Reservation- Hardik Patel and a debate that never settles

There is a heated debate on whether reservations should be given or not. This blog is an effort to understand the arguments for and against this motion. To begin with, let me brief you up what this debate is all about.

India is a multi-religion, multi-linguistic, multicultural country where people from varied cultures, traditions and religions live and flourish together. However, along with this diversity come various disturbing issues like untouchability and discrimination. Such issues have been prevelant from centuries where people were categorized on the basis of their birth and later their occupation. People who belonged to a “lower caste” faced a lot of hardships- from being denied entry into public places to restricted access to education and jobs. As a result, these communities remained backward with denied opportunities for their growth and survival. They became poorer and poorer with every passing generation and were completely cut off from the society.

So, in the wake of this grave issue, the reservation policy came into existence during the colonial rule in India. This system aims to improve the well-being of socially and economically backward communities by reserving their seats in education institutes and seeking jobs at government offices.

This system has achieved great success in incorporating people from all communities and has helped these communities to come out of their plights in the past.   Now after 68 years of independence, do we still need this system? That is the question that is the debate all about.

• Arguments in favour of Reservations:

Yes, I do agree that instances of discrimination and untouchability have reduced as compared to the past but this issue not completely eliminated from the society. Instances of discrimination and exploitation of backward communities is still very much persistent, especially in rural areas and so, we do need this reservation system to uproot this issue from the society.   India is a democratic country where equal opportunities must be given to each and every citizen of the country and the reservation system is the best way to include all the sections of the society under its framework. With increasing competition in every sector of the country, backward classes must also be given opportunities to be a part of this race. So, I conclude that reservation is a must.

• Arguments against Reservation:  

First of all, the major argument is what is the basis of reservation in India? – Caste, religion etc. But don’t you think this is disintegrating the society into 2 categories- reserved and non-reserved? Moreover, this division is hindering the unity of the country where some communities being given a greater preference as compared to others. Equality which is seen as a major argument in favour of reservation can also be a basis of argument against the reservation policy. Reservations in educational institutions and government offices reduce the opportunities to those belonging to general category. I totally agree that we needed this system during the starting years of independence to ensure development of all the communities in every aspect. I am not saying to ban reservation now but my point is to set a different criterion for reservations in India. Rather than taking religion or caste of an individual as a basis to get jobs or seek education in an institute, the criteria should include only those people who are economically backward irrespective of the caste/religion they belong to.

Well, I have put forward all my arguments. If you want to add something to this or give your own opinion, write it in the comments column below and express your views freely.

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