The Hindu Business Line : Of cartoon, quotas and distress

Whether politically correct or not, Rahul Gandhi was articulating a sensible point of view when he said that reservation was a very "complex issue" and there could be valid arguments both for and against it.

Indeed, it is an explosive issue. Last time, it resulted in the Mandalisation of politics, leading to violence and loss of lives, and the end of the V. P. Singh government.

But when the country's most eminent cartoonist shows a shabbily dressed tribal squatting on a table, leaving the chair unoccupied, and a flunkey explaining that as the most prominent member of his tribe he had got that position thanks to reservation, instead of bringing a smile, the cartoon should make every Indian hang his/her head in shame.

If, 59 years after Independence, this is the sweeping verdict that can be passed on 8.2 per cent of India's population (84.33 million, according to the 2001 Census), surely, our sense of humour is becoming somewhat off-colour. Sure, cartoons best convey sarcasm against corrupt politicians, indifferent bureaucrats, dishonest businessmen, and the like. But not when directed against a poor, disadvantaged tribal, whose world of natural resources the rest of the nation is plundering without any sense of shame, on the specious plea of development.

Yes, the medicos' agitation in Delhi is valid, as is the outrage on the proposal to increase the quota from the existing 22.5 per cent (for Scheduled Castes/Tribes) to 49.5 per cent by adding 27 per cent of seats for OBCs (Other Backward Castes), at premier educational institutions such as the IITs and the IIMs. The Human Resource Development Ministry also wants reservation of jobs in the private sector.

PRIVATE SECTOR RESERVATION

The CII president, Mr R. Seshasayee, came down heavily on the proposal to reserve jobs in the private sector for those belonging to the SCs, the STs, and the OBCs and said mandatory reservation in any form was not conducive to retaining the competitiveness of Indian industry.

But he did underline the need for industry taking "positive action to empower the backward classes" and announced that to help enhance their skills, the CII was setting up a task force which would take "affirmative action" to help them.

The CII chief has displayed a rare combination of both sensitivity and sensibility.

Among those in the know of national politics, there is little doubt why the politically shrewd Congress veteran and Union HRD Minister, Mr Arjun Singh, once a Prime minister-aspirant, re-opened the Pandora's Box of reservations that can have serious repercussions for the UPA Government.

DIVIDED HOUSE

The Congress itself is divided on this issue. The Science and Technology Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, at first criticised the proposed quota.

But later, with Mr Arjun Singh literally threatening him and asking the Prime Minister to take action, Mr Sibal diluted his opposition by "clarifying" that what he had meant was that in "areas of research and development and in achieving excellence we should not dilute our ability to globally compete and lead the world," and wondered how this could be viewed as his being anti-quota.

While the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has endorsed Mr Singh's proposal, saying that this should be done while increasing the number of seats in educational institutions, the Knowledge Commission chief, Mr Sam Pitroda, is totally against the quota.

The Congress spokesman, Mr Abhishek Singhvi, has taken the middle ground and offered an argument echoing Rahul Gandhi's view of both sides having valid arguments.

This really captures the essence of the issue. This is no high school debate where you can take a `for' or `against' stance.

It is indeed a complex issue; sure, the socially and educationally backward classes need handholding, but this has to stop at some point.

And how do you deal with the systematic reduction in the number of seats for the forward castes; after all, not all members of these castes are economically privileged. And when you talk about reservations in medical institutions, are you not compromising on the quality of health-care of a certain section that seeks medical care from government-aided institutions?

True, quality is not linked with class or caste, but quotas do tend to compromise with standards and excellence; their very presence proves this.

HEART-RENDING PLIGHT

But reverting to the cartoon of the hapless tribal who does not even know that he is supposed to sit on a chair, my mind goes back to the Kashipur tribal belt in Orissa that was then hit by hunger-related deaths in 2001.

Before setting off from Rayagada, the district headquarters, to the cluster of the most backward villages in the Kashipur block, the local guide, who was supposed to act as translator, had insisted on packing up some food for lunch, saying: "In those villages we won't get anything to eat." One also bought a couple of biscuit packets, along with a few bottles of water.

At the Bilamala and Panasaguda villages, the villagers related heart-rending tales of how during the rains, when they find no daily wage work, and cannot afford to buy rice or even coarse foodgrains such as ragi, they have to fall back upon mango kernel stashed away for leaner seasons.

In villages with no electricity, it is sacrilege even to talk about refrigerators and their preserving capacity. The mango kernel kept under leaky roofs gets soggy, develops fungus and has a poisonous effect when consumed in large quantities in lieu of food. That is how the deaths had occurred.

As the biscuit packets were handed over to the children playing on the streets, totally oblivious to the distress in their homes, they looked curiously at the packets, pictures of which are beamed a over the TV screens in millions of homes, turned them around in their hands curiously and finally asked: "What is this?"

So how should we, the most privileged in a country where millions still live below the poverty line, handle this information — draw a cartoon to express contempt at such ignorance? Even the very thought is appalling.

One doubts if the most outraged, the most vociferous of Delhi medicos shouting slogans against the proposal to hike quotas in higher educational institutions aided by the government would ridicule a person from such a miserable section for squatting on a table and not sitting on a chair.

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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