Sir — This refers to the article, “A new way forward for backward castes” (March 24) by Sandhya Jain. It’s disheartening to see communities asking for fresh quotas even after 67 years of independence. The Constitution had adopted the formula for a limited duration and recommended its steady withdrawal over a period of time. Now, not only the politicians but also the people have taken undue advantage of reservations. It was sad to see the OBC quota being implemented across Union Government institutions after 50 years of independence.
A child, whose parent had taken the advantage of the quota system, takes coaching in big institutions to clear the exam through the reserved quota again, whereas a financially backward person battles without these facilities. The Government, while framing directions, forgot to think that subsequent generations of the same family have been taking the advantage of quotas whereas another generation that couldn’t make it, is still fighting for survival.
This leads to an unhealthy work environment in Government institutions where people are discriminated according to their caste and class affiliations. It will be political suicide for any party to reduce or abolish quotas or have them on financial considerations alone. Thus, it is we, the people, who need to change and demonstrate that we are ready for proactive steps to be taken to slowly get away with this system. It will be a dream come true to see caste being taken out of all application forms.