A view of the system
I am not a big fan of political blogs, but the huge uproar about the whole quota system back home sort of moved me to write about this a little bit. There are some ways of looking at this whole issue.
One perspective is of those students who fall under no quota, and are struggling to get an education in the institutions for higher learning in India. I among many others have come from that system and know that since the first mandal commission report's findings were implemented, its only been that much harder for students who don't fall under any quota to get admission into educational institutions. I can therefore understand the anger students and others are expressing about this new quota system for OBC's and others. There are doctors who are on strike to protest this and there are students who committed 'self-imolation' to protest this, I am not sure if this kind of reactionary behavior either addresses the issue or helps redress anybody's grievances.
There are many people who feel aggrieved by the system in its present form. There are many who say system should be replaced. With what?
There are people who can rail and rant about the system, day and night. That proves that they don't like this system, but what do they want it to be replaced with. You ask that question and chances are you will not get any answer, partly because its much easier to blame everybody else, the system, your parents, your friends, your neighbor's dog etc etc.. for all your woes.
I think some good things can come about by this whole debate about quotas. I think more people, including the ones who are apathetic to whats happening in the country and those who sympathize with that point of view, have an oppurtunity to wake up and get to know whats happening, and initiate and participate in a constructive, meaningful public dialogue. Well, what does this last sentence mean? Aren't the doctors who are taking part in strikes and students who are not attending classes doing that? Well, I don't think so, what I mean by a public dialogue is a comprehensive national one, where the people who are against this quota system being implemented, go and spread their message to every part of the country.
You so often get to hear people talking about 'India shining' and that India is doing very well economically etc... What people don't address is the fact that, india's so called propserity has been largely confined to the big and small cities, maybe even towns, but some how hasn't found its way to the smaller villages, the rural parts of india, and so far in any public debate their voices have never been heard. With practically 80% of the country living in the countryside, what sense does it make not to involve them in this process of national debate. Here's my problem with people who are participating in strikes, they paralyze the cities (which maybe is their objective), but secondly and more importantly the people who participate in these strikes are preaching to the quoire. How so? Well the people who are watching this debate, raging about it, hotly debating these issues in blogs are people from cities, who probably have lapped up every detail they read in some newspaper and are debating the finer points of the quota system, and above all, all of these people participating in these discussions are against this system. But what of those people who have not been part of the economic boom in cities, what of those people who are not educated and do not have TV sets at home, let alone computers, who do not have a constant supply of electricity and water. They are not part of this national debate, in fact they have not been part of any debate. Its hard to explain this to people from cities, because they see it only from their perspective. In this issue, it may be important to spread the message to those in small villages and initiate a national ballot measure to see who stands where.
This would also be important from a more longer term perspective, because this debate (can be the begining of more to come in the months and years) acts as a clear glass for the rural electorate, it helps them see who their elected representatives really are, what they are doing in their names. It makes the politicians aware that what they do is being watched, for a change not just by the urbane and the so-called sophisticated, but by their own electorates. There are those who will say this will not work (and its fine as long as you have something else constructive to suggest, that is the whole objective of public discourse. ) it is precisely these people who are the first ones to read the riot act and say what won't work and the last ones to do anything meaningful. For a change I am hoping, people will talk about what they can do, and not what they can't.
The real people of India are not the rich people, moving in their swanky cars, or the ones talking on cell phones, or the ones writing in blogs such as this one. They are the ones who are living in abject poverty, in complete hopelesness, who are moved to such desperation to commit suicide. Every summer we hear about some farmer somewhere commiting suicide, I think it has all become so common place that people are not affected by it any longer. Is india shining for these people? The answer would be not really, they are only becoming poorer, more desperate. I heard a farmer yesterday from Gujarat whose ancestors have been farmers, who works very hard, but no matter how much he tries, he only makes losses on his produce, often undercut by cheaper rice from outside. He doesn't know what to do. He is not educated and feels desperate to go to the city, where he doesn't know what he will do. I wouldn't be surprised to find him begging in some remote part of some city. How many such desperate farmers, who could not fathom suicide, are begging in some city. Is that what they deserve. They are feeding all of us, they work much harder than anybody in any city, against odds (partiuclarly more so in India). Are we creating a permanent underclass? People who don't have the tools to rise, people who are hapless and helpless. Maybe these economically disempowered, need a quota. I am afraid no politician would be for it, because he doesn't get to divide the country (and because for once he gets to do something truly meaningful), they would instead like to divide the country along caste lines, create divisions in a very delicately balanced country, thereby ensuring their own survival.
At the same time in educational institutions everywhere in India, we need to improve the quality of education, there are some ways of doing so. Maybe those who are educated and those who are frustrated with the system, have their oppurtunity to do something meaningful for a change, instead of constantly complaining about what isn't working in the system and paying lip service to the country. But to do that we have to get rid of aggrandized illusions of ourselves, and find a sense of humility, which doesn't come from anywhere but looking within. Who wants to do that?
One perspective is of those students who fall under no quota, and are struggling to get an education in the institutions for higher learning in India. I among many others have come from that system and know that since the first mandal commission report's findings were implemented, its only been that much harder for students who don't fall under any quota to get admission into educational institutions. I can therefore understand the anger students and others are expressing about this new quota system for OBC's and others. There are doctors who are on strike to protest this and there are students who committed 'self-imolation' to protest this, I am not sure if this kind of reactionary behavior either addresses the issue or helps redress anybody's grievances.
There are many people who feel aggrieved by the system in its present form. There are many who say system should be replaced. With what?
There are people who can rail and rant about the system, day and night. That proves that they don't like this system, but what do they want it to be replaced with. You ask that question and chances are you will not get any answer, partly because its much easier to blame everybody else, the system, your parents, your friends, your neighbor's dog etc etc.. for all your woes.
I think some good things can come about by this whole debate about quotas. I think more people, including the ones who are apathetic to whats happening in the country and those who sympathize with that point of view, have an oppurtunity to wake up and get to know whats happening, and initiate and participate in a constructive, meaningful public dialogue. Well, what does this last sentence mean? Aren't the doctors who are taking part in strikes and students who are not attending classes doing that? Well, I don't think so, what I mean by a public dialogue is a comprehensive national one, where the people who are against this quota system being implemented, go and spread their message to every part of the country.
You so often get to hear people talking about 'India shining' and that India is doing very well economically etc... What people don't address is the fact that, india's so called propserity has been largely confined to the big and small cities, maybe even towns, but some how hasn't found its way to the smaller villages, the rural parts of india, and so far in any public debate their voices have never been heard. With practically 80% of the country living in the countryside, what sense does it make not to involve them in this process of national debate. Here's my problem with people who are participating in strikes, they paralyze the cities (which maybe is their objective), but secondly and more importantly the people who participate in these strikes are preaching to the quoire. How so? Well the people who are watching this debate, raging about it, hotly debating these issues in blogs are people from cities, who probably have lapped up every detail they read in some newspaper and are debating the finer points of the quota system, and above all, all of these people participating in these discussions are against this system. But what of those people who have not been part of the economic boom in cities, what of those people who are not educated and do not have TV sets at home, let alone computers, who do not have a constant supply of electricity and water. They are not part of this national debate, in fact they have not been part of any debate. Its hard to explain this to people from cities, because they see it only from their perspective. In this issue, it may be important to spread the message to those in small villages and initiate a national ballot measure to see who stands where.
This would also be important from a more longer term perspective, because this debate (can be the begining of more to come in the months and years) acts as a clear glass for the rural electorate, it helps them see who their elected representatives really are, what they are doing in their names. It makes the politicians aware that what they do is being watched, for a change not just by the urbane and the so-called sophisticated, but by their own electorates. There are those who will say this will not work (and its fine as long as you have something else constructive to suggest, that is the whole objective of public discourse. ) it is precisely these people who are the first ones to read the riot act and say what won't work and the last ones to do anything meaningful. For a change I am hoping, people will talk about what they can do, and not what they can't.
The real people of India are not the rich people, moving in their swanky cars, or the ones talking on cell phones, or the ones writing in blogs such as this one. They are the ones who are living in abject poverty, in complete hopelesness, who are moved to such desperation to commit suicide. Every summer we hear about some farmer somewhere commiting suicide, I think it has all become so common place that people are not affected by it any longer. Is india shining for these people? The answer would be not really, they are only becoming poorer, more desperate. I heard a farmer yesterday from Gujarat whose ancestors have been farmers, who works very hard, but no matter how much he tries, he only makes losses on his produce, often undercut by cheaper rice from outside. He doesn't know what to do. He is not educated and feels desperate to go to the city, where he doesn't know what he will do. I wouldn't be surprised to find him begging in some remote part of some city. How many such desperate farmers, who could not fathom suicide, are begging in some city. Is that what they deserve. They are feeding all of us, they work much harder than anybody in any city, against odds (partiuclarly more so in India). Are we creating a permanent underclass? People who don't have the tools to rise, people who are hapless and helpless. Maybe these economically disempowered, need a quota. I am afraid no politician would be for it, because he doesn't get to divide the country (and because for once he gets to do something truly meaningful), they would instead like to divide the country along caste lines, create divisions in a very delicately balanced country, thereby ensuring their own survival.
At the same time in educational institutions everywhere in India, we need to improve the quality of education, there are some ways of doing so. Maybe those who are educated and those who are frustrated with the system, have their oppurtunity to do something meaningful for a change, instead of constantly complaining about what isn't working in the system and paying lip service to the country. But to do that we have to get rid of aggrandized illusions of ourselves, and find a sense of humility, which doesn't come from anywhere but looking within. Who wants to do that?
posted by Aditya at 8:42 AM
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