[ Sajith M ]

If you thought caste based reservations were a bit too much, now sample this: Tamil Nadu government has announced exclusive reservations for Christians and Muslims in government services and educational institutions. (Link)

As is we have had enough of this dammed reservation happening in all walks of life. Till now we had reservation based on the caste, and now based on religion. Why the hell can’t people compete on merit instead of asking for the crutches of reservation. And why are these politicians hell bent on dividing the country on the basis of caste and religion?

Posted under: Thoughts , Reservation
Tagged with: caste, religion, Reservation

So finally some sense has prevailed and the Supreme Court has stayed the central law providing for 27 percent reservation for Other Backward Classes.

Its a good judgement, and hopefully will go a long way in making sure that merit and not caste is the deciding factor for admission in institutions of higher education.

Link

Posted under: Thoughts , Reservation
Tagged with: caste, merit, Reservation

PTI Reports

AIIMS Director Dr P Venugopal was ousted from his post at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on charges of violating the code of conduct after a meeting chaired by Union Health Minister A Ramadoss passed the resolution for his removal.

This is an unfortunate incident – unfortunate for Dr Venugopal and unfortunate for AIIMS as well. A power hungry minister has (mis)used his political power for his vested interests. This was perhaps his answer to a petition filed seeking his removal from the AIIMS governing body. A little background might be in order here:

• Students at AIIMS go on strike following the government decision to bring in the quota raj
• Soon resident doctors at AIIMS also join the stir
• Doctors all over the nation join in, and AIIMS becomes the focal point and the planning ground for anti-quota protestors
• Dr Venugopal who heads AIIMS refuses to adopt draconian methods to quell the protest [This is not liked by Dr Ramadoss whose party supports reservations]
• Dr Ramadoss threatens to bring in 200 OBC doctors from Tamil Nadu to restore normalcy at AIIMS [Note the casteist and regionalist hints here]
• Anyway, the strike gets over after supreme court intervention
• PMK (the party Dr Ramadoss belongs to) demands ouster of Dr Venugopal for having supported the anti-reservation strike.
• Dr Ramadoss says that the AIIMS administration has failed.
• Dr Venugopal is ousted by the AIIMS general body meeting chaired by Dr Ramadoss

It is a humiliation to a person of Venugopal’s repute. It is a shame that he is being meted out this treatment after having spent almost 50 years of his life serving AIIMS and the patients there.

Is the minister acting in the interests of AIIMS or is he pursuing the casteist agenda that his party is following?

Posted under: Thoughts , Politics , Thoughts , Reservation

Deepa has started off with a brilliant post – Quotas Galore – Who wants one!

I could not have agree more with Deepa when she says:

As a result we will have people with lesser and lesser knowledge.This will affect quality in the long run.Don’t be surprised to find quack doctors, engineers or architects in the near future.All a result of Quota policy.

Another insight from her article.

We seem to be getting into the rut of creating more and more demarcations in India, a country which is already divided on the basis of culture, language, religion and what not.And now we have people clamouring to become backward and most backward.

Now that the entire debate over reservation seems to have died down and no one seems to be talking about it even though the government has not ammended its decision, it is nice to see someone post on the topic. I would take this as a sign that (at least some) people are still very much (rightly) concerned about the issue.

Posted under: Thoughts , Reservation

Minister calls meeting to discuss quota issue; sports lobby up in arms.

The Indian Express reports:

The reservation quagmire looks set to haunt Uttar Pradesh again. At risk this time is the states sports fraternity, as the Mulayam Singh Yadav government plans to introduce quota in sports, though the modalities are yet to be worked out.

The fact is that most of our sports persons are from the backward region and backward castes. The move to introduve quotas is nothing more than a political gimmic to try and garner votes. Sometimes, I wonder where will this quota mess stop…

Posted under: Thoughts , Reservation

This is to for SC/ST/OBS who might have wandered in to this site.

Please realize that Arjun Singh is doing you a great injustice. A man who uses a crutch that he does not need ultimately finds that his leg becomes useless and that is what is going to happen to your intelligence if they keep lowering the bar for you to cross.

Please support the anti-reservation movement for our good (yours and mine)

Posted under: Thoughts , Reservation

Kamlesh Singh on IBN Blogs

New Delhi, April 22, 2026: Prime Minister M.S. Kohli has asked Indian industry to consider expanding their toilets, and make sure more people from weaker sections are encouraged to use them.

“I urge you to give more attention to questions of social and economic discrimination and deprivation to the hygiene of our people,” Kohli said at the annual conference of Confederation of Indian Industry. This is being termed as a warning to the private sector that if they fail to voluntarily reserve toilet seats in their companies, the government may be forced to bring in a legislation.

The move comes days after the government reserved 27 per cent pots in all public toilets for the Other Backward Castes.

This news has evoked sharp criticism from upper caste students and young professionals who said they would have to hold nature’s calls, as few seats available will be reserved. They demanded that the government construct more toilets, instead of fixing quotas in the existing toilets that have few descent seats.

Already the Government is facing criticism for its attempts to increase quota for the backward classes in the country’s long distance trains. When the new proposal comes into effect, nearly 74 per cent of the berths will be reserved for the backward classes in Express trains and 60 per cent in the Rajdhanis. It’s still not clear whether the toilet seat reservation will apply on the trains. There are just four toilets per 72 passengers in trains.

With political opinion sharply divided on this issue, the reserve-versus-deserve debate will only intensify in the coming days.

Some UPA ministers like the Food and Civil Supplies Minister Meira Tumhara have been talking about the need for a legislation to reserve tables in restaurants. “Elite restaurateurs have for long discriminated on the basis of caste, and people from backward classes have been forced to eat at dhabas. We propose 50 per cent reservation for OBCs in all restaurants, and 70 per cent during Happy Hours.”

The Prime Minister’s comments came in the backdrop of recommendation by the empowered group of Ministers, headed by Agriculture Minister Bharat Pawar, that caste-based reservation in road transport could be possible through amending the constitution and bringing in a new law. “If seats can be reserved for women and senior citizens, we can reserve seats for OBCs and SC/STs too, we’ll bring in a legislation in the next session,” he told reporters.

The bill is not expected to face any opposition in Parliament. In the last three years, the bills for caste-based quota in cinema halls, hospitals, Ansal Coaching Classes in Kota, and Air Force sailed smoothly in both houses, as no party wants to alienate the OBCs, who outnumber the few forward castes.

Experts say most of the quota policies are here to stay for ever, as it will be impossible for the political establishment to withdraw them, as any such move may affect their OBC vote share.

Meanwhile, many among the forward castes have offered an all new outlook: Since democracy is the rule of the majority, they are a minority now. And hope to be appeased at some point of time. But not many subscribe to this optimistic view of the future.

“Appeasement hasn’t taken anyone anywhere, look at Muslims, they are still at the bottom of the ladder,” Ram Kishan Sahay, a Kayasth, told a seminar titled “Are FCs the New Minority”. He demanded reservation for the forward castes, at least for the poor among them. But Mange Lal Sharma didn’t agree: “Reservation hasn’t taken anyone anywhere, look at Scheduled Castes, they are still at the bottom of the ladder.” And the debate goes on.

And it may get ferocious if Saifuddin Khoz has his way. The Water Resources Minister has already said that the Narmada Rehabilitation Formula will be applied in case of all future rehabilitation moves. “In case of an earthquake, 60 per cent of the beds in relief hospitals will be reserved for the OBCs and SC/STs, the rest will be allotted to the injured, irrespective of their caste and religion, but purely on the basis of severity of their injuries,” Khoz said in a note, made public by a secretary, a forward caste man.

Posted under: Thoughts , Reservation

Mobile protest is the latest mode of protest adopted by medical students in Bangalore.

A ringtone that lends a voice to the emotions of thousands protesting against reservation.

This homegrown ringtone, a pointed political statement, is the effort of rapper Prakash who goes by the name PRX and is ready with a hiphop album – On a Blockbustaz Trip.

Both Prakash who wrote the lyrics and composed the ringtone and Ricky Kej who produced it, feel strongly against reservations.

PRX has ringtones for download on his website. Download and share :-)

Posted under: Thoughts , Reservation

This was forwarded to me by a friend. This is what the future holds if our politicians and their vote bank politics have their way:

Sun is rising as usual in the east. I’m standing here outside the school, waiting for my 10 yr kid. He studies in class 2. Only this year he could get admission into the school. For the last 5 yrs, admissions were closed for the general category students.

School bell rings. I can see a lot of happy children coming out of the gate, I waited for half an hour and my kid came at last after other children. General students are not allowed to cross the gate unless other OBC/SC/ST students have crossed the gates.

OBC/SC/ST fathers drive away their children in classy cars. But I have to walk back home with my kid a 5km stretch. I lost my car some years back when Govt. came with a rule that general people have to deposit a tax equal to cost of their cars, failing which I had to sell the car. As far as buses are concerned, the seats in buses are reserved for OBC/SC/ST. So no place there also.

After walking some 5km in scorching heat i finally reached home. It was Wednesday… Oh shit, no electricity. Every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday is power cut in the houses of General category population .So that SC/ST/OBC can be uplifted by providing them with every opportunity and in that consideration electricity is an important factor.

Its 10:00 pm in night and there is no electricity at home. It’s very hot inside the four walls of home .So I dare to step out in park with my wife and kid. I seated myself with my family on a secluded bench in garden. It was hardly 5 min … a guard came to us strolling in the park. He asked me what caste you belong to. I said with some hesitation… G… General. He asked me to pay a fine of Rs.200 and get out of the park.

My Fault…
The bench I was sitting on was meant for again the SC/ST/OBC. For their upliftment, peace of mind is an essential thing. So govt came with this decision to reserve benches for them. Kudos to them…

It’s early in the morning …the newspaper wala just knocked the door. I took the newspaper and started reading .., it’s Independence Day. I never used to forget this day some 20 yrs back. My kid hardly knows what 15th august is, because I never told him any stories of greatness of our country or anything related to country. I don’t feel like telling him the failures after freedom.

On front page of newspaper, in a corner their is a news about a OBC member getting 6 months imprisonment in “BAL SUDHAR GRAHA” from a juvenile court for murdering and raping a six year old girl. Yes the rules have been amended, since the last 5 years. The Culprit was a 25 year old OBC so age relaxation was provided for trial of crime. So he was taken to juvenile court, since there is an age relaxation for OBC/SC/ST.

About 11 am some one gave me the BAD news about demise of one of my neighbor and friend Mr. Mehta. I went to his house for condolence next day; his body was lying there still rotting in the heat. I asked his son about the Cremation .His son told me “Many reserved category have died yesterday so we are not getting entry to cremation ground”.

This rule is the latest from Govt – the seats in cremation ground will be reserved for SC/ST/OBC for their upliftment. Finally next day Mehta ji was cremated. I could see the sun setting through the Flames burning a liberated Body, liberated from caste n creed. I was surprised sun still sets in the west.

It was about 9 pm, I was about to sleep in my bed my son came to me with innocence in his eyes, inquisitively he asked me the question: “what is reservation?”
I asked me where you heard that.
He suddenly burst in tears… I asked him to keep quiet.
But I could listen through his sobs “mujhe bhi reservation chahiye”.
How can I convince him its no other toy in the market I can get for him? He kept crying that night, claiming many of “his classmates have got reservation”.
To make him quiet I said ok, I’ll buy you reservation at your next birthday. HOPE he understands the bloody concept soon…

Posted under: Thoughts , Reservation

Courtsey Hindustan Times
Sonia’s husband’s greatest speech by Karan Thapar

Thank god for Rajiv Gandhi. I’ve just read his speech in the Lok Sabha of the 6th of September 1990 when the Mandal report was the big subject of controversy. It was a two-and-a-half hour command performance and I strongly recommend this government read the speech as well. If nothing else, Sonia Gandhi should. Her late husband’s views are enlightening.

Rajiv Gandhi began by claiming he wasn’t debunking Mandal but the case he made against the Commission was so powerful and convincing that that’s precisely what he did. He also raised serious questions about the V P Singh government’s motivation in implementing the report which apply, without any alteration, to the government headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh and functioning under the tutelage of his wife.

First, let me summarise the case Rajiv made against Mandal. To begin with, Mr. Gandhi pointed out that the three important sociologists involved with the Mandal Commission — Professors Roy Burman, Srinivas and Jogendra Singh — who were thanked in the report for the work they had allegedly done, declined the honour and, as Rajiv put it, “have clearly said that they were denied any real opportunity to participate in the findings.”

Then Rajiv pointed out that the report is based on the work of a research and planning team “which met for only three days” and a second panel that met for five. Rajiv’s conclusion: “This means no specialist, no sociologist was involved with this report apart from these eight days.”

Now let’s turn to the data the report is based upon. Rajiv pointed out that the first set of data is from the cost indexing of 1891 and the census of 1931. As he asked: “We are talking about data which is a hundred years old or sixty years old. Is that valid today?”

To buttress this, Rajiv said that the Mandal Commission carried out two further exercises. First, it approached state governments for information. But, as B P Mandal himself admitted in the report: “It was rather disappointing to see that hardly any state was able to give the desired information.” Second, the Commission carried out a survey in 810 villages out of India’s then total of 5 lakh. That’s 0.00162 per cent! And how were these villages chosen? As Rajiv Gandhi put it: “They went on to arbitrarily select two villages and one urban block from each district.” Worse, and again let’s quote Rajiv: “The survey was conducted by junior government officials without any supervision or checking or validation by any high ranking or known sociologist.”

Consequently, so shoddy is the research and the data thus derived that the Mandal Commission’s conclusion that 52 per cent of the population is OBC is, as Rajiv commented, seriously flawed. As he said: “Many castes that are listed in (this) list are forward castes and are scheduled castes … I know for a fact that Brahmins are included, Reddys are included, Vokkaligas are included, Kammas are included, Lingayats are included, Gounders are included, Chettiyars are included. Are these backward castes? Do they need the help? This is how 52 per cent has been derived.”

The real blow that Rajiv struck was, ironically, when he quoted the Commission itself. This is the Commission’s conclusion (para 11.27) about its own work: “In the end, it may be emphasised that the survey has no pretensions to being a piece of academic research.”

Finally, right at the end of his speech, Rajiv referred to an article in The Independent, a now defunct newspaper. Recalling a conversation some newspaper editors had had with the then Prime Minister, V P Singh, about the possibility of implementing the Mandal Commission report, The Independent wrote that V P Singh replied: “The report was purely a political strategy and that he was not so foolish.” Sixteen years later is another government, this time under the tutelage of Rajiv’s wife, attempting the same political strategy?

If that question is pertinent, perhaps Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi should respond to the closing words of Rajiv’s speech: “Let us not have one man’s obstinacy holding India hostage … Let that man’s obstinacy not lead to caste war … I appeal to the patriotism and patriotic feelings of every member in this House not to remain idle, not to remain quiet and save this nation from the obstinacy of one person.”

I anxiously and eagerly await Rajiv’s widow’s reply. Perhaps the PM might have something to say as well.

Posted under: Thoughts , Reservation