The Hindu Business Line : Decision reserved

The Government's announcement that it would soon put in place a quota system of seats for backward classes (OBCs) in Central institutions of higher learning comes as no surprise. It was always a question of `when' and not `if'. For one, a broad political consensus had always existed for such an arrangement. The political parties well know that opposing `reservation' is the surest way to lose the race for popular support from among the OBC voters.

Keen though they are to win the endorsement of what is a major chunk of the voting population with promises of all manner of freebies, the parties also realise that the process is not entirely risk-free. They have to weigh the odds on pushing through something that can completely alienate a section which stands to lose from a policy of reservation of seats for OBCs. Their dilemma is not dissimilar to the challenge confronting an enterprise that with one product seeks to straddle two classes of consumers in a market so widely segmented that volumes in each are not large enough to support items with unique features. Its challenge then would be in resorting to a promotional approach that is versatile enough to clearly emphasise the product's appeal for one segment even while ensuring that the noise from such a campaign does not drown the appeal it holds for the other.

With Uttar Pradesh, the most populous State, scheduled to go to polls a year from now, the choice of June 2007 as the implementation date is timed to a nicety. It makes the ruling alliance more appealing to the socially backward sections. And, of course, the assurance that it stands for an education system that is fair and also inclusive lends the right touch to its image of reasonableness even as it provides a framework to the agitating students to withdraw the stir without any loss of face. Of course, it is easy enough to be cynical of a political party's calculation whether in power or not.

A society that is fractured in terms of its identity is not the creation of this or previous governments but, indeed, the legacy of many centuries. If people are not willing to rise above narrow sectarian identities one cannot blame the political parties for incorporating them in the electoral calculations in order to stay relevant. Enterprises factor in today's consumer preferences in their plans even as they seek to sow seeds of new needs in their minds for the products they wish to put out tomorrow. After all, a Sony did not junk its existing portfolio of audio products even as it was in the quest of a Walkman that changed the way consumers listened to their favourite music.

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