09-09-2006, 10:04 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>OBC needs an intellectual class </b>
By Kancha Ilaiah
http://www.deccan.com/Columnists/Columnist...ellectual\
%20class
The issue of reservation in institutions of higher education has come to a
decisive stage, with the Union Cabinet approving the OBC reservation bill and
tabling it in Parliament. The bill proposes to reserve seats only in aided
institutions and not in unaided institutions. The issue which is being debated
widely in connection with this is that of the creamy layer.
The Supreme Court too has dealt with this earlier. The Union Cabinet has done
the right thing by not making the creamy layer a part of the bill. It should be
remembered that the system of reservation addresses the question of caste and
not class. <b>Even economically well-off Other Backward Classes are not able to
provide quality education to their children. There are many reasons for this.</b>
Education as cultural capital was historically entangled with the caste system
in India. For instance, Brahmins mostly constitute the middle classes in terms
of assets. They do not own many industries. In fact, after the TVS group of
South India, only Infosys has emerged as a major industrial house from among the Brahmins. In North India too, as far as I know, there is no major Brahmin
industrialist family. Yet, education as cultural capital and as knowledge
capital is still in the hands of the Brahmins, both in the North and the South.
They dominate the educational, bureaucratic and corporate administrative
sectors.
The OBCs have acquired some land-assets in different states and also run
cottage industries. But this has had no reflection on their levels of education.
Some OBCs who used to breed cattle for a living are now better off economically,
but their educational level is still very low. At the same time, other OBC
groups such as goldsmiths and weavers are not economically well-off, but
educationally they are more advanced than the cattle grazing communities. This
makes it evident that there is no strong link between economic well-being and
educational status among OBCs.
A major question raised by North Indian intellectuals is whether students
belonging to a caste like Yadav should be allowed to use the quota system to
find admissions in IITs, IIMs and Central medical schools bypassing the upper
caste students whose economic condition may be worse than theirs. They say, a
creamy layer check using economy as the criterion will stop that from happening.
However, given the nature of our school system, with a parallel network of
private tutorial institutions, the poorest of the poor from among the OBCs may
not even be able to reach the qualifying levels even if they compete for a quota
seat. Only an emerging middle class among the OBCs will be able to push their
children to find a place there. It is a fact that despite their assets and
political power, not many Yadavs from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar have been able to
find an entry into Central higher educational institutions.
<b>We must accept the fact that the intellectual capital among the OBCs is much
less than what is available among the Scheduled Castes.</b> Land-assets and
political power that are coming into the hands of the OBCs would not by
themselves produce a powerful knowledge group or an intellectual force among
them. How many Yadav intellectuals are there in UP and Bihar with the calibre to
function at national, and international, knowledge-based markets and
institutions? On the contrary, look at the position of Brahmins who do not have
democratic power in these states.
For the OBCs to be pushed from street democracy to a knowledge-based
democratic realm, an <b>Anglicised and westernised intellectual class must come up from among them.</b> This has not happened so far. Removing the creamy layer from the process of reservation will prevent the emergence of the OBC intellectual class.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
By Kancha Ilaiah
http://www.deccan.com/Columnists/Columnist...ellectual\
%20class
The issue of reservation in institutions of higher education has come to a
decisive stage, with the Union Cabinet approving the OBC reservation bill and
tabling it in Parliament. The bill proposes to reserve seats only in aided
institutions and not in unaided institutions. The issue which is being debated
widely in connection with this is that of the creamy layer.
The Supreme Court too has dealt with this earlier. The Union Cabinet has done
the right thing by not making the creamy layer a part of the bill. It should be
remembered that the system of reservation addresses the question of caste and
not class. <b>Even economically well-off Other Backward Classes are not able to
provide quality education to their children. There are many reasons for this.</b>
Education as cultural capital was historically entangled with the caste system
in India. For instance, Brahmins mostly constitute the middle classes in terms
of assets. They do not own many industries. In fact, after the TVS group of
South India, only Infosys has emerged as a major industrial house from among the Brahmins. In North India too, as far as I know, there is no major Brahmin
industrialist family. Yet, education as cultural capital and as knowledge
capital is still in the hands of the Brahmins, both in the North and the South.
They dominate the educational, bureaucratic and corporate administrative
sectors.
The OBCs have acquired some land-assets in different states and also run
cottage industries. But this has had no reflection on their levels of education.
Some OBCs who used to breed cattle for a living are now better off economically,
but their educational level is still very low. At the same time, other OBC
groups such as goldsmiths and weavers are not economically well-off, but
educationally they are more advanced than the cattle grazing communities. This
makes it evident that there is no strong link between economic well-being and
educational status among OBCs.
A major question raised by North Indian intellectuals is whether students
belonging to a caste like Yadav should be allowed to use the quota system to
find admissions in IITs, IIMs and Central medical schools bypassing the upper
caste students whose economic condition may be worse than theirs. They say, a
creamy layer check using economy as the criterion will stop that from happening.
However, given the nature of our school system, with a parallel network of
private tutorial institutions, the poorest of the poor from among the OBCs may
not even be able to reach the qualifying levels even if they compete for a quota
seat. Only an emerging middle class among the OBCs will be able to push their
children to find a place there. It is a fact that despite their assets and
political power, not many Yadavs from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar have been able to
find an entry into Central higher educational institutions.
<b>We must accept the fact that the intellectual capital among the OBCs is much
less than what is available among the Scheduled Castes.</b> Land-assets and
political power that are coming into the hands of the OBCs would not by
themselves produce a powerful knowledge group or an intellectual force among
them. How many Yadav intellectuals are there in UP and Bihar with the calibre to
function at national, and international, knowledge-based markets and
institutions? On the contrary, look at the position of Brahmins who do not have
democratic power in these states.
For the OBCs to be pushed from street democracy to a knowledge-based
democratic realm, an <b>Anglicised and westernised intellectual class must come up from among them.</b> This has not happened so far. Removing the creamy layer from the process of reservation will prevent the emergence of the OBC intellectual class.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->