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From: debray@sbcs.UUCP (Saumya Debray)
Newsgroups: net.nlang.india
Subject: Re: In defense of caste-based reservation
Message-ID: <243@sbcs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 23-Apr-85 09:41:52 EST
Article-I.D.: sbcs.243
Posted: Tue Apr 23 09:41:52 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Apr-85 01:00:12 EST
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Organization: Computer Science Dept, SUNY@Stony Brook
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Sri Rajeev:
> Unfortunately, we have such a "policy" active in India that discriminates
> by birth:  the caste system. I find it reprehensible, but it is a fact
> of life, and it has to be dealt with. That is why I support reservation,
> which mitigates some of the ill-effects of caste prejudices.

You seem to be saying that two wrongs will make a right.  I've never been
convinced of that, and am not now.

While your humanitarian motives are laudable, I'm not sure that unalloyed
humanitarianism is in the best interests of any country.  At some point,
the effects of an action on the future well-being of the nation have to be
taken into account.  Which is why you probably wouldn't say, "Gee, this
poor chap's been historically oppressed, so let's give him a PhD in
Computer Science and put him on a fat salary!"  And similarly with doctors,
IAS/IPS officers, &c.

I have no quarrel with a Harijan doctor if the guy knows what he's doing,
and I won't go near a Brahmin doctor who doesn't know his stuff.  The only
reasonable criterion, in the long run, is merit.  In recognition of the
fact that some _deserving_ people might not be in a position to use their
talents, it might be reasonable to help them along at the beginning.  But I
don't see how "deserving" can be defined with respect to caste.  I, for
one, don't want to carry incompetents - Harijan or Brahmin - to fulfil
mindless quotas of any sort!

People who support caste-based reservation usually cite "historical
discrimination" as justification.  It seems strange that these same people
are blind to the fact that caste-based reservation policies simply
replace one policy of discrimination by another.  They seem to argue that,
since one discrimination policy is bad, two of them will somehow neutralize
each other.  This argument seems naive, at best ... and one need only look
at Gujarat and elsewhere for confirmation.

-- 
Saumya Debray
SUNY at Stony Brook

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