The article “Privilege, opportunities and ‘merit',” (May 30) by K.S. Jacob touches upon the most contemporary riddle that our society has been called upon to solve. Soon after Independence, we failed to recognise the need to identify the real talent that lay in the villages. We failed to put rural pupils on a par with their urban counterparts although they deserved an equalising act. Caste-based reservation has succeeded in giving the underprivileged castes remarkable amounts of national space in terms of academic degrees and public employment. But it has not succeeded in producing administrators, managers and other professionals — to compete at the international level — as the system whose intake is not covered by reservation has done. The impact of the reservation policy should no doubt be measured by the equality of outcomes.
Rajender Samala,Hyderabad
If reservation is to be effective, educational opportunities should start from initial schooling because that is when students learn their basics. A student is mentally stagnated by the time he enters college. He is nowhere near the rigorously trained elite students.
Yogesh Dilhor,Chandigarh
Professor Jacob's suggestion that the success of the reservation policy should be measured in terms of the equality of outcomes is flawed. No economic or social outcome bears a one-to-one correspondence with any of the factors that goes into determining it. Policymakers, and people in general, can only enhance a person's probability to achieve success by optimising the proportion of their determinants. Equality of outcomes is a utopia. By contrast, striving for equality of opportunity can be achieved subject to feasible constraints on time and budget. Importantly, it admits the outcome as an indicator of success.
Aditya Sihag,New Delhi
It is undeniable that environment plays a more important role than heredity in determining intelligence. Reservation has helped bring about social justice in a big way. While there is no second thought about the need for the uplift of the underprivileged, it is equally important that the really meritorious do not suffer for want of opportunities. The spate of suicides by Dalit students is a matter of serious concern. But the unreported cases of suicide by meritorious children for not getting admission to good institutions are no less serious.
Vathsala Jayaraman,Chennai
Prof. Jacob's comment that caste is often a proxy for class in the Indian context rightly captures the drawback in the reservation policy. Reservation is meant only for the underprivileged. But we find that the privileged class among the so-called backward sections gets the maximum benefit of caste-based reservation in educational institutions and employment. Is not this privileged class creating a barrier for the less privileged?
Ishan Dwivedi,Chandigarh
Reservation based purely on caste creates institutionalised discrimination in the long run. Can we say, after three generations of reservation, that its benefits have reached the truly disadvantaged? Several of those benefited have become successful professionals and are now competing on a par with those in the general categories. Ideally, reservation should be discontinued after two successive generations of a family benefits from it but it will be politically inconvenient. De-notifying castes that are not economically backward is a step in the right direction, and a caste-based census combining economic status is a first step towards a scientific programme that can help the truly deprived.
Anand Mohan,Hyderabad
The article only reinforces the myth that reservation benefits the poor and the oppressed castes, and that there are no economically deprived among the so-called ‘upper' castes. A number of reserved seats in medical colleges are cornered by students whose family members have already benefited from reservation. No scientific study has been conducted to quantify the extent of poverty or deprivation of the reserved category students/families. Poor quality of primary education is a problem faced by those who cannot afford quality education. It is not caste-specific.
Ananth Krishnan,Pune
Prof. Jacob says social class determines destiny and social circumstances determine outcomes. This is true of the other side of “discrimination” as well. It is unjust that the minimum necessary grade to gain admission to universities in India is based on caste, rather than the capacity to learn and perform.
A wholesome approach would be to identify the underprivileged students who are keen on learning and provide them with the training they cannot afford.
Nivedita Ganesh,Chennai
It is true that prestigious universities and institutions take students who benefit from good schooling over which, one can say, the privileged group (with access to newspapers, computers, books, internet, etc.) has an advantage. But think of those underprivileged children who do not even know when, where and how to use the benefits of reservation. It is they who need to be identified and uplifted.
P. Bhavya Geethika,Hyderabad
