India and the boy........the boy and India

Once upon a time in India there lived a boy called Bhim. Diligent he was, but tortured. Hard-working he was, but hated and oppressed. Qualified he was, but still despised and debarred from opportunities. What was his fault? Why did he fail to win over the society? He was born a low caste. He was a Mahar. The young boy grew up to be a qualified barrister. He fought against the Hindu rules. He embraced Buddhism. He brought a new verve, vivacity and vigour amongst the low castes and 'untouchables' who have been beleaguered, oppressed and looked down upon by the so-called Brahmins and high castes of India for ages. He became the first Law Minister of independent India. He played the most pivotal role in drafting the constitution of the world’s largest democracy. He became the world renowned Babasaheb – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. He changed the Indian laws that have been written in the favor of the higher castes since time immemorial. He granted a new lease of life to the oppressed and underdeveloped communities of the nation. He was the person who played the most prominent role in introducing reservation.

   Fast forward sixty years. Modern India. As the first decade of the new millennium arrives at its terminus, the laws of Dr. Ambedkar still persist in this nation. In the meantime, India becomes the second most populous nation with the number of educated and qualified people soaring to prodigious heights. The nation now becomes the abode to a mad race of human rats. Rats struggling to achieve success. Rats striving hard to be doctors, engineers, administrative officers, lawyers et. al. In this human sea, only a handful of them realize their cherished dreams and achieve their goals. Aspirants are more. Opportunities are few. But still there exists reservation for a certain section of people - the so-called oppressed, backward and underdeveloped communities. Well and well, India still has a large chunk of people living below poverty line. Take a walk in the villages and backward areas. A large section of the Indians still thrive from hand to mouth devoid of any modernization. The Government of India seems to be very just providing “reservation” to these oppressed classes.
  
  Now have a closer look in the Indian laws. Reservation exists. It functions in 21st century India not on the basis of economy, but on the basis of caste. Reservation is a birth-right in modern India. There is no reservation for the son of a high-caste beggar. But there prevails reservation for the son of a low-caste millionaire. And still India vaunts to be the world’s largest socialist, secular and sovereign democracy.
 
  This is the season when the results of different competitive exams are being announced in the nation. After every result for every exam, the same question arises again and again in my mind. I see students studying together, preparing for the same exams and availing to the same facilities and amenities. A few of them toil hard. The other few do not. Yet, many a times the rule of reservation puts the hard-working students behind the ones who toiled less. Was birth in a higher caste a mistake for those hard-working pupils? Why is the government giving away many seats and facilities to undeserving people in this land of limited opportunities?  In the false veil of reservation and just for the sake of vote banks!!!!  Reservation is hardly availed to by the people who really deserve it. A few trips to rural India has shown me people who are really talented, who could have indeed expanded their wings lest they could have savored the benefits of reservation. But no one cares for them. Members from same families have been making the most out of reservation from generations while the rest deserving families remain deprived for good.

  Who is to blame for this open injustice? The government? The people? The politicians? The boy called Bhim? Or everyone? I might be one of the thousand Indians singing the same song against reservation and getting no reply in return. But I do wish to speak up. This is one question in modern India that indeed demands a proper reply.