In the vast grounds of Hastinapur, which witnessed the might of many warriors and the glory of many princes, entered the 105 brothers, called as Pandavas and Kauravas. Though it was everyone’s show, all the eyes were fixed on Arjun. People of the capital were excited to experience the brilliance of the greatest archer ever born, or they say. When it was time for the main act, there was a twist in the tale! A low born, or as he was called so, came up to the centre of the grounds and challenged Arjun for a one on one skills test. Arjun was ready for the challenge, but the “learned & civilized men” objected to it, saying that to participate in a royal challenge, one needs to be a Kshatriya or a king. “Evil” Duryodhana came forward to the stage and crowned the low born as the king of “Anga” kingdom. That low born never looked back or never let his well-wishers down and strived for their glory, all his life. This man, named Karna, is praised by one and all till date and this “you have to be a Kshatriya to compete” incident, which took place thousands of years ago, is still remembered as one of the low points in human history.
In the congested slums of Dohepur, which witnessed the suffering of uncountable number of people, did rise a star! Working as a janitor during day and studying under the lights of the nearby railway station during nights, an orphan scored 175 in the IIT JEE mains, 5 less than the qualifying mark! He did not feel bad then. Next day, when he went to work in one of the houses, his master gave him a sweet box and asked him to congratulate his son, Rahul for scoring a rank of 3000 (category) with a mere 90 marks. Karan did not understand all that then. Wearing the only untorn dress he has, he went to the Sarpanch’s office to ask them about it. They explained to him clearly what “Reservation” is how it is needed for the society. Without reservations, backward caste students like Rahul would get injustice! All the way while walking back home, various thoughts crossed his mind about how hard he worked for each single mark and the times when he used to survive only on water and starch for days straight to buy one book. He couldn’t understand why a born with the silver spoon guy, who scored almost half of his score was given a chance to study in the reputed college of IIT and why he is not! He quietly went back to his hut, took a blade into his hands and nothing ever shone in those slums again! This man, named Karan, was pitied by the news watchers for one day or two, until they moved on to the next important news of India winning the world cup and this “he is better than you because of his birth” incident, which happen every day, is no longer cared about!
Let’s take an example of a teacher job, in Government College. There were many incidents where applicants with 80% or more are rejected to give way to the category applicants who couldn’t even score 60%. Think from a student’s perspective! How a lecturer with a high command on the subject (80%) would have taught them, compared to a lecturer who would now be reckless about his job because he wouldn’t know the value of that position?! If you have given multiple chances to a candidate in the form of reservation all his life and still he is able to score only 60%, why on the earth would you want to give him another chance, ruining the life of a talented person? Where is the loophole?
It’s not always the case that students are fond of this opportunity given to them. There was an incident where I met a person who earned my respect for life! We were playing cricket in our street and after the match, I talked to a guy, 3 years younger to me about his JEE exam. He told me that though he belonged to a category, he did not mention it in the application form. When he said, “I am happy with what I earn, not what I am given”, I saw the pride in his eyes. He went on to score a rank of 400 and I was filled with happiness that moment, though I have no relation or friendship with him! Every person understands that by using the reservation facility (even though their financial conditions don’t need it), they spoil another student’s life who is better than them. When they do understand this fact, terms would be a lot better for everyone.
It is not even the mistakes of the politicians. Poor things, they can’t risk speaking on the anti-reservation bill and losing the votes of a certain caste. And of course, on any day, vote bank is more important than the lives of people and deaths of students. Dr. Ambedkar did what he did because the conditions were too bad back then, If life is a race, backward caste people were competing from 50 metres behind the start line. He tried to bring them to the start line so as to have a fair competition. But now, instead of equality, category students are placed in the mid-way of the track and hurdles are placed in the way of general students, making it an upstream swim for them! Just make it less unfair, if not fair! Just don’t give the talented students a broken chariot and then expect them to race of.
PS: This article is not against anyone. It is written just because I felt that it’s high time for people to lose their fear talking about this sensitive topic.
euphoricwrites 