Amidst the ongoing battle for and against reservations in promotions between the employees of general-OBC and SC-ST in Uttarakhand, locals in Dehradun expressed their views on this issue. According to the majority of people, promotions in jobs should be on the basis of merits and not reservation.
“Demanding reservation in promotion after getting a job through reservation is like demanding for 90 per cent marks in exams just because somebody got admission under SC/ST quota. I don’t know why some people are making it a complicated issue. It is a simple thing that if you do well in exams, you get good grades. Similarly, if you perform well in your job, you will get the promotion. Some people are just trying to take advantage of the reservation system in India,” said a businessman, Arun Prajapati.
According to a school teacher Brahmanand Lal Sharma, “I myself belong to a scheduled caste community and I understand that there are still narrow-minded people who discriminate on the basis of caste and religion. However, providing reservations in promotions besides jobs would be crippling to the society. A promotion is the indication of growth, hard work and dedication of an employee, if the reserved candidate will be promoted, no one would respect the position as well as the candidate. In the long term, it is the worst thing any government can do to its citizens as it will create disparity among the employees in the same field.”
“Initially the idea behind the reservation for some communities in India was to uplift the people belonging to SC, ST and OBCs socially and economically. But now more than 50 per cent people are just misusing it. There are people who undoubtedly need reservations in different sectors but that should be as per their financial status. What is the need for the reservation in promotions to those employees who are probably living a better life than a person living in poverty who belongs to the general category? It is just a selfish move by a few people,” said a PhD student from Chakrata, Mohit Chauhan.
According to an undergraduate student Anshu Saini, “The demand for reservation in promotions is absolutely wrong. According to me, only one generation of SC-ST people should be given the advantage of reservation so that others in need can benefit from it too. When the person is well to do and capable of living and providing a quality life, the reservation should not be extended further by the government. My father was a poor man belonging to the community of scheduled tribe. He could study and got a job because of reservation system. Now my siblings and I do not need it to make our lives better. People should think about others in need rather than exploiting the help provided by the government.”
However, according to some people there should be reservation in the promotions. “The so-called upper caste people have oppressed us for so long that the discrimination is still prevalent in the society. In my village, we are still not allowed to eat together with the upper caste people. How can we trust that SC-ST people will be given fair chance in promotions? Reservation is supposed to give us a sense of security that at least people of our caste or community will be promoted too,” said Rajkumar Ram.