The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Not a panacea

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 29, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Not a panacea

Sir, — This has reference to the debate over the proposed reservation in the private sector. Reservation is not a panacea for social and economic ills. We have to stop it when its limited goal is achieved.

V. Prasanna Kumar,
Kollam, Kerala

* * *

Sir, — This refers to the letter saying reservation should continue for another century (June 26). Talking about the past will not yield anything. Reservation in any form increases the gap between various social groups. Instead, the laws should be tightened to protect the rights of the marginalised.

Sriram Varadharajan,
Pasadena, California

* * *

Sir, — The argument that only some had access to education in the past does not justify reservation in jobs today. If we adopt this line of thinking, we shall only be invoking the ghosts of the past. Two wrongs do not make a right.

Moreover, a market economy demands the best to compete with global players.

Samuel Ilayaraja,
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.

* * *

Sir, — Even Dr. B.R. Ambedkar envisaged reservation only for 10 years. It is one thing to fight for equal opportunities but to demand reservation is quite another. Proportional representation based on caste will not work for long.

V.K. Sharma,
Hyderabad

* * *

Sir, — Reservation should not become an instrument of vengeance. It is not the affair of the state to discriminate against the children of former `oppressors.' Reservation, if anything, should focus on inequalities in society today and try to correct them.

It should not end up reversing the roles of oppression.

Ramiah Ariya,
Philadelphia, U.S.

* * *

Sir, — This is an extract from the letter Jawaharlal Nehru wrote to State Chief Ministers on June 27, 1961. "I have referred to efficiency and getting out of our traditional ruts. This necessitates our getting out of the old habit of reservations and particular privileges being given to this caste or that group ... Let us help the backward groups by all means, but never at the cost of efficiency. How are we going to build our public sector or indeed any sector with second rate people?" (Jawahrlal Nehru, Letters of Chief Ministers 1947-1964, Vol. 5, Oxford University Press 1989.)

D.N. Seshagiri,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — The debate is not new. Yet it seems as though there can be no resolution of the conflicting claims of merit-based rewards, on the one hand, and social justice, on the other. Even discussing the possibility of quotas in the private sector seems to bring out some of our deeply ingrained biases.

Maya Ratnam,
New Delhi

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