Reservation? Yes to that!

F**k you.

That, dear reader (and by God I hope there’s more than one of you), was the response I received when I mentioned to a friend that I had plans of writing this article. Frankly, I don’t suffer from any illusion that the few of you still reading this feel any differently. A few days ago, I’d have felt the same too.

So here’s the scenario at hand. It’s 9am and I’ve just sat down to write a Political Concepts paper. (I’ve also had an exam the day before, not to mention another one the next day, so it’s safe to assume I’m not thinking as clearly as I would like). The question put forward to me was this. “Based on the concepts of equality and justice, make arguments for and against reservation in Indian education, and finally take a stand.” What follows is something akin to what I scribbled in that paper (and did very well, thank you for asking!)

Honestly, I don’t care for reservation. Reserved seats for people solely because they are minorities? That’s bullshit. That’s the reason (or so I would like to believe) that I did not get into IIT. But for the sake of a decent grade, I shall attempt to answer this as best as possible.

The question of reservation is a tricky one, so let’s try to break it down a bit. For starters, do we really need to help anybody? Well, that one’s easy enough. To a certain degree, we’re all egalitarians (at least the sane ones in a democracy), in that our consciences wouldn’t be clear if we found someone was being treated unfairly/unequally and did nothing about it. To a certain degree, we all want equality. (The outrage following the Shaheen Dhada case and the Delhi rape should be more than enough to prove my point.) . That leaves us with, “Who are we trying to help?”, and “How do we help them?” Since the question has not been more specific, I’ve assumed that we’re talking about people from backward classes who have no access to education, due to a variety of factors that could range from financial problems to social stigma. Also, this argument is being made for students alone, and not for the reservation of teaching positions for the backward classes( Apparently that’s a big debate as well!)

So, how do we help the people in question? This is where we’ve got to consider whether financial remuneration would be the solution. (Most people, including myself until very recently, believe that this is a viable one). If only it were that easy. Studies have shown (They actually exist, says my prof) that a fair number of families belonging to the backward classes are quite well off. If that’s the case, then why can’t they bloody well get in without the help of the college administration? The answer is quite simple. Social Stigma.

Now you and I may have no problem when it comes to interacting with people from other castes, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the country. The caste/class system, banned as it may be , still exists throughout India. And while the fact is lamented, it is generally ignored when it comes to the decision making process.  The solution therefore, is the elimination of social stigma. Easier said than done, because it would be excruciatingly difficult to change the mind-set of an entire nation. The only other option is to improve the social standing of those in need. Now, this is a far cry from the preferred solution, but the best that is possible. It may seem ‘unjust’ to the larger sections of society, but the term justice itself is relative, and depends on the situation at hand.

The most important decision now is to pick the theory of equality that we intend to follow while trying to bring about change. The libertarian theory advocates a free market, where all of us are free to make our own decisions without the coercion of the government(which would only interfere to maintain the safety of its citizens). Essentially, survival of the fittest. We’d be equal in the sense that we’re all allowed to do as we please. Granted, even considering this theory seems a little foolish (at least in this country), since the democratic government we have is present to safeguard the future of all its citizens.The Equality of Resources theory also does not pan out, since this could amount to little more than a socialist regime, where resources are distributed in equal measures to all members of society. So while it may help the backward classes, it could potentially lead to a stagnant economy.

But what about equality of welfare or equality of opportunity? Now these theories state that an individual cannot be held responsible for factors he has no control over, including his caste or sex. Therefore, to ensure that every member of society has the same basic welfare opportunities, we would have to take the ‘backward class’ factor into account and end up providing reservations for them.

The equality of opportunity concept is slightly trickier. There are two main interpretations to this theory. The first is Rawls’ theory of egalitarian nature, which advocates the hidden veil principle. In simple words, we make decisions in an unbiased manner for the least privileged members of society first. By this logic, offering reservation would be a natural step in that direction. Dworkin’s theory of equality on the other hand, says that (and I apologize if the meaning of this one doesn’t come across easily) the government should offer the citizen a fixed amount of resources. These resources can be in any form, though the net amount can be the same, and the citizen has the liberty to pick and choose whichever privileges he desires. Something akin to giving you a lunch box and telling you to fill it up with whatever the hell you want. By this logic, reservation is completely unnecessary, since the individual has the right to make his own decisions. Sure, one would hope that he would make the smart move and opt for education, but pushing him in that direction would actually impinge on his freedom, with the government no longer remaining a democracy (god, I hate these loopholes!)

You know what, screw it. If there’s one theory I hope you remember, it’s the concept of equality based on responsibility and justice. Basically, it would be unjust of you to let another person suffer due to social stigma, and it would therefore be your responsibility to help him out, because we were not born to be brutes. We place so much importance to slogans like ‘Mera Bharat Mahaan’ but it’s not a claim that can be substantiated unless the most down-trodden member of society can say it. Only then can we say that we’ve been able to bring about a rational sense of equality.

And now I present to you, the loophole I shall take advantage of. (Said detractors from the beginning may now smile with satisfaction). Do I think reservation is needed and can benefit our society? Yes. Do I actually think it can be brought about successfully? Sadly, not for a while. Honestly, I don’t think the average Indian is ready to accept this yet. Now, I’m not going to preach about how the Indian male is too driven by his hormones to rationally make those decisions. Just open up Facebook in the aftermath of the Delhi rape case and you’ll get a earful.

I’m assuming that you’re an educated, urban youth, and therefore a minority. It’s about time we started looking at issues from the point of view of the government as well, before reaching conclusions about them. I’m honestly racking my brains to come up with a line about us being the youth of the nation and how the masses will look to us for help etc etc. I don’t think I need to though. You already know what’s at stake.

The Triumph of Hitler

The Wall Street crash on October 29^th, 1929 sent financial markets the world over into a tailspin. Germany was one of the most vulnerable, since it was dependent on foreign trade and had taken out many loans from America after its defeat in World War 1. German exports dried up after the repayments of these loans, and the well-oiled German industrial machine quickly ground to a halt. This led to the layoff of many industrial workers and the failure of banks, which ruined the living standards of most middle class Germans. Amidst political instability, uncertainty and poverty, the German population was looking for a way out. At the time, Adolf Hitler seemed their best way out.Since the failed Beer Hall Putsch movement in 1923, Hitler had matured as a statesman. By surrounding himself with a number of middle class socialites and industrialists, he was ready to build a shadow government that would soon come into power. The downtrodden people were willing to listen to him, and he offered what they needed most, encouragement. He skilfully played to the emotions of people, offering something to everybody: work to the unemployed; prosperity to failed business people; profits to industry; expansion to the Army and the tearing up of the Treaty of Versailles by refusing to pay war reparation to the Allies; social harmony and an end of class distinctions to idealistic young students; and restoration of German glory to those in despair. He promised to bring order amid chaos; a feeling of unity to all and the chance to belong. He would make Germany strong again; stamp out corruption; keep down Marxism; and deal harshly with the Jews (who he blamed for Germany’s defeat in World War 1). Hitler offered vague promises that enticed everybody. He did this without offering any concrete details on how these promises would be achieved though. However, in their present conditions, the Germans were ready to follow anybody who seemed strong enough to bring back stability, something the present government had not been able to achieve.With help from his aide, the propaganda genius Joseph Goebbels, Hitler attended thousands of meetings, plastered posters all over the countryside, organized torchlight parades and printed millions of special Nazi newspapers. He was a skilled manipulator of the masses. Along with the SA, Hitler’s band of storm troopers, he was able to project a picture of hope and a better future. His speeches, while grandiose, were quite simple. His favourite slogan was “Freedom and Bread”, the basic necessities that the German masses were finding hard to come by.While the Nazi party failed to win the 1930 elections, it did become almost overnight, the second largest party in the country.  The German industrialists started offering funds to Hitler, since they believed that the Nazis were the wave of the future, and hoped that when he got to power, he would in return help them out.  The German General Staff also supported Hitler, since he was ready to tear up the Treaty of Versailles, which prevented modernization and limited the German Army to 100,000 men. He was the hero that Germany deserved, and the one it needed as well. Or so it seemed.The period from 1931 and 1933 were crucial for the Nazi party, who still received stiff competition from various political figures. Some of these included the old President of Germany, Paul Von Hindenburg and Chancellor Heinrich Brüning . Both were aware of what would happen to Germany once Hitler was brought into power, and did their best to prevent this. While their work on the international scene to improve Germany’s fate was exemplary, the dismal results of their domestic policies turned the common man against them. Other politicians who were trying to take advantage of the situation included Kurt von Schleicher and Franz von Papen. Following a series of political games and backstabbing involving the afore mentioned politicians, Adolf Hitler was chosen as the Chancellor of the German nation on January 30^th, 1933. The Nazi party was soon officially in power. The party was an embodiment of Hitler itself, who was, for all practical purposes, was the man who ran the country.
The Nazi party, under Hitler’s command soon took over the state governments, using a state of emergency decree to establish martial law throughout the country. Decrees were passed to allow the arrest of anyone suspected of maliciously criticizing the government and the Nazi Party. Special courts were established to try public offenders without a jury or defence council. Democracy had been legally brought to an end. The Reichstag was made redundant. The German citizens had unknowingly signed away all their rights to the state.  Under Hitler, the State, not the individual, was supreme.While Adolf Hitler had promised that the government would use these new powers only if they were deemed essential. However, people would soon realize that Hitler had no intentions of making good on this promise. From the moment of birth one existed to serve the State and obey the dictates of the Führer. Any person, who objected, was disposed of.  While the masses could not comprehend this at the time, the finest minds of the country recognized this. Writers, musicians and scientists, the finest minds of the country saw through the farce, but could do nothing since the power of the government was supreme. To save their lives, they fled the country, leaving behind a country filled with impressionable Germans whose minds could be played with and moulded as Hitler saw fit. Drunk with power, Hitler quickly sprang into action. The self-educated high school dropout with anti-intellectual views wanted to awaken the age-old German spirit with all its militaristic qualities.The downward spiral for the Jews began in April 1933 with the boycotting of Jewish Stores. In the next ten years, over 400 laws would be passed targeting the Jews alone, robbing them of all their rights. Laws were passed to ensure that only citizens of Aryan descent would be allowed civil service positions. It is important to note that Hitler created a state of fear. The formation of the Gestapo was just a stepping stone in this direction. The Gestapo was allowed to hold files and records on any citizen in the country, and take any action on public offenders as they saw fit. Rules were passed to make the Gestapo above the law, without any chance of legal appeal. The survival of an individual depended on the Gestapo and its arbitrary justice.To mould the youth, Hitler established youth camps to draw them to his cause. Germany was once known for its fine universities. However, with the rise of the Nazi party, professors too were expected to take an oath of allegiance. They were expected to teach exactly what the government ordered them to. The ever present threat of indefinite confinement in a concentration camp proved effective to keep them in line. If any student denounced them for any reason, they could be executed. This academic timidity led to a lowering of educational standards, which helped the Nazi cause even further.The Germans had soon realized that the promises that Hitler made came at a severe price. If they did not comply with all of Hitler’s commands, they would be considered an enemy. And what choice did they have? The leader of their country believed that Fate itself had given him the power to take control of Germany and restore the country to its past glory.Hitler did keep his word regarding one of his promises though. Soon after being sworn into power, the Fuhrer decided to reintroduce military conscription, not unlike the compulsory Army Draft first introduced in France during the French revolution. This would allow his army to have 36 divisions with a total of 550,000 mean. This was, of course in direct violation of Part V of the Treaty Of Versailles. Hitler was known for taking risks, and this time, his gamble paid off. Some cautious Army generals of Germany feared a military response from Britain and France. Surprisingly though, apart from a few diplomatic protests, nothing happened. This was partly thanks to political-in-fighting in France and Britain’s economic depression. Still, this helped inflate his ego, and lowered his opinion of the Allies.In a smart move, he managed to convince diplomats the world over that the military build-up was not an offensive move, and was purely a defensive measure, since Germany had the right to defend itself against other nations. Most took him for his word, presuming that he was a man that could be trusted. However, this was all a ruse by Hitler to prepare Germany for war. He was, in fact, a man who could plan a catastrophic war while endlessly proclaiming his love and desire for worldwide peace. Even the Germans and many top leaders in the Reich could not perceive the depth of his cynicism.Still, the Nazi party needed to improve its image to the rest of the world. Hitler’s actions had not gone unnoticed to the foreign powers. Sensing this, Joseph Goebbels, now the Propaganda minister convinced Hitler to allow Germany to host the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. The festivities were exploited to further the Nazi cause both inside and outside Germany. While there were a few Jewish athletes who boycotted the Games, the general opinion was that Germany had organized the most lavish Olympic Games ever. It was also the first Olympic Games to be televised. Hitler had succeeded once again to give the party what it had desperately needed- Respectability.Hitler’s lifelong goals were to acquire living space of Lebensraum for the Germans and a final reckoning with the Jews. The latter was put on the backburner till 1938. To protect the southern and eastern flanks of Germany, he needed to seize Austria and Czechoslovakia. For this, three war strategies were created. However, Hitler’s plans had no real practical consideration. Even if they delayed the attack till 1943, Germany would not be adequately armed for war. His inflated ego though, prevented Hitler from seeing this. The smarter generals in his command could do nothing, as it was Hitler’s show entirely. They had no real say in the matter. Anyone who objected was immediately replaced with a younger general who was ready to pledge complete loyally to Hitler. It should be noted that Hitler was not unaware of their misgivings. He would never be fully accepted by the upper echelons of his own General Staff. He was regarded as an amateur self-taught strategist who was nothing more than a dispatch runner during World War I (who was reportedly never promoted due to lack of leadership skills). Yet the generals had no power to overthrow him. Hitler didn't care about consequences. He was only interested in results. And any attempts to get him to change his mind were a complete waste of time. The generals didn't realize they were dealing with a man who never changed his mind once he made a firm decision and would do anything to achieve a desired goal. Hitler’s first plan of action was to take control of the German Army, which was achieved in late 1938.The initial target was Austria, the first step down the path that would lead to a new world war. To expand the borders of his Reich, Hitler adopted a gangster diplomacy which involved threatening, bullying, lying and bluffing to get his way. And the other European nations had no real choice. They were dealing with a man always willing to go the limit, willing to send in the troops and shed blood in order to get what he wanted.Through political manoeuvres, Hitler took Austria without firing a single shot. Czechoslovakia next door now trembled at the thought that it was surrounded on three sides by the German Army. Hitler wasted no time in pressing his advantage. He began to consider plans for the occupation of the Sudetenland, the western portion of Czechoslovakia home to about three million ethnic Germans.While he initially had plans of a military invasion of Czechoslovakia, this was not to be. Again, he was able to trick the leaders of France and England to literally give him the Sudetenland area during the Munich Conference on September 29^th, 1938. Soon after though, Hitler revealed that he had tricked the others, and had no plans of just taking the small region. Once again he managed to take over the country without a single shot. The Nazis had perfected the art of stealing neighbouring territory. They would start by encouraging political unrest inside the area. At the same time, they would wage a propaganda campaign citing real or imagined wrongs committed against local Germans. When neighbouring political leaders finally came to see to Hitler to resolve the on-going crisis, they would be offered help in the form of a German Army occupation to "restore order."Now that this was achieved, Adolf Hitler decided to focus on his second target, the massacre of the Jews. Up until now, he had held off largely due to international opinion. Now though, even Goebbels, who was anti-Semitic, urged him to proceed in his plans. On November 9th, known as the Night Of Broken Glass, Hitler authorized the burnings of hundreds of synagogues. Hundreds of thousands of Polish origin Jews were expelled from Germany, branded as unwanted persons. Thousands of others were taken to concentration camps. Ordinary Germans could do nothing to protest this, for fear of themselves being dragged to concentration camps.Thankfully, the outside world took notice and had finally seen through Hitler’s veil. They knew for sure that he was a dangerous man who could not be trusted and was out to conquer the whole of Europe. This led to the end of pro-Nazi movements outside of Germany all over the world. Sadly, Hitler and his cronies did not care what the world thought. Hitler considered the other European leaders as worms, based on his experience at the Munich conferences.England and France decided to react when Hitler vowed to take over Poland next. The era of Hitler's bloodless conquests had ended. The next time German troops rolled into foreign territory there would be an actual shooting war. Hitler flew into a rage when he heard about this. The disaster that would be called World War II was now only a matter of months away. Thus the time had come for the major powers in Europe and elsewhere to pick sides. Britain and France were already aligned with Poland. It could also be assumed that the United States would side with Britain at some future point.The recent moves of the Nazi party stunned even the Italian Fascists. While Mussolini’s regime was almost as barbaric as Hitler’s, he did not possess the same murderous mentality as his German counterpart. Still, the Italians had sworn a pact to join Hitler in the War, even though the world knew that the Italian Army was not adequately prepared to defend itself. The game had changed. No longer was it a matter of bluff and dare. It had come down to actual threats of war, upon which rested the fate of millions. Hitler threatened war. Poland threatened war. Britain and France were threatening war.The problem was that Hitler could not lie his way out of this one. His previous lies had been noticed, and the outside leaders would no longer trust him. The British and French governments were outraged by his antics at the Munich conference. The German masses too were not looking for war. Most had realized that Hitler was not the saviour they had hoped for. But there was nothing else they could do. By 1939, all news and information from the outside world had essentially been cut off and only pre-approved music, entertainment, Nazi speeches and news reports were ever heard.Hitler’s crystal clear insight into international politics was now fogged due to his own bloated ego. He now believed that he was infallible, and had turned into a megalomaniac.The bloodiest war in history began on September 1^st, 1939, when Hitler decided to finally attack Poland. It soon became clear that Hitler was no war-time general. A steady stream of flawed military tactics led to the takeover of Berlin and culminated in Hitler’s own suicide on April 30^th, 1945.While Adolf Hitler was a brilliant orator and could mold the masses as he chose, his own hubris led to his downfall. In my opinion, the government that he created was flawed from the start. History has shown that no totalitarian state has been in the best interests of the people. In this case, the government, which of course, was more of a dictatorship, was the state itself, and the citizen had no say in the matter. The youth were instructed that Hitler’s status was almost God-like, and there was immense value in duty and sacrifice. The life of the individual meant nothing. And that duty and loyalty to the Fatherland and to the Fuhrer himself was what really counted. It’s safe to say that the concept of civil society was a joke in itself. The absence of civil society is what led to the downfall of the government. It’s reasonable to say that if the citizen were granted more rights and had a say in certain matters, the massacre of the Jews and the war itself might just have been avoided.

On the off chance that you've actually read till here without falling asleep, i'll have you know that I've only uploaded this essay only because i have a tendency of losing documents.....and Google Drive is just WAY too much effort.

The Wednesday Soul- a review

The Wednesday Soul is the debut book by Sorabh Pant. It also happens to be the 1^st book I have received as part of the Book review system of Blog Adda. I honestly hadn’t read the description of the book which was put up. Rather, I was told that Sorabh Pant himself was due to perform at our college within the week. I figured it might give me an idea about his show.

In my opinion, we’re still looking for that one truly great Indian author of the generation. Sure, we had Tagore and Narayanan, but today? Agreed, Sumit Basu and Amitav Ghosh are very good authors in their own right. And while they haven’t reached the level of fame that they deserve, I doubt we could call them the finest Indian authors. If you’re reading the Wednesday Soul to see whether Sorabh Pant is a truly great author, I suggest you stop right now and find somewhere else to look.

Perhaps that was a little harsh. Thankfully, this book isn’t about sparkly and cuddly vampires. Nor is it about life in a IIT hostel or the turbulent relationship between a Punjabi and a Tamilian.

The book starts off well enough. I was rather optimistic after reading the ‘Note to the readers’ . Perhaps this was the comedy book that I’d been looking for. I’d had my hopes up when Cyrus Broacha released his book "Karl, Aaj aur Kal". I was sorely disappointed. Once I got past the first five pages of this book, I realized it wouldn’t be much better. Just when you think the book might be interesting, he throws in this ridiculous concept of an eye-score, which can determine how evil a guy really is!

So what’s the book really about? It’s a description of the afterlife, or what Mr. Pant imagines it to be. And, like any good Bollywood movie, the afterlife is in a turmoil, and only the protagonists Nyra and Chitr can help. It doesn’t hurt that Nyra is a recently deceased self-appointed vigilante known as the Bombay Belle, famous for shoving down a pair of undies into the mouths of rapists. I guess it’s about time to throw Pant a bone. He’s put a lot of effort into creating his own afterlife. He’s created fictional versions of long dead famous people. Pythagoras is now a soul who gets reincarnated as other famous scientists. I guess that would help keeping up with the times. This is quite similar to what Jonathan Stroud had done in the Bartimaeus trilogy. For a while, this might even help you turn the pages. That being said, this is definitely not an afterlife I would like to find myself in.  Purab Kohli has gone on to call this book ‘brilliantly silly’. I really wouldn’t use the word brilliantly. I will congratulate Pant on one thing though. It requires skill to write a book as nonsensical as this! At some points, it even seems like he’s trying too hard to be funny.

Bottom line. The storyline is passable at best. The problem is that reading this book requires tons of concentration. You’d think for a book written by a comedian, that wouldn’t be necessary! Then again, I doubt this book was written to win the Pulitzer or the Booker. Sure, this book is a one-time read. Though if you do have enough time to read this book, I suggest you go ahead and do the crossword. You’d probably learn something more important there.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!