RETURN OF RESERVATION

This morning , a 10 year old boy from my neighbourhood , walked into my house , and said , “ Uncle , I want to write a letter to the Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav , will you please help me out .” I wondered whether this kid had seen today’s news report about the theft of a Padma Vibhushan medallion from the President’s Personal Assistant , who was going to deliver it to an ill recipient . The incident happened inside the Farraka Express . Maybe the kid wanted to write about the great shame and request the minister to improve safety inside the trains.
Or maybe he had seen Laloo perform along with other kids in a reality show and had become a fan of his , as indeed the Americans have , where these famous institutes keep inviting him to deliver lectures .
Intrigued , I asked him about the contents he wanted to communicate.The kid answered , “ I saw a photograph in the news papers a couple of days back , where some people in turbans and women invisible in their ghoonghats were removing Railway tracks .”
I enquired whether he knew the reason behind this act .The kid replied , “ Yes , because they are not getting reservation .”
Impressed with his social awareness , I made further enquiries , “ So what will Lalooji do about it ?”
The young guy looked at me incredulously , and said , “ Well I told you na , they are destroying national property because they are not getting reservation . Lalooji being the railway minister could run more trains in the area , add more bogies to the existing trains , so that everybody gets reservation in trains and can travel. This way the railway can earn more revenue by cheating people through the TATKAL service and national property is also saved . So you see everybody is happy .”
Bewildered by his interpretation , I enquired , “ Son , you know what reservation is ?”
“ Yes , uncle , you take reservation so that you get a reserved berth while travelling in a train . Although I think this rule does not apply in Bihar and U.P , where unauthorised people make the reserved persons stand up and take the berth themselves .”
My apprehensions about this kids intelligence disappeared immediately .
Feeling smug , I said “ Your definition about reservation is correct , but these guys were not protesting about Reservations in trains , but Reservations in education and jobs.”
Now it was my young friend’s turn to develop apprehensions about my intelligence . “ Uncle , please explain in detail.”
Explain !!!!! How do you explain something which you yourself are not convinced about .
But having advanced so far , I could not possibly back out.I began , “ Son , Reservations in education and jobs is similar to reservation in trains , except that here you do not reserve berths , but reserve seats in a college and posts in employment on the basis of caste . For example out of 100 seats in a college , you reserve 15 seats for the Scheduled caste (SC) , 7.5 seats for Scheduled tribe (ST) and 27.5 seats for Other Backward Caste (OBC) .” The same applies for jobs in the Government sector too .
“ Caste !! What is that ?” The young man was puzzled , “ I thought all of us were Indians ?”
I was taken aback by this question . Is the kid naïve or what , we are Indians only on the 15th of August and 26th of January , and even half of India ( North East , Naxalite infested areas , Kashmir ) is not Indian even on that day .
Not knowing how to answer to this kid , I decided that silence was the best option under the circumstances . I was not interested in explaining the semantics of Nation State and all such gibberish stuff .
But kids these days , I tell you , are persistent with their queries .“ Uncle , tell me na , what is a caste ?”, the kid persisted .
I was in a soup . How do you explain something which you do not yourself know . I mean , I have never even tried to find out what does the word ‘ Caste’ itself means . Maybe as adults you accept certain things as fait accompli and que sera sera . But here I was, being forced by a kid to enter unchartered area . Now I know how Indiana Jones felt when he entered the Temple of Doom .
Drawing on all the powers of confusing people , I mumbled , “ Er , caste is something you are automatically born into . You are a certain caste the moment you are bought out from your mother’s womb .”
“ I thought we were all born as human beings ,” the kid replied without batting an eyelid.
My mind was now in a tizzy . The kid now seemed like devil incarnate . I should have immediately written his letter , rather than getting into this , I thought .
“ Yes , Yes , but caste decides as to what kind of human being,” I was now getting confused myself .
Sensing my predicament , the kid eased off on the definition bit .“ OK . But my teacher was telling me that according to our Constitution there is no discrimination on the basis of race , religion , caste and all citizens are equal ,” the kid went on .
Teachers , I tell you , why can’t they let kids be kids . Why tell them something which they themselves know is fiction . Chances are that the person became a teacher because reservation blocked all avenues .
“ Yes , that is right , but there is a small difference for reservation which is a special scheme to make up for centuries of oppression on the underprivileged .” I remembered Barkha Dutt saying so, on Television .
“ Ok , but do two wrongs make a right ,” said the kid .By now I was convinced that this guy had the potential to become a great defence lawyer . His ability to grill for information , create chaos in the mind of the opposition was amazing .
“ Uncle , could you tell me about this case in brief , as I read that a number of people had died in the violence and that they had blockaded the capital New Delhi .”
At least the guy was digressing from sensitive issues , I thought and encouraged him further , “ Yes, something else ?”
“ Why are rail lines uprooted and trains stopped from moving?”Clearing my throat like a tenor ,I began , “ The Gujjars who are already under the category of OBC are now demanding the status of ST , which had been promised to them by the C.M. Vasundhara Raje during her election campaign . They are led by Col. Bainsla , and since the Govt. is dithering over the issue , they have started a violent agitation . The people have been killed in police firing and some policemen have also died . In order to make the Govt yield to their demand , they are not cremating the dead bodies and are further uprooting rail links . The Gujjars blockaded the capital to pressurise the Central Govt . The Congress M.P. Sachin Pilot has demanded the resignation of the Rajasthan Govt . on ‘moral grounds’.”
I felt elated over my general awareness .
It was the turn of the kid to look confused . I was now looking towards a peaceful afternoon.
“ But why do the Gujjars want to become S.T , if they already have the benefit of reservation as OBC ? My teacher tells me that the aim of every individual is to move forward in life , and not backwards . Why are they degrading the dead by not cremating them ? Why did the C.M make a promise she could not keep ? My teacher tells me that one should not make a promise one cannot keep . Does Sachin Pilot want the Gujjars to be given SC status or not ?”
Does this kid think that I am a politician or what , so that I know every answer . And the teacher , I wish I could meet up with the guy . The way he is teaching , these kids will end up pretty confused once they grow up and see the reality in this country .
Finding no way out , I continued , “ Gujjars want ST status because once the JATS were given OBC status in 1999 , the Gujjars feel that they may be marginalised by the Jats who are superior in Economic and social status . The C.M made a promise only to buy some votes , which I must tell you is a reality in this country . As for Sachin Pilot , he has not gone on record as to whether he wants ST status for Gujjars or not .”
“ If Jats are superior in social and economic status , why are they given reservation ? So why are Gujjars not being given ST status ? Should a person who lies hold such an important post ? Should Sachin Pilot be not prosecuted for fuelling fire ? If reservation is such an essentiality why not provide it poor people and the really downtrodden , irrespective of caste ?”
The kid had remarkable resilience . I tell you .My answer bank was drying up. Being a typical Indian middle class man I was used to taking up politically correct stands and this was getting uncomfortable . I had stopped talking and thinking about issues such as reservation , appeasement , nationalism et al , ages ago . Now this young guy was driving me into dangerous waters .
“ The Gujjars are not being given ST status because that sector is dominated by the Meenas , who make up the majority of the bureaucracy in India . You take up the list of any Govt. sector and you see the predominance of the Meenas . Both the Central and the State govt feel that antagonising them by increasing another caste in SC category might invite an even more serious backlash . And son , as you will realise later on in life , no influential person in India is ever prosecuted .”
The kid was not finished , “ If the Meenas have advanced so much in life , why are they still getting reservation ? Isn’t there rule of law in India ? Why are the influential not prosecuted ?”
The kids pursuance reminded me of the movie Godzilla , where the fictional character pursued its victims incessantly . “ Maybe Godzilla was not fictional” , I said to myself .
“ Uncle , my teacher told me that Mahatma Gandhi withdrew the disobedience movement because of the Chauri Chaura incident and his non violent methods were instrumental in driving the British away . What happens when a person who is Gujjar is going to appear in an interview , when the rail lines are uprooted or for that matter a Gujjar patient is being taken to a Hospital in an emergency . Will getting the ST status help the aspirant for the missed interview or the man if he dies , untreated ? How does harassing the common man , who may belong to any caste, help in such causes ? How does blockading or uprooting rail routes and highways , which are the lifeline of the nation help anybody . Do we survive , if the nation as such ceases to exist ? Why cannot the Govt ensure quality primary education to all , free of cost to everybody irrespective of religion , race, gender, caste , instead of investing heavily in I.I.T’s , I.I.M’s , so that everybody attains the same level of knowledge . Why doen’t the Government act like the Government ?”
“ Is this what you are going to give us in inheritance , Uncle ?”
Kids being kids , the young lad suddenly switched on the Television set . There in front of us were hundreds of well groomed youths burning vehicles , pelting stones on the Police and creating mayhem .
BOLO BHARAT BOLO