Why I Disagree With Hardik Patel

By Swati Sinha

‘Reservation’ in India is a term that is often used with loose connotations attached to it; now these may be positive or negative depending upon the source they originate from. These sources find their abodes in the caste and class diversities that our country inhabits. Citizens belonging to miscellaneous caste and class backgrounds possess varying opinions on how the concept of reservations must be moulded or even eradicated entirely, as per their conveniences, and this has led to certain consequences that are violent and troublesome in nature. Now the question that arises here in order to facilitate common understanding of such a social dilemma is – What is Reservation? And how does it affect Indians?

Reservation was a concept introduced to India by the British administration initially only to be adopted by the Indian government post independence with the help of certain liberal reformists who supported the social upliftment of certain backward classes. These backward classes required the push that acted as catalysts in the gradual process of their social and political betterment and hence a certain amount of space was reserved for them to be able to grasp its facilities and work themselves up a desired notch.

A concept like reservation works on the principles of leaders like Dr. B.R Ambedkar who worked all his life to uplift the Dalit community socially and politically. His idea was to eliminate the social construct of caste completely for it acted as a barrier in the humane perception of one human being with regard to another. His principles based on the sheer essence of humanity is even now the crux behind this particular concept; and associating it with greed besides making it a doorway to social dominance was indeed not what it was brought into existence for.

Hardik Patel has become a household name post his public agitation for the reservations of the Patel Patidar community in higher educational institutions and job prospects in the country. This event has stirred controversy not only among the common citizens concerned with the issue but also various political parties and leaders, including the prime minister Mr. Narendra Modi, who does not support Patel in his cause. Patel’s reasoning behind the act stands on a biased, subjective argument in favour of his community that he feels deserves to receive the benefits offered by the government to the communities falling in the categories of the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and the Other Backward Classes (SC, ST, and OBC). His cognition of the term ‘reservation’ seems to work around the idea of the unfair preservation of rights rather than the correct usage of it in terms of the social space it fairly belongs to. His public agitations in cities like Delhi and Ahmedabad have led to intense violence and has created unfair spurts of volatile behaviour among people.

This country has dealt with social hierarchies and their negative, inhuman consequences for centuries and it never has benefited any human being with regard to their social or spiritual betterment. Materialistic gains served as the only latent incentive for the upper castes (primarily the Brahmins in the earlier centuries) and hence the matter of the whole social construct of hierarchies was highly political in nature and it was introduced to access control of certain other human beings in order to suppress and dominate both their labour as well as their psyche. Following on the lines on the Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony where the former has attempted to manipulate or coerce the latter into believing the natural orientation of hierarchies based on caste, the Varna system flourished until it began to be challenged by multiple social scientists and anthropologists.

Hardik Patel’s agitations in favour of his community are no better than political stunts emerging out of a naive understanding of the working of reservation. His urge to collaborate with communities like the Gujjars from Haryana and the Kurmis from Rajasthan prove his intentions are to grab political power eventually. Indeed, the concept of reservation has been misused in practicality meticulously by numerous citizens even though they do not need it and hence, we need measures to keep a check on the misuse at a legal level. Patel’s agitation works on the idea of creating loopholes in the already flawed present concept of reservations in the country. The intention might be projected as sympathetic to some poor citizens unable to cope with the increasing social competition but what one needs to keep in mind while contemplating the concept of reservation is the number of people it actually is affecting. A particular caste background cannot claim to be financially backward when it has certain members of it leading prosperous lives monetarily.

Therefore, the aim of the concept must be to reach a level where almost every individual is capable of achieving what he dreams with equal number of opportunities in hand, assuring peace and harmony among all. People in the General Merit category must realize the importance of it, for there is a vast difference between the resources available to them and to the others.

Reservation must work solely under the social domain of class and not both caste and class. People with a financially backward background are the ones who require it in the contemporary time, for both these diversities tend to work in a metaphorical salad bowl, making it highly difficult for the citizens to identify with both caste and class at the same time.

Your faith won

By Sara Fathima

 
“Your faith won’t disappear if you appear for the exam without a scarf.” – The Supreme Court of India.

The AIPMT (All India Pre-Medical Test) held in May was cancelled by the Supreme Court owing to malpractice. The Supreme Court ordered CBSE to conduct a re-examination on 25th July, following which the board imposed a strict dress code on the examinees. The board has banned the sporting of jewellery, hair pins, scarves/veils, full sleeved outfits, shoes, watches, electronic devices, etc., in the examination hall. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court by the SIO (Students Islamic Association of India) requesting an exception in case of Muslim girls wearing the Hijab. The petition was rejected, and the Supreme Court made the aforementioned (rather curt) comment. The bench headed by CJI HL Dattu stated that an argument like – “allow me to wear the dress dictated by religion otherwise I would not appear in the examination” — was “nothing but an ego issue”.

According to the Controller of Examinations in St Joseph’s College, “We have no rules regarding the Hijab or full sleeves at St Joseph’s College during examinations.”

The Kerala High Court however allowed the Hijab during the examination provided the girls were checked by female invigilators. There was also a case in Kerala, wherein a Christian nun refused to remove her Habit, subsequently not appearing for the exam. Similarly in Lucknow a Muslim aspirant refused to appear for the exam due to the ban. The IUML (Indian Union Muslim League) was of the opinion that the ban was unconstitutional and an infringement of rights, following which the BJP’s state president stated that. “If they are living in the country, they should follow the Supreme Court order. Otherwise, they should give away the citizenship.”

The dress code prescribed by the CBSE is unreasonable especially with regard to the ban on full sleeves and the veil. It is interesting how the turban is completely out of the picture here. India is a democracy, of the people, by the people, for the people. Rules and comments like these are not in the spirit of democracy and secularism. The constitution of India guarantees freedom of religion and the right to practice and preach the same. The Supreme Court no doubt is supposed to uphold the constitution, thus it is not befitting of the learned bench to make comments that are in some sense demeaning of a religion and violation of the citizens’ rights.

India takes pride in claiming to be a secular nation with “unity in diversity” but in reality we are all about our petty fights and religion being our favourite. It is no secret that the Muslims and Christians have been living in India for centuries, then why is it so hard to continue to exist peacefully? Why must we be hell bent on constantly trying to demean the other? And why must we constantly explain ourselves with regard to every single thing that is concerned with our lives? 

It is high time we understand that as a nation we will not progress if we have the government functioning along the ideas of the Hindu right. Excuse the accusatory tone but frankly, India is no place for Muslims and Christians. The Hijab and the habit are sacred to the practicing Muslims and Christians respectively. Primarily it is important to recognize that religion is important in our lives as people, whichever religion one belongs to. It is our right to practice it and so long as it is not a hindrance to fellow citizens, it shouldn’t be a problem. 

As a practicing Muslim citizen of India, I have a right to dress up in accordance to my religion. I wear the Hijab out of choice; I choose to practice it for I believe in it. It is about my identity, my self-esteem and my self-respect. I choose what I want to reveal and what not to; asking me to take my Hijab off is harassment. My Hijab threatening you or making you uncomfortable is your problem, not mine. Policies such as these reduce me to a minority stereotype, who has explain herself, ‘the orthodox’, ‘the outsider’ and the list is endless. Yes, as practicing Muslims religion governs our lives, we are orthodox and we don’t need to explain ourselves. We don’t have to apologize for who we are, we pay our taxes and we seek to educate ourselves for our betterment and eventually the nations, for the people form nations.  

Rules like these will only reduce the opportunity that we as the youth are entitled to, especially women. Whatever happened to the women empowerment speeches that were made? Were they only meant for the majority? It’s high time the government and the institutions like the CBSE, and Supreme Court act responsibly, only in the interest of its citizens. We are a society in transition and technologically advanced, we must use it to our advantage. And last but not the least lets accept people for who they are and not coerce them into ideas.