Same Old Same Old...

Guess who's back? RESERVATION!!! YAY!! Time to further polarise the country. Time to attempt self-immolation. Time to get more votes (how come this decision comes just before election time??). i know everyone is tired and irritated. No more arguments please, they say. We've been arguing for 17 years but to no use, they say. Well, let me join the side of the anti-reservationists. Some reminders though:
1) Just because i am born upper-caste hindu, does not mean i am upper caste or hindu.
2) Just because i am born upper-caste hindu does not mean i am 'involved in a worldwide historical conspiracy to suppress the Dalit caste (says Dr. Kancha Iliah, one of the foremost Dalit 'crusaders')'
3) Just because there are lot of personal experiences involved, it does not mean i am not thinking clearly or logically. (kind attention: Kaushik Mukhopadhyay and Amita Kanekar, with whom i've got into many arguments about the same issue)

Now some rhetoric:
1) Why do you need caste-based reservation when you want to abolish all traces of it? If i know someone has got in through the backdoor (whether by paying a bribe, paying off the peon or claiming a quota) i will treat that person with the same disgust, whether that person is upper/lower/middle/bottom of the upper lower caste.
2) What makes one think that having a caste-based reservation ensures 'better utilisation of talent' in this country? i have friends who weren't told they belonged to the OBC category and when result time came, their marks were so good, they could've gotten into the open category itself. While some others i know dozed off the whole time knowing they'll get the same course thanks to a 'Non-creamy layer' certificate. (and i'm sure we can all guess which group is doing better).
3) Are we sure that reservation, if needed, is needed at all levels? How much can an individual be pampered? It's a tough world for us unfortunate 'unreserved castes'. If the issue is about providing equal opportunity let's have caste reservations at the 1st standard level. i don't have a problem with that. i can't speak for the rest of India though.
4) Are we reserving for the right people? Shouldn't we have economic reservations than social ones? If the aim is to uplift a downtrodden caste won't an economic reservation work better?
5) Why can't 'Affirmative Action' be the role model rather than forcing some unpalatable decision down some very powerful throats? Works the same way, but works much better though.
6) How does saying 'We've suffered 5000 years of discrimination' justify a lifetime of pampering? Won't that make the VHP's senseless demand for a Ram temple justifiable?

i know, i know, this is a non-issue cos the decision will be taken whether or not everyone agrees. But that's the point of this blog. To say things that i want to say but i know will not make a difference to anyone. This time though, i hope it's different.