives (not of merit).
2. The policy is not based on data, current reality
and does not offer a correct solution to the problem.
regards
Abhinav
Monday, August 21, 2006
Alternatives to Reservation System - II
Alternative to Reservation System
‘GRACE MARKS’ AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO RESERVATION SYSTEM
History and how it has changed:
Historically the society practiced discrimination in every sphere of life. Be it education, religious places, or even restaurant services. Hence the founding fathers of this country decided that to undo the harm, one has to compulsorily put people together to end discrimination. Moreover, they had experienced little reform in this practice during their lifetime; hence they did not foresee an early end to this problem.
But things have changed a lot since then. Today there is no discrimination on the basis of caste in public matters. In
Bottom-line is, discrimination is fading and amalgamation of the society is taking place. This should be allowed and encouraged and not prevented by force (law) of any kind.
Fix the Blame before fixing the fault:
The so called upper caste people are being wrongly accused of having a strong hold over education or jobs. There has not been a single case in any institution where a capable person has been denied an opportunity on the basis of so called lower caste. Representation has never translated into dominance or discrimination. When statistics show that the so called upper caste proportion in higher education, jobs or professions is more than their proportion in population this shows the following facts.
One is the failure of govt. to create more avenues of higher education by itself or allow private sector to do so. This has resulted in fewer increases in seats while the population has skyrocketed. Second, again is the failure of the Government to provide social education which emphasize on good social practice among the so called lower caste people is also missing. The practice of child marriage, lack of family planning, no emphasis on education and lack of women empowerment are responsible for their backwardness and consequent under representation in higher education. It also means a colossal failure in building minimum infrastructure like roads, electricity, school buildings and providing primary education with adequate quality and quantity.
A doctor, for example, belonging to any caste, creed or religion or country will treat his patient equally irrespective of the above. This has been demonstrated even while treating patients from
The above example also shows that there is no need to say that all social groups ‘must’ be represented in ‘every’ profession to make them feel empowered. Every individual has her/his choice. The buck clearly stops with the govt. which for reasons of corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement has not been able to do its job. It must stand up and accept the blame before preaching any solution.
Identifying a needy (disadvantaged) person
As mentioned in the beginning, the equivalence of caste and backwardness and caste and discrimination is not true today as much as it was at the time of independence. Although, the fact is that a majority of so called lower caste people remain backward, it cannot be concluded that they are backward because of their caste. As explained earlier the problem is not based on caste. Then, logic dictates that if the problem is not based on caste, solution also should not be based on caste.
True empowerment and Equality
Empowerment comes with increase in abilities which are a result of free competition. If a person is unable to enter the competition due to limitations beyond his control then he/she needs help to be able to compete. For example, parental education and income are factors beyond the control of the student which limit his ability to compete. Hence s/he need well educated teachers and academic aid. The above does not mean that s/he must be given compulsory admission or jobs with complete disregard to any abilities. Lack of infrastructure is another factor which is beyond the students control and needs to be compensated. In this regards, institutions/companies can place a ‘grace mark’ system which can be added to students’ performance.
Then, there is also a case for empowerment of institutions or companies. Government can and should be allowed to form laws that create healthy competition and protect the consumer. Government or any other body cannot determine the input prices, quality or selling prices for any business. We have examples in telephony, electricity and host of other things where Government intervention has resulted in loss for consumers and crisis.
Also, there is a case for individuals’ empowerment. Just as the Government can not decide that young people belonging to certain region, caste, religion or background must join defense services or any other profession like doctor, architect, lawyer etc. It can not be allowed to decide that certain profession must make join young people of certain caste, religion, region etc. It is all a matter of choice of an individual.
Hence, as each person is free to apply for admission in any institution or job in any company, for empowerment and equality, the institutions and business must be allowed to determine on their own the ‘grace marks’ they will add while evaluating the performance of the disadvantaged candidate.
Towards a casteless and no discrimination society:
We must decide the ideal society that we wish to create and put a time target on ourselves to achieve it. Here, it must be mentioned that those responsible (Government, again) for creating the sorry state of affairs must stand up and accept the blame for their mistakes. Again, logic dictates that to find a solution we must rely on data (facts) rather than assumptions (rhetoric).
The ideal society is the one where there is no discrimination and which helps the disadvantaged to become empowered, i.e. it teaches a man to fish rather then ask him to beg for it everyday.
Hence the immediate need is to do away with ‘caste’ based empowerment and get on to empowerment based on ‘practical’ disadvantages faced by the disadvantaged. In order to achieve this each education institution (private or public) and each corporate must be given clear statistical parameter which defines disadvantaged in terms of parental income, parental education and infrastructure constraints at the place of education. Then it should be left to the institutions and corporations to determine the ‘grace marks’ they would add to the performance of the individual. This is the only way to end the discrimination and fade away the relevance of caste in the society.
Why to give a Free color T.V. to every Indian.
Recently the main opposition party in Tamilnadu released its election manifesto for the coming legislative assembly polls. Among other freebies which are common to Indian politics it also promised a free color Television to every household.
On the face of it, it sounds crazy in a state which is still unable to provide basic healthcare and education to all of its people. But, and for many good reasons, this is one of the best things that any political party has promised in recent memory and it should be replicated by other governments and corporate. Here's how it will benefit everyone and save cost and increase tax revenues for the government.
For those who fear about the feasibility of such free distribution, compare it with the free mobile handset scheme that Reliance came up a few years ago. Today a 14 inch color T.V. costs lower than what a mobile used to cost three years ago. The government will earn back(if it has to) from the increased tax and cost savings.
Consider the following.
Today T.V. is the best medium to educate people, not just literacy (for adult/middle age illiterates) but also about health issues. Tamilnadu has the highest cases of HIV in
On the economic side, the consumer will be the biggest beneficiary. Same as free mobile scheme of reliance lowered the prices in telecom, a T.V. in every household will bring down the cost of cable T.V. With increased penetration and a wider audience the channels will be able to bargain better prices from the advertisers. This increased penetration will also help companies to market their products to this segment which was till now difficult to reach out to. For example, FMCG companies selling soaps/toothpaste etc. will see a increase in sales. Lastly and quite obviously, all the increased economic activity will be taxed by the govt. and will get its share of the pie.
For the social and economic upliftment of people, T.V. is the best tool available today. Cable or DTH (Direct to Home)/ companies can take a few lessons from this scheme. I think if RIL/ADAE would have come with a DTH company, they would have surely given away the T.V. for free.
Date:
Working at the Bottom of the Pyramid - I
Brand Bulding opporunity for Companies
I would like to share a unique opportunity for telecom service providers in
Millions of Indians today use mobile phones and the usage is growing by the day. Millions also use rail network and take long journeys in trains. Many journeys last more then 10 hrs. It is praiseworthy that most of the major rail network is now covered by telecom operators and mobile phone users are able to make calls during lengthy journeys.
Mobile users on trains still face the problem of recharging their mobiles in long journeys. Here again, service providers can come to the rescue of the consumers. They can provide ‘mobile charging boards’ on railway platforms.
Each ‘mobile charging boards’ can have four sockets; will display the Brand name and the punch line of the company. This will give the company high visibility and respect for the brand.
Although Railways has begun to provide such ‘mobile charging boards’ at some stations, these are few and far. Such boards are needed typically at stations where the train halts for 10 min. or more. But even at stations where the stoppage is of less duration, brand visibility is high.
Considering that a 4 socket board costs Rs.100/- in the retail market, the installation cost is not high. Surely, this is a opportunity waiting to be tapped.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)