As I write the word RESERVATION today, no one needs an explanation on what I’m going to write on! Yes, the last few days have been crucial for Gujarat and India as a whole as the issue of ‘reservation’ progressed something from what was limited to a few strikes and demonstrations to a movement involving lakhs of people and attracting the attention of the Central Government. Reservation has always been a sensitive issue for the people in India, largely because we still somewhere believe in castes and creeds and do not want to be in equal with people of the other castes.
Okay, so basically, reservations were started for the people who were deprived, downtrodden and untouchables in the traditional times and did not have the right to seek education or get jobs in sophisticated organizations. In order to uplift these people was the concept of reservation implemented by the government in the first place. But over the years, it has now become one of the most misused privileges by the people of India. I do not mean to offend the people of any particular caste or category by saying this; in fact, I myself belong to the OBC category but no, I don’t support the reservation system since the sole purpose of it has been lost over the years.
So the issue of reservation has taken an ugly turn in Gujarat and has ultimately culminated into curfews being laid, the army being called and even into casualties. And, the reason being a petty thing like ‘reservation’! Now this is something that can literally cause a war in the entire country if people of other castes come up with such demands too. My basic question is, why does one need reservation at all in today’s world? Do we not have the capability of achieving things on our own, getting admitted to reputed colleges or securing a job for ourselves in government firms? And then, this 21 year old ‘leader’ Mr. Hardik Patel, claims the movement to be non-violent when I can see the news of 3 casualties being reported in the Gujarat violence!
This guy Hardik Patel is surely a brave fellow; being merely 21 year old, he has managed to lead a movement that has grown big enough to get the attention of the entire country and that surely needs to be praised. But, I would have supported this guy if he would have asked the government to abolish all sorts of reservations from government jobs or college admissions. What sense does it make in asking reservation for a community that has lakhs of people? If his demands are met today, someone else will come up tomorrow with a similar demand. What is the government to do then?
Another reason for me not supporting this guy is the violence that is movement has caused in Gujarat and the destruction of public property. I mean what is one going to get by vandalizing the public property and killing people? Is that what the community wants? Things can be sorted out by mere talks and there is absolutely no need to make such a great issue out of a petty thing.
What happens next and how the government reacts to the mess is what is interesting me right now!
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