[Reader-list] The Reservation of numbers

[Shivam Vij]

Ah, Karan Thapar and his arguments!

I'll tell you how the 27% figure was arrived at. It was forced by the
hon'ble Supreme Court - the same hon'ble Supreme Court that now wants
to know from the Union of India how the 27% figure was arrived at!

The Mandal Commission used several statistics - most importantly, a
huge survey conducted by itself - to conclude that 52% per cent of
India's population (http://ncbc.nic.in/backward-classes/index.htm )
can be said to be "backward". What exactly is meant by backward? See
http://ncbc.nic.in/html/guideline.htm

The 1931 census was used to get an idea of the occupational sub-castes
- and NOT their populations.

Now, someone went to the Supreme Court on the issue of the "creamy
layer" cornering the benefits of reservations. Creamy layer has been
one argument against reservations, and that reserved seats lie vacant
is another. But if the creamy layer takes away all the seats, why do
seats lie vacant? That's just one of many contradictions in the
anti-quota arguments that Karan Thapar won't ask on prime time TV.

Anyway, so the hon'ble Supreme Court in the Indira Sahani judgement
said that the total number of reservations can't exceed 50% seats in
an institution - and institutions in the south have found innovative
ways of bypassing this, btw.

Already there was 22.5% reservation for SC/STs. So it was to keep the
total number of reserved seats within the 50% bracket that the
government decided to have 27% reservations for OBCs. But even that
could not be implemented in central educational institutions as VP
Singh's government fell.

Did someone say something about statistics being lies? Okay, never mind.

As for P. Chidambaram, he's finance minister and not the social
justice minister. His job is to know the sensex and inflation numbers.

As for Karan Thapar, his job is to get his facts right! From the same
interview that you quote from, some ROTFL stuff:

*

Karan Thapar: Mr Chidambaram you are sitting in front of me advocating
that reservations have improved the quality of education in Tamil
Nadu. The truth is that you yourself didn't go to an institution where
there is reservation for OBCs. You went to Loyala College where there
is no reservation for OBCs and then you went to Harvard. Your son went
to Don Bosco School, Texas University and Cambridge University.

P Chidambaram: You got your facts wrong. I went to Presidency College,
which has reservation.

Karan Thapar: For your MA at which point in time affiliation to
colleges were not important.

P Chidambaram: Your facts are wrong. I went to Presidency College for
my basic under graduate degree where there is reservation. I went to
Law College for my law degree where there is reservation. I am not a
beneficiary of reservation but I know that reservation brought in
students to my class would otherwise have never got in.

Karan Thapar: Mr Chidambaram your son went to Don Bosco School where
there is no reservation. Then he went to the University of Texas where
there is no reservation and then he went to Cambridge University.

P Chidambaram: My son would have never got the benefit of reservation anyway.

Karan Thapar: Did you not send your son abroad deliberately because
you knew that the standard of education in Tamil Nadu had collapsed.

P Chidambaram: No not at all. I am a beneficiary of the educational
system in Tamil Nadu and I am proud about the educational system in
Tamil Nadu. It can be better that is a different matter. Neither my
son nor I are the beneficiary of reservations.

*

What empirical data does Thapar offer to support his contention that
the quality of educational and the repute of an institution is
inversely proportional to the quantum of reservations? All that Thapar
knows about the Mandal report is from a speech by Rajiv Gandhi, who
was leader of the opposition. Has he read the Mandal Report? Does he
know about the National Commission of Backward Classes? Is anyone in
for an informed debate or will it remain the farce that it is, to be
decided on the terms of the meritorious doctors reading 'You Can Win'
under the shade of a
shamiana?

So which college did you go to, friends? That may have a lot of
bearing on this country's affirmative action policies.

Best,
s


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