Out-of-sync

The government move to reserve 27% seats for OBC candidates in educational institutions is deplorable. Not only does it smack of opportunism, but is also short-sighted. The establishment seems to be caught in a time warp, using reservations as a policy for bringing social equality.

Isn't it out of sync with the times? It might have been a relevant instrument in the pre-liberalisation era, but don't we have better drivers for growth and equality today? The answer lies in the opportunity that the boom in private enterprise provides to young India. For the past decade or so, a young working population and a new entrepreneurial culture have given better livelihoods to millions of people. As more and more sectors of the economy have been freed from the shackles of government regulation, people have expanded businesses through competition and fair play. It is the ethos of the new Indian - competition, hard work and fair-play.

And yet, this move seeks to undermine the great opportunity that beckons us. Our biggest strengh, as universally recognized, is the huge skilled manpower that can compete in the global market. That workforce has been built on the a pretty good educational infrastructure. To maintain our competitiveness and take it to the next level, these institutions must grow, attract the best talent and nurture it. Any move to impose quotas will not only be a drag on competitiveness, but is divisive and will nurture ideas of unfair competition, which have no place in the highly competitive market today.

Mandal 3.0 looms over us. If the current proposal goes through, the proponents of this will start pushing for reservations in the private sector. That will be the death knell... depriving oppurtunities to millions to make a life for themselves.