Any social trouble, and our NGOs are as happy as pigs in the mud and swing into action <!--emo&
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS
  c/o A wing, 1st Floor, Haji Habib Bldg.,NaigaonCross Rd., Dadar (E),
Mumbai-400014
  Phone 022-24150529, napmmumbai@..., sansahil@...,
medha@...
  Press Note/ May 21, 2006
  <b>RESERVATIONS WILL ADD TO EFFICIENCY, CREATIVITY</b> <!--emo&:blink:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blink.gif' /><!--endemo--> : GOVT. SHOULD NOT BACKTRACK:
IMPLEMENT PAST POLICIES: CARE FOR NEEDY STUDENTS
  The People's Movements all over India demand that the Union government must implement the constitutional amendment to reserve the seats for the other
backward communities without any delay and see that all the earlier policies,
decisions assurances regarding the affirmative actions in favour of the
backward castes are implemented fully.
  We condemn the deliberate lethargy on part of governments regarding
implementing already approved policies of Mandal Commision recommendations.
Even now, thousands of seats in educational and  professional arena are not
filled - rather they are made 'open' for want of 'suitable candidates' from the
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes or backward classes. We demand that all the
unfilled seats must be filed with the due representation of the concerned
classes.
  With this we make a strong plea for strengthening the common school policy,
common technical and higher education policy and equipping them with quality
education, resources and due attention.  The newly introduced elitist streak in
the higher technical education should be abolished. There should be common
public institutions imparting finest quality technical and professional
education.  Â
The privatization and coprporatization of education and highly
technical profession must stop. They are being educated and employed on the
basis of public spending. So they must follow the wishes of the people of this
country. Therefore there should also be reservations for the backward classes
in private enterprises.
  For Efficiency and Creativity
  The policy of reservations for the deprived classes in the higher and
technical education and professions is an opportunity to add to the quality,
creativity and efficiency in the educational and professional fields. The
reservations must be seen not as 'doling out' something for the 'deprived
classes', but it is mark of adding to the experiences, creativity and Â
knowledge bases of various aspects in our public life. Over 70 percent of the
workforce in the country is not just manual laborers; they come with their own
intelligence, imaginativeness, innovations and resourcefulness. It would make
our productive processes and economy varied and richer. Just look at U.S. and
other countries where all sections of populations are brought in the vortex of
education, sports and  other professions. We have to be proud of the fact that
we would be much richer nation with the participation of such brains in our
social-economic activities in such a large and varied scale.
  From all these angles, it is high time that the private institutions,
industries and service sector also must be made to accept the reservation
policy. These industries will have to be made aware that they  operate in
India, and they will have to follow the Indian Constitution and law. If they
threaten to go outside India, let them go and we shall see whether they get
such subsidized water, land, cheap labour, pliant state elsewhere in the world.
These industrialists are not making any favor for the people; rather they
exploit the people and resources of this country. In this connection, we also
disapprove and will oppose the policies of creating 'special economic zones'
(SEZ), where no India laws would be applicable.
  Though we quite understand the apprehensions in the minds of the students and
professionals from the general categories regarding the narrowing space for
competition, that alone cannot be reason for opposing the reservations for the
hitherto backward communities.  The Union and concerned state governments
should initiate the steps as to help the poor and deprived students and
professionals in the general category.
  The unemployment and narrowing down the space for more employment and
educational opportunities is not due to the reservations of seats, but due to
the neo-liberal political economy that the ruling class in India has adopted in
collusion with the global capital. Even without the reservations, the
employment and education opportunities in various jobs in India are being Â
eroded and thousands of people are thrown out of existing jobs. We demand that
the Union and state governments must end the embargo on the jobs in the public
sector and should start thinking of creating more jobs.
  We appeal to the agitating students and professionals not to hold
reservations responsible for their anxiety and to understand the deeper
economic crisis we all have been thrown. We also expect the supporters of the
reservations to reason with the agitating students and take them along, caring
for their sensitivities and interests. The young student and professional
community must not be pitted against each other, who otherwise are the
harbinger of the future changes and struggle in this country. We have to
strengthen a united struggle against the common adversary in form of national
and multinational corporate and imperialist vested interests.
  <b>Medha Patkar</b>
  National Convenor
  Sanjay M.G.
  P. Chennaiah
  National Co-Convenors
  Sanjay Sangvai
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