The UPA government’s decision to introduce a bill to provide reservation for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in promotions in government jobs is surprising. The Supreme Court has upheld a High Court decision striking down reservation for the SCs and the STs in promotions introduced by the Uttar Pradesh government.
Promotions in jobs are to do with individuals, not social groups. Merit, efficiency and dedication should be the criteria for promoting a person. The socially handicapped are already being taken care of by reservation in recruitments. The government should have convened an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.
C. Koshy John,
Pune
I am in support of the reservation system but against its misuse. All tribals should get the benefits of reservation so that they can become part of the mainstream. So should students below the poverty line, irrespective of the caste to which they belong. Reservation should be discontinued to families in which two generations have enjoyed its benefits. This way, we can slowly phase out the quota system. Let our future generations talk about careers and nation-building, not castes and reservation.
S. Jai Venkatesh,
Hyderabad
Keywords: reservation issue, quota system