I agree fully with Mr Jaganathan. I would like to share an "experiment" that we conducted at ACCORD, Gudalur, Nilgiris. ACCORD is a NGO whose main objective is to empower the local tribals to manage their own destiny. We have various programmes, health care, education, agriculture, marketing of rural produce etc. As a strategy, we specifically only employed the tribal youth to implement these programmes. So we have SSLC failed boys and girls running a 30 bedded hospital; teaching students in far flung villages so that they can cope with the academic standards of their peers in the schools; managing a 100 acre tea estate (local plantations employ a Masters in Agri sci to do the same work); and managing a major tea leaf marketing organisation.So much so that today an international academic institution uses them to conduct doctoral level research among the tribals. And the quality of the output is no less than that of 'qualified' professionals. These youth had the talent, but never had the opportunity. All ACCORD did was to impart the knowledge and provide them with an opportunity. Private sector would be foolish not to tap into this native potential.
May be the man in TV show also meant the "affirmative action", when he used the term merit. The author is correct in saying that the required pool of skills and aptitude is what decides the eligibility of any candidate to any position.But when it comes to recruitment of freshers in any company, the ability of the candidate to put in consistent hardwork can only be judged by the academic profile and the figures on the certificates through out his/her academic career.The "skills" are judged by other means. Again the author is of biased opinion when he says that "few dalits have the financial means to get into those career enhancing institutions".Why do people always make the wrong judgement, that all dalits are poor?Even if what the author is believed to be correct, then economic and financial background should be the basis of reservations and not caste based reservations. When oppurtunities are reserved to people on the basis of their caste, do they work hard to become competent? As long as these reservations exist, all our govt offices will be filled with incompetent personnel who are not willing to work hard. Now they are trying to extend this epidemic to private sector as well.
Dear Jagannathan, However you define talent, I hope I need not tell you that a company knows very well how to pick up people to do THEIR job. Then the marks scored will be a criteria, just because the number of unemployed here is so high that if no such restriction is there, it will be virtually impossible to conduct a selection procedure for them. I have myself witnessed two tests(in private sector) being cancelled because the room booked for the tests couldnot contain the candidates even if it was conducted in 4 or 5 batches. Then regarding reservations, it is fair to say that oppurtunities should be provided to the backward. But it should be to the REALLY BACKWARD(economically or so) rather than based on caste. moreover it is sufficient for the system to help them have quality education. If anyone has talent(as u told) and he is given quality education, i don't see any reason why he can't achieve what any others can. Then why further reservations?? regarding B-schools, I hope u know that in an IIM the total fees(for everything for 2yrs) is 3lacs and any bank will loan it if u are able to get an admission. Also with the salary u will earn after that, u can easily repay it.
RE:How Stupid!!
by Ramiah Ariya on Sep 08, 2004 09:32 PM
1.Reservation SHOULD be based on caste because dalits and backward people have social stigma apart from economic stigma. Most dalits' parents are not college-educated; they are not well-connected in private companies. I myself know that even big companies review resumes better if they are sent by someone within the company. How are dalits supposed to compete against this kind of discrimination? In fact I am surprised that private companies have not reviewed their percentage of dalit and backward employees and taken corrective action themselves. In the absence of such action, the government HAS to intervene. Private companies have become coteries of favoritism.
I cannot agree more with the author. It is the moral responsibility of the society in general to ensure that talent is tapped from all classes/sections of society. But the dmented ersion of this theory put forth by the Meirakumars,Paswans and Laloos of this country is a recipe for disaster.
Doling out jobs simply because you belong to some particular caste is a recipe for complete disaster.
While i agree with most of the contents of this article, I disagree with her on the following point. Financial means and will alone *cannot* get you a seat in IITs or IIMs or AIIMS (for MBBS), you do require merit, yes, you require it. Solving tough math and physics problems require skills that you are born with, and that a highly paid tutor cannot teach you. I have seen SC/ST students at IIT. While some of them are good, others simply cannot cope with the pressure, or compete with average students at IIT, which leads to depression, inferiority complex and in some cases, early drop outs.
So, the best affirmative action that govt can take is to provide *high quality* primary and high-school education to the deprived class, instead of providing them *free* education, which is equivalent to giving them permission to attend a school for free with no or poor quality teachers, and obviously no other amenities such as library and labs.
The article is very correct. One cannot rule out talent and replace it with degrees, marks, B-schools and other bells and whistles. A dalit may not have the means to quality education but he may be having innate talents which need to be tapped and propel the country to development and growth.
How about the "affirmative action" being also beneficial to the industrialists? For instance, the govt. can declare Tax concesions depending upon percentage of employees who belong to Dalit community. In this way, the industries are not 'forced' to employ Dalits, just because they are Dalits, whereas if they have Dalits among them, they get some benefits. In other words, employing Dalits is not a mere burden. If they are good, then it is very good. If they are not, at least I get tax benefits!
When there are as total quotas as high as 70-95 in engg. colleges, a smart, poor Brahmin boy (who has never discriminated in his life, but possibly his grand parents discriminated Dalits, while they used to live in a village, hundred years ago) has just five percent of seats effectively to fight for. What is good name for it? Persecution of poor Brahmins?
Country will pay for the loss of talent. There will be point of time when there will be jobs, but nobody smart and educated to pick as the BPO job demand grows.
There are reports that only 5% of graduates can be recruited for for BPO jobs directly and 20% can ever be trained. Essentially, denying a talented Brahmin the opportunity to study/work will show up somewhere.
True, there are people deserving support from govt in terms of education and job. Once the government provides free education and all the benefits, there should be no reservation. Does it mean to say that government is not providing them with the quality education? After one gets a govt job....there are reservations for promotions! Why the hell? These things make people less competitive. Another rhing is who gets benefit out of reservation is a point to be noted. If you go to an ENgineering college for example you hardly find tribals or people who are really backward. most of them just belong to the category thats all. Some of them end up going abroad after their degree spending 15-20 lacs!! Do these people deserve reservation?! 1. There needs to be strict monitoring of who gets benefit out of reservation. 2. Top quality education should be given to backward people and there should be no reservation at the job level/promotion level. Jai Hind
