Rahul Gandhi’s obsession with caste-based representation is a good example of how the belief that an issue delivers political dividends overcomes an actual understanding of the subject. He now looks at everything from that single lens, regardless of the intricacies of affirmative action. His concern that no SC, ST or OBC has become Miss India is indicative of how he thinks the world should function. How would reservations work in what is an entirely private enterprise that is run by a foreign entity that makes its own rules? How would the Indian affiliate be able to conform by selecting candidates on the basis of different criteria? Will he be asking next that India’s Olympics athletes be selected on similar basis? Is he implying that persons from ‘under-privileged’ backgrounds are deliberately being prevented from participating?
If, however, he means that such persons are unable to participate because of certain inherent disadvantages, should these not be addressed, or are reservations the answer? Society can work on providing opportunities but not on tampering with outcomes. India is not the only country that has attempted affirmative action – history is replete with occasions when ‘equality’ has been sought to be implemented through political interventions – sometimes violent, sometimes radical. The socialist states tried this but did not succeed much. Even the United States is today in the throes of how this is to be done and is facing an extremely strong reaction from its citizens to some quite outlandish initiatives.
India’s experience with its reservation system has been mixed. It was supposed to be a temporary measure and was introduced more because of a lazy idealism that had little understanding of economics or the social structure. The lessons learned over the decades indicate that opportunities for the backward cannot come from handicapping those considered forward, economically or socially. It is a far more complex process that must be addressed at multiple levels. The stress being laid in the present to ensure food and health security at the grassroots through numerous schemes, as also to provide basic education and livelihood opportunities, will establish the base for upward mobility. No one can be left behind, so it has to be all-inclusive, not selective in any way. Since India is a democracy, the people need to understand this and not allow themselves to be deceived by self-serving politicians. Populism has taken many nations down the drain – with its size and diversity, India may not be able recover from taking the wrong decision at a crucial point in its history.
