reservation - latest victim

Reservation has always been a touchy topic in India. I remember waiting for final call from IIMB while the drama was being played out in the Supreme Court. Only those who were waiting for the results can tell you how traumatic it can be. The latest in the Great Indian Reservation Drama is the conflict between Gujjars and Meenas in Rajasthan.While lives are being taken there, i dnt see proponents of caste-based reservation doling out gyan in newspapers and TV. I wonder what are they thinking while sitting in their houses. Is this something totally unexpected? Wasnt it natural that all communities who are backward would like to receive the benefit? Doesnt this vindicate Supreme Court's stand that the basis on which castes have been selected is questionable? Why isnt a certain Arjun Singh standing up and telling us again that its our social responsibility to provide reservation based on caste and in the process if lives are lost and more divisions are created,thats perfectly fine? Wasnt it expected that the flaws in the policy will keep bubbling up? Its a dangerous ploy which is bound to have far-reaching consequences.

When reservation was first offered after our independence,it was supposed to be only for a period of 10 years. And as always in politics, you cnt take back whats been given. So reservation continued and more & more policies were woven arnd it. Now when we look at the result of 60 years of relentless pursuit of caste-based reservation we find:
1) Govt all set for 49.5% reservation for SC/ST and OBCs. How was it decided that which caste should belong to this? well, that beats me. Mandal commission which surveyed the districts with a given set of parameters was long long ago. Jatts in some states are OBCs while in others they are not. Gujjars think they should get a cut of the cake and obviously Meenas wouldnt let them take away what they think is rightfully theirs. When so-called higher-caste ppl protested against the reservation, they were labelled as selfish lot who dnt want to undo what their elders had supposedly done. Now can we label Meenas as selfish too? how long will it be when the same drama will be played out between another set of castes in another state? what will we do then?
2) Why aint creamy layer excluded from the reservation benefit? is it because they still need it? If yes, then you are telling me that son of a lower-caste IAS officer studying in some of the best schools in the country needs reservation while son of a poor farmer in Punjab doesnt need it simply coz he was born as higher-caste although he couldnt buy a book, couldnt go for tuitions, cudnt pay high fees of private schools and had no future to look forward to. I am sorry but i dnt see any logic behind this. Isnt all this gimmick just to ensure that the govt keeps the vote bank of such castes intact? Today when i look around, i see students from some of the best schools in Banaglore and Delhi getting the advantage of reservation while someone who studied in the dusty fields of Punjab or Haryana or Bihar, slogs it out in the general category. I am sorry Mr Arjun Singh, but either there is smthing that you are not telling us or there are vested interests. My heart,thoughts and feelings go out for young guys and girls who fight it out with no resources.
3) Why is it that a poor Jatt farmer's son is not allowed any benefits? Isnt he as much eligible as a poor son of any other caste? If not ( and thats how it stands today), is he a lesser mortal or is the govt saying he has to pay for what his elders did for centuries? Its insane.
4) Why caste? Why not economic parameters? Isnt it logical, easier, fairer and more understandable that reservation should be based on economic factors? How will our Mandal commission heroes explain that Gujjars dnt deserve it but Meenas do? Will they try to cover up their sham and include Gujjars? If so , wnt other communities stand up? what will they do then? This is a vicious circle which will never end and hence beats the very purpose for which it was created. I just fail to understand that when every other minister and IAS officer these days goes to US on a yearly basis, they fail to notice that Harvard University also has a certain mode of reservation. When blacks (akin to our low-castes) got their rights, these universities also faced the same problem. As it stands they have a point based system where you get a certain number of points if you are economically weaker. There are similar other measurable paramters for which you get points. These parameters can be suited/remodelled based upon our society. For example, we may want to give some benefit to children of border villages.While we copy almost every other thing from US ,why cnt we copy whats good there? We run to them to copy their designs in nuclear technology but in education we think our policies are above the world.
5) By promoting reservation based upon castes aint we ensuring that the stigma of castes never leaves us? Aint we creating more divisions? Studends and scientists came out in huge numbers to protest against the increase in reservation. As and when its implemented, are we expecting them to just accept it with no hard feelings although no plausible explanation has been given for the same? To the extent that Supreme Court has raised objections shows its a farce.
6) Our society is moving rapidly into an era where knowledge will rule supreme. Such vote bank agendas will never last. But they are dangerous coz of what they are capable of unleashing.
While i have nothing against ppl of lower-caste, i have nothing against poor ppl of higher-caste or higher-caste ppl of border villages also. And to my mind they are all equal human beings.

Dangerous policies like this can only be nullified/annulled if the public wakes up. Media and intelligentsia are the only hope. Otherwise insanity will continue to prevail.

(P.S. :politicians play with the lives and careers of ppl. I dnt have any respect for such a lot. I also accept that this is a limitation of democracy that such agendas take roots.)