Has Higher Education Failed India?

I felt strange and it was hillarious to look at one Dr Malik, Secretary of IMA, ranting on Television that there was no caste system in India.
I quote `` We consider no one as scheduled castes and OBCS, every one is equal in India and there is no casteism.``
It is harrowing to listen to such people, who perpetrate all the sins of casteism in their daily lives, but are not ready to accept the harsh reality to serve their interests.

When you say that India would be divided on Caste, I must say that India is already divided and bleeding.
Just go to the hinterland and the villages.
The lustre of a Metro-rail and shopping malls in the metros might hide this all pervading institution, but just go in the morning and interact with the sweepers, and you will find that they have been doing this for ages.
The way the medicos are protesting and the manner in which the upper caste media is projecting them, it means that job of a sweeper, a mochi or a car cleaner is demeaning and should be done by those, who have been historically meant to do these.

Yours only

Abhishek Behl

Hey guys listen

The insistence of the medicos that Article 15(5) of the Constitution should not be implemented is akin to the stance of the Sangh Parivar that matters pertaining to faith are above the law.
What is equally disturbing is the indication that the upper caste elite of this country are losing their faith in a fair debate. But that option was foreclosed by way of coercion.

Now the solution is................

and time has come that we consider making rural and tribal placements, at least for a period of three years, compulsory for all prospective doctors.
A doctor who is indifferent to social justice is an aberration.
Also, there is no reason why the state should subsidise the medical education of the rich, mostly to enable them to find greener pastures abroad or in lucrative private practice in the metropolises.
Shocking events, one after the other, in recent times alert us to the ethical degradation that the medical profession is going through.

Yours truly

Abhishek Behl

Dear friends

If you think that their is no casteism in India and our society is a very homogenious one then just read the news report below.
Had it not been for the constitutional safeguards, government based on democracy, it would have been impossible for Dalits and backward castes from entering into temples let alone officiate as priests.
You must be knowing that the backward caste and Dalits were not allowed to move on roads meant for Brahmins and upper castes prior to independence.

Friends it hurts when the political power and the priviliges slip out of your hands, but it hurts more when privileges sanctioned by social and caste mores for thousand of years remain no longer relevant.
The upper caste are behaving like the Rajwaras and nawabs of yore, not willing to accept the loss of power and that too at the hands of menials of thousands of years.
The report below will make you aware of the kind of privileges enjoyed by the upper castes in the past and even today.

Yours Sincerely

Abhishek Behl


Equality of priestly opportunity

The decision of the Tamil Nadu Government to allow all qualified persons irrespective of their caste to work as temple priests is an important victory in the continuing fight against the social curse that is India`s caste system.
In keeping with a 2002 Supreme Court ruling that non-Brahmins (including Dalits, of course) can function as temple priests if they are ``well-versed and properly trained`` in temple rituals, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Government has expressly provided for the appointment of persons from all communities as archakas.
Customs and hereditary rights, including those dating back several centuries, cannot form the basis for continuing practices that violate fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution.
Any discrimination in the choice of priests militates against Article 15 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right of equality to all citizens, and Article 17, which prohibits untouchability.
The 2002 verdict, which the State Government now cites, clarifies the position in the context of a 1972 judgment of the Supreme Court that held the appointment of archakas not authorised by the agamas as violative of Article 25, which grants the right to freedom of religion.
According to the 2002 ruling, even if traditionally a Brahmin alone conducted the pujas, this did not mean a person other than a Brahmin was prohibited from doing so.
This has now provided sufficient ground for the Government to make another attempt — after the 1970 amendment to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act — to end the discrimination on the basis of caste.

This is a pointless debate. Mr. Behl just has to utter that dreaded phrase ``upper class guy like you`` and we stop dead in our tracks, red-faced at our political incorrectness, ashamed collectively of the cruel atrocities ``we`` inflicted and the wealth ``we`` amassed for thousands of years and probably start apologising for Manusmriti, the Vedas, Ajanta-Ellora and miscelleanous ills the poor, oppressed, English-speaking, internet-accessing, politically represented ``lower class`` author and those he claims to represent, attribute to us

:)

Re: # 33

That is exactly the ``compromise`` formula suggested by SoniaG and lapped up by her faithful lackeys in the Congress. If it`s that easy to double the number of seats at IITs and IIMs, by all means let`s do it. But that doesn`t change the fact that half of those 2x seats will STILL be going to undeserving people.

mineguruji #21

To Abishek

Reseervations have the potential for tearing India apart. If caste based reservations are acceptabe why not language based reservations ? Why not religion based reservations ? If Kannidigas riot in Bangalore demanding 80% of jobs in Bangalore be reserved for them ?
what would you suggest the Indian government do ?

The backwardness of the lower castes has to resolved by compulsory high quality school education and the self-determination to succeed. The corrupt upper caste dominated governments will not provide them. VP Singh or Arjun Singh as chief ministers have done squat in this regard. They have no problems with reservations because it does not affect their relatives. It will buy them a few votes. Your better bet is to take things in your own hands. Lower caste parents are going to have to pool their resources to educate their kids in costly private schools. As NRI I would be glad to contribute to such endeavours.

2000 low caste students every year in IIT/IIM will not uplift 200 million people.

mineguruji #3

`` As far as reservations are concerned, it is without any doubt a positive step being taken by the government.
IITs and IIMs for long have become the preserve of the rich and the upper caste and class elite. Its high time that these institutions begin to give entry to students from all sections of society. ``

There are very few kids of industrialists in the IITs

uba #1

`` This is perhaps due to the fact that a University teacher has no stake in the future of the students. His job is secure, his promotions secure and his pension all the more secure-so where does teaching come in. ``

silly excuse - most tenured jobs in American universities have secure jobs and secure pensions

Ref krishna_abcd #30

[....Sure, Brahmins were part of the upper caste oppression, and prevented them from getting educated in the knowledge-base that the Brahmins themselves had developed. But THAT DOES NOT EXPLAIN WHY OBCs/SC/STs could not develop their own astronomy and mathematics.

Now does it, Mr. Behl?

What is it that prevented them from lying in their own huts and developing their own mathematics and astronomy and philosophy?]

They were busy organizing circle jerks. They didn`t have time for mathematics, astronomy or philosophy.

#36..hahah..so in 5 years abhishek will write ``Pathetic state of education in IITs``.

Re: # 34

The UGC has a bar on increase of seats each academic year. Not more than 10%. Some idiot in the Parliament suggested a 50% increase in intake. Kya naatak hai! The universities are as it is having a problem handling the existing numbers. God alone knows how they will manage the proposed additional intake. Perfect masala for further chaos in our higher education set up. On the other hand, its perfect masala for Abhishek to write another article on the pathetic condition of Indian Universities.

Re: # 34
Oh hang, I`m begining to think like the gover-ni-mint. I knew I should have gone for the IAS instead of engineering.

#33 its not that funny..this is in line with what govt is saying..

http://ia.rediff.com/news/2006/may/18quota2.htm

``The committee told the students that a mechanism was being worked out by which the number of seats in the general category would not come down once the new reservation policy was implemented.

However, it was also pointed out that working out such a mechanism would take time considering that raising the number of seats was not easy as it was coupled with infrastructural problems like raising the number of teachers and other facilities. ``

Re: # 32
Okay Jang
I have a suggestion. It`s too funny for words but....... Lets double the number of IITs and IIMs, medical colleges . That way the number of seats that the upper class would fight over remains the same. The number of seats the OBC etc have have increased n fold.

Ergo everybody is very happy, some more happy than others, but that`s life. Now will some nice bloke provide the money for all those new colleges? -)

i just dont see how a populist move like quotas for OBCs in govt inst of higher learning can fail.

- the ``upper class`` is a poor vote bank
- tamilnadu has implemented this for years and its no worse for it. upper caste have found a way to survive and so will rest of the indians
- BJP will not touc this issue. in past it did, but then they had 2 seats and nothing to lose.
- the upper-caste agitators will be met by other more street-politics savvy counter-agitators

so its time to just accept the fact that mandal commission will be implemented. its imperative on the upper castes to show grace and not ``fight`` this unwinable cause..all it will do is cause a divide bet OBCs and upper-caste (such a divide does not exist now, or is very blurry).

Re: # 30
krishna_abcd
Okay let`s not get carried away by this sort of reasoning or prejudices. There are factual errors in your statement. Continental africa does include Egypt which had its script and for that matter the old state of Israel. There are also scripts like the Bassa in the area of Liberia , there is Ethiopian script , there is the Vai script from West Africa .....

There have been African inventors too. For example Graville Woods invented the telegraph system for communicating with moving trains. He was awarded a patent for that in 1887 . David Blackwell in Berkeley has done fundamental work in game theory. George Washington Carver is well known in the area of biology.

Closer to home , I`m not sure you could dismiss Ambedkar as a moron could you?

I would wish to see a level playing field for all , as difficult as it sounds. Otherwise we just exchange one set of reservations for another.