No qualms about reservations if...

I was truly surprised to see the wide gamut of views people expressed over this contentious issue in the past few weeks. The near hysterical reactions of people on either sides of the debate left thinking about whether we have actually evolved as a society that respects others opinions for what they are instead of branding them for their views. The whole range of reactions left me wondering if there ever could be a middle ground. I think there is!!

Firstly let me make it clear at the outset that I am not against reservations if they are truly the means to empowerment. In fact this was precisely the reason they were initiated at the time of the first constitution. I think it is our moral obligation to provide people who have suffered over the years a window of opportunity to catch up. People might argue about getting penalised for the mistakes of our forefathers but we have a duty to correct or atleast make amends for the past. However we need to get over the past and look forward to what we can do in the future if we have to overcome these resentments. Therefore I think reservations are one of the many ways in which we can overcome the entrenched mindsets of the past. I also think that there need to be caveats if reservations need to yield the desired results. Firstly without giving students a good primary education it would be a travesty if we focussed all our efforts on the university education system. I think France is a model for this where state run schools offer the same quality of education throughout the country.  Secondly reservations need to be given for a specific timeframe which should span one or two generations ideally. They should also be reviewed at the end of this timeframe by a diverse group of technocrats and not politicians who have parochial interests. Thirdly foolproof ways of ensuring that caste and income criteria are not manipulated because we can buy these certificates on the fly will ensure that there is credibility in the system. And finally what about educating the older generation about why they are being given instead of leaving them out of this debate?