Divide & Rule !

I clearly remember the first time when I had a discussion related to castes with my friends. It was the time when reservation for OBC was introduced. Prior to that we did not even bother about castes. Before that I had not even bothered to ask my parents which caste I belonged to and whether it falls under OBC or not? But I am sure after this rule for reservation, even small children would first confirm if they belong to OBC to avail the reservation.

It seems this was not enough a divide for our esteemed politicians. Britishers divided and ruled India on the basis of religion where as politicians are dividing and ruling India on the basis of castes. To ensure that Mayawati always remains in power, she might not mention the work she would do for the people but would definitely mention her caste in all her speeches. Including caste in census would help these powerful caste politicians use the census data as fodder for votes and government funding. It will empower politicians to create division in our lives to the last detail.

There are two debatable points related to including caste in census. One is the purpose this data would solve and the other is the way it would be executed to get accurate data.

The need for accurate data relating to castes came into picture when the Supreme Courts and Apex Courts demanded for data on the basis of which demands for OBC quota were raised. Last caste census was done by Britishers in 1931. Based on extrapolation of that data, the percentage of OBC was determined as 52% and correspondingly 27% reservation was done. Many caste politicians are of the view that these numbers are no where near the actual data and that caste census is needed to determine the exact population of OBC so that appropriate reservation can be given to them. In Modern India, where people dream of a casteless social order and efforts are made to weaken the caste structure, this caste census would only create fissures.

For a moment lets assume that the government has all the data related to castes. It is found that the percentage of SC, ST, or OBC has reduced and some other caste has increased. Will the government have the character to reduce their quota and increase the quota of the new caste? Will it not lead to more social stress and disorder? Will it not lead to situations similar to Gujjar protests in Rajasthan a couple of years back? At a time when terrorism and naxalism are posing a threat to security, are we equipped to handle additional threats?

Operational difficulties of a caste census cannot be ignored. Census 2011 will cover 1.2 billion people, with 2.5 million people being deployed to track them. However, a new dimension would be added to this census. Caste is not an "objective" measurable category like occupation, age, sex, education etc. It is to some extent a "subjective" category related with identity and perceptions which change from time to time. Though the literature on caste system is large, so far there is no precise definition of caste which can help a quantitative study. A definition encompassing different marks and boundaries of the numerous castes among Hindus and non-Hindus in different parts of the country is essential for census enumeration. Even if such a list enumerating the various castes is prepared and agreed upon, it is almost next to impossible to categorize the various sub castes and sub sub castes and convert it into meaningful data.

In 1931, when the last caste census was done, many people had claimed to be from higher castes to get a decent position in the society. Today, many people would claim to be from lower castes to get the benefit of the quota system. How are the census officials going to verify the caste information given by the individuals?

A few months back even the Home Ministry had declared to the Cabinet: “Population census is not the ideal instrument for collection of details on caste. The operational difficulties are so many that there is a grave danger that the basic integrity of the census data may be compromised and the fundamental population count itself could get distorted.” But once the Opposition—everyone from the JD (U), SP, RJD, Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, AIADMK and DMK to BJP, CPM and CPI (M)—got together, the Congress cravenly caved in.

In today's India, it seems the vision of caste-less society is there only in history books. We teach our children the various ill-effects of the rigid caste system and the strict social hierarchy based on their family's traditional livelihood and ethnicity only for some stupid exams. They learn the real lesson on caste system from our politicians and their shrewd policies based on castes!!!

Naxals : Part of problem or solution ???

Living in Jharkhand for more than 20 yrs, I was unaware of one of the biggest threats India is facing - naxalism. Not that I had not heard of this, but I didn't know the causes and effects of the same. Only thing which I remember is my dad following any news related to naxal attack in Jehanabad (my grandparents' place - also one of the areas severely affected by naxalism). Whenever I used to goto Jehanabad, I used to be awake all night. Somehow I believed if I am awake, then people wont attack our house..!!

In the last couple of months, I read more about naxalism. In most of the articles, the violence was condemned. There are hardly any articles to bring out the problems faced by them and the reasons which led them to take up arms. I do agree that the means adopted by them is wrong and can never be justified. But at least we should not turn a blind eye to their problems.

The Indian Forest Act came into action and overnight thousands of tribals living in forests were rendered homeless. The ownership of the land on which they were living for hundreds of years was given to the government without proper relocation or incentives to these tribals. They were given the right to vote in exchange for their right to live. When the rest of India was treading the road of developement and modernization, these people were denied even the basic amenities. With no proper houses, sanitation, education and earning, these tribals were left to struggle in the dense forests all by themselves. Even today there are no proper roads in their villages. The schools are the most abandoned buildings. Why should teachers come here, to the jungle, when they get their salaries sitting at home?

Naxal groups claim that their primary objective is to take up the issues of equity, class and injustice within tribal society. It started its operations in West Bengal and soon spread to less developed rural areas of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh etc. Today around 200 districts are a part of the Red Corridor (areas affected by naxalism). They have the support of the tribal and rural population of central India. They prefer sending their children to training camps organized by naxals to sending them to schools. At least it gives them hope that some day they would get their land back. If someone captures our house overnight, we would also try to get it back by any means, If talks don't help, then wont we take the help of some local gundas to threaten them and get back our house by any means. They are also doing the same. Even Bhagat Singh and Subhash chandra Bose used violence to make their voice heard. Then why do we appreciate Bhagat Singh and Subhash chandra Bose but condemn naxals? Instead of understanding their problems and empathizing with them, we are thinking of the possibilities of air strike?

But in the bargain the whole population in the red corridor is living in constant state of fear. Every other day is a bandh which throws life out of gear. And who suffers, the common people. The target of their ire is common masses, the target of government atrocity and inefficiency is also common masses.

There is no one right side or wrong side in this menace and there's no direct or easy solution to this problem. Instead of deploying more and more armed forces in these areas, if our government and build more roads, TV and teachers to these areas, the situation can be under control. They need listening ears more than bombs and explosives.

Vo teen saal..!!!

Now that I have lots of free time before going for management studies, I was just thinking about the past 3 yrs of my life which I spent in an unknown city far from home all by my self. In addition to the 3 yrs of work ex which I would have to mention some 300 times in various resumes and interviews in the next 2 yrs, I learned a lot about life. Some were through experience (as the famous saying goes... failures are often termed as learning by experience) while others were cherish-able moments.

I learned to laugh at the end of the day with friends in spite of having the worst days at work....I learned to accept people the way they are...to forgive people easily...to help the needy...to spend money for sweet nothings...the list is actually endless.

In these 3 yrs I learned to live my life to the fullest in spite of all the daily mundane issues and hectic work schedule. But there are a few things for which even 3 yrs were less. I still cannot manage my time properly and end up doing all my important things in the eleventh hour. May be my mind is just too convinced that if I do something in the last minute, it would always take only a minute to do it..!!! Then comes my carelessness. I couldn't do away with my carelessness and still land myself in troubles every now and then because of it. There has been no improvement in my way of following protocols. I hope the next 2 yrs of management studies helps me get over all these and a few more.

And if someone asks me my gains and losses of these 3 yrs, I can very easily sum it up in one sentence. I gained many good friends and a few additional pounds of fat....and lost all my monetary earnings...!!!

Dil ko nahi pata hai..!!!

Whatever I have wanted at any point of my life, I have always got it. Some things I get immediately while others I get after a short wait. But still the happiness and satisfaction of that achievement is very short-lived. Today, I have everything I had wanted... admission in one of the premier institutes, a promising career ahead, good friends, 1 month of vacations at home.... but still I am not happy. Not that I want anything more... but still I feel there is a void... a void which can never be filled... a void which I cannot fill however hard I try...

After 2 years, I would again be employed by some reputed employer and would again have the same office-se-ghar-ghar-se-office routine.But what next? 'Dil ki yehi khata hai... dil ko nahi pata hai... ye dil chahta hai kya..?!?' May be this is what people call quarter life crisis.