The fight to be a scheduled tribe.
Gujjar leaders in Rajasthan signed a truce agreement with the state government on Monday, and called off the community’s week-long agitation for Scheduled Tribe status that claimed 30 lives. - Taken from HindustanTimes 5th june 2007
For those of you wondering WHY any sane person would want to be declared part of a scheduled tribe...here's why...privelages. The privelage to government jobs, to quotas in higher education...its all about privelages. Its not going to be long before there are a gazillion groups demonstrating in cities all over demanding their 'right' to special treatment.
Thus, there's a dire need to scrape the very 'quota' system that we have. Primarily because it does not serve any purpose. Why should one be in a quota because the person is of a certain religion or caste? Is the government indirectly trying to say that they are less academically inclined and need 'extra support' in getting a seat in a college or a government job?
If there should be a quota, it should be there for the physically disabled, who are inevitably discriminated in society. The system of dividing a country into 'castes' should be abolished. But then again....when certain parties (**coughs) remain in power, they will undoubtedly make use of ancient division to futher divide the country and garner votes at the same time.
Till any miraculous change takes place, i'd like to offer my sympathies to the poor souls trapped in the traffic jam for hours due to the enlightened demonstrators.
Labels: politics
