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Tuesday, December 05, 2006
The calculus of reservation
The Rational Fool has an excellent take on reservations in his post, Caste=ex. Do read it: sometimes humour does the job when cold reasoning is tired and just wants to go to bed.
I agree with TRF about the inherent silliness of reservations, for they perpetuate and deepen the divisions between castes. It is indisputable that caste is a massive problem in India, but emphasising or illustrating this fact is not an argument for reservations in itself, as many people seem to think. If you support reservations, then the burden of proof is on you to show that they have worked, in all the years that they've been in effect, in alleviating caste discrimination. Intent alone is simply not enough.
I agree with TRF about the inherent silliness of reservations, for they perpetuate and deepen the divisions between castes. It is indisputable that caste is a massive problem in India, but emphasising or illustrating this fact is not an argument for reservations in itself, as many people seem to think. If you support reservations, then the burden of proof is on you to show that they have worked, in all the years that they've been in effect, in alleviating caste discrimination. Intent alone is simply not enough.
