I always felt that in India, the government made rules and policies keeping the interests of the minority communities in mind. Always careful, not to hurt their feelings. In Karnataka too, the larger interest of the Kannadiga populace was often ignored to appease the minorities. Of course, neither of the situations appealed to me, as I belonged to the group that was at the receiving end. I always wondered why the larger group had to make sacrifices to satisfy the smaller ones. Why were the policy makers partial to them? Why was the step-motherly treatment meted out to the majority? As if to placate me, there were always individuals and organizations that would rebel against the injustice done to us, the majority.
I doubt if this attitude of the government was received with the same rage in the wake of the nation’s freedom. And I wonder if the people who raise their voice against similar regulations today, are not justified in doing so.
Let me narrate a story. There was once a mother with her two children. The older one was a healthy, strong boy and the younger one was scrawny and slightly crippled. When they cut the cake, the younger one got a larger piece. When they fought, the mother took the little one’s side. When rules were made, they didn’t apply to him and when he made a mistake he was always excused. The older sibling accepted all this, at first approvingly and later grudgingly, but still, said nothing.
Soon, the boys were older, and the skinny second child grew up to be a strong man, the cripple reduced to a small inconvenience, and started living a normal life like his elder brother. Now there was hardly any difference between the two, but the favors never ceased. He still got the lion’s share and still escaped rules.
Now, is the older brother not justified in being infuriated at this? Is he not right in expecting fair treatment, now that they are equals? What should the mother do? Spoil him further, in order to escape his wrath and let him turn into a monster? Or lay down the rules on him and play fair, now that the two are equally advantaged? The former might give her temporary respite from incurring his wrath, but in the long run will spoil him, leading to the doom of all three. The latter, though will be received with much displeasure at first, will ensure peace in the long run for the threesome.
As a young nation, when the minorities are minorities, in every sense of the word; it is not unreasonable to give them a few benefits. No one will oppose that, and no one did. When their numbers are large enough and they no longer are a meek minority with no voice of their own, should we still make policies that protect their interests at the cost of inconveniencing the majority? Should everyone belonging to the majority faction suffer, just because there are large numbers of their kind? In doing so, are we raising what will grow up to be a troublesome force? Isn’t it high time we stopped the privileges and started treating them as equals and not as the under-privilged?
PS: India and Karnataka are just examples. I quote the situation there because, I have lived there and can comment. The argument, however, applies to most nations and states faced with the issue of a "not so minor" minority. Or so I think.
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4 comments:
Hi Gowri:
The first part seemed kinda ayn-rand-ish. But you are right. The analogy is very fitting too. I was giving exactly the same talk to one of my uncles whose son is writing the state entrance examinations to engineering colleges. I said the majority has only minority amount of seats. So be prepared for the worst :(
Noidadude
Hi Noidadude,
Thanks for the feedback. :-)
You are right abt the scene in Engg Colleges and this is the case with medical colleges too. The entrance exams were by far the only foolproof method of testing students, but now that's reduced to a joke too. Wonder how long the sad state of affairs will continue !
Your analogy was "so touching" I almost cried. Then of course I realised that there was supposed to be some connection between Kannadigas and non-K. Ohh! So I got a cake is it? And broke rules and got away with it?? Nice... except.. wat cake and wat rules are we taking about? What privileges have I got being a non-Kannadiga????? Do tell me. I love the idea of having been spoilt.
Last time i was taking a walk on Brigade road I saw some very interesting spray painting done on hoardings. Got me thinking. Its ok to send you kids to English schools, make sure their english is purfect (why I even hear they write blogs in english. Really!), join nice big companies, speak, write, talk in English ("But see, thats progess right?") BUT! ifIeverseeasignboardinenglishIswearonthemudofKarnatakaIwillblackpaintit! (Is this the intelligence you're recommending for colleges and companys to take them in?)
I can go on and on and on about why every line of your argument is superbly backward but I am tired of people like you. You'll ignore all the outsourcing done to India that causing US guys to lose their jobs. You'll ignore that people like me love this place and are HURT when told we have no right to it, becuase we are not KANNAGIDAS. You'll ignore the fact that Bangalore is getting any money at all because of MNC investing and puttin up firms here. You'll even ignore that Bangalore is ONE bloody city in the whole of Karnataka. And the fact this one bloody city does not have everyone whose mother tongue is Kannada has you so enraged that even protests registered to placate you (poor guys, how hard they work to keep you happy. All night they stayed up to paint bangalore black. Still u are not "placated")
Let me just say this. And for all the people you got thinking (really!). This majority and minority rubbish was what Hilter said and Holocast happened. Was wat Bal Thackeray said and Badri Masjit happened. Was what Muslim fundamentalist in Bangalesh said and the worst ever riots happened. Was wat Dalits in Chennai said and got all sorts of reservations done for them. Is was wat some 250 people in US are saying right now because the company they WORKED in, where I work now, just laid them off. You are no cripple Gowri so STOP HOWLING!!! Believe me you have no more a right to this place than I do. No mama ever gave me your cake and still I grew up fine. Thanks for nothing.
Reservations are an evil. Agreed. Lets get rid of them. But no way are they in favor of Non-Kannadigas. Thats the biggest nonsense I have ever heard.
BTW, last month 200 of us took to the streets to promote theatre. For the first time language didnt count. It was a walk for theater we said. Just that. Lovely it was.
Oh! before that there was a Polio camp and I was a part of the awareness campaingn held all across city.
Then last week I pulled out every one in my building to stopping Muncipal from lighting up garbage and leaves thats causing polution.
I am no social activist. Nor are you. But if you like to take up a battle then there are a lot more worthier ones. Give that a thought!
Mohan: The object of my criticism was the policy maker, for pampering sections of society, which no longer deserves to be pampered. As for the favored lot, there are people who take advantage of it and there are those who don’t. I have had friends who have, in the past, chosen to apply to colleges / jobs in the general category though they, by virtue of their caste / religion were eligible for benefits reserved for their community. For every such person, I have also seen several others who have taken undue advantage of these policies.
Anonymous: I will ignore the caustic comments and come straight to the point.
1)You have assumed that the whole post is about the “Kannadiga – Non-Kannadiga” issue in Bangalore and your entire comment is about attacking a statement I neither made nor implied. I never mentioned Bangalore even once. This was no chance omission; I deliberately left the city out of this. Bangalore, with all its IT companies and call centers is home to people from all over India and is truly cosmopolitan now. It will never regain its native charm and is a lost cause. I did however mention Karnataka. Due to one particular major minority in Bangalore, the state government once came close to introducing a particular language as part of the curriculum, in the whole state. All because they were a dominant force in the capital city? Was that not a step to appease the major-minority?
2)You will rave and rant about the issue of Kannadiga v/s non-Kannadiga, which you think is all the post is about, but will happily agree that reservation is an evil. Why? Because it affects you adversely? Because, this time you have to bare the brunt of regressive policies? Just so you know, this was the issue I was trying to highlight in the post and looks like in your hurry to conclude that I was waging a battle against Non-Kannadigas in Bangalore, you missed the important point.
3)Before I start this one, let me state that this is not about language anymore; that it never was, is a different matter altogether. All through you are only talking about yourself, that you did not get a better deal, a bigger piece of cake, a better chance than anyone else. That I am no cripple, and I should stop howling. I never said I was, even if you were to look at the “touching” anlogy. But, Mr. Anonymous, do you realize, that a lot of people who are adversely affected by these reservations are indeed crippled? If I don’t get good enough marks, I can use some more money and get myself a payment seat. If I do not get a job, I can sit back at home and write things like this, because I am no bread winner for my family. What about the guy who cannot apply for a job because the cut off percentage for him is 60 while another can get through because it only 45 for him? What about the poor civil services aspirant who has to shelve his dreams because he has run out of attempts, but his friend has some more left for no valid reason? What about the poor student who has to pay the entire fees, when he can hardly afford it, while the “not so poor”, but otherwise privileged friend only has to pay a fraction? What about the man with a family to support, who can no longer apply for the job, because he is past the cut-off age. It seems like even age seems to favor the other lucky people. He who has mouths to feed should remain jobless, so that a less deserving person gets the job, simply because he belongs to a particular category? This I said and still say is UNFAIR.
4)I have nothing but contempt for the kind of games the BJP and the Shiv Sena play, if you got the feeling that I felt otherwise. Creating discord between otherwise peacefully co-existing communities is not what self-less and well meaning leaders do. When I say, do not play to the tunes of the minority, I do not mean create riots. I mean abolish laws that needlessly advantage some people. None of the parties would be willing to do that, because that would mean displeasing a large number of people and losing innumerable votes.
5)Finally, it is not reservation in itself that I am against. The basis for reserving positions should be clear and revised from time to time. What was relevant, half a century ago, may not be relevant anymore. I am perturbed that the political parties, owing to the vote-bank politics that they play will never look into such issues, which may and perhaps has thwarted many a bright future.
Do keep up the good work you are doing and the worthy causes you are campaigning for. I hope to do some real work too, on my return and not confine myself to being an arm-chair critic.
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