By Benjamin Lyngdoh
Reservation is a hot potato. Interestingly still, somehow we all want to hold on to it. That way it’s a case of getting one’s fingers burnt, sometimes to the extent that our knowledge and skills level do not seem to fit any productive field in the market. This discourse is not confined only to the issue of Khasis, Jaintias and Garos or the job reservation policy of Meghalaya. Rather it is general in scope and concerns the cognitive makeup of our communities and students in particular. As such, I place the following pointers –
Firstly, we all like to talk about reservation. In most cases, the talk is discreet. It’s like the analogy ‘we want to have all the milk, but we don’t want to own the container’. As such, we want to reap all the benefits flowing from reservation but normally do not want to be seen as beneficiaries of such. Reservation is seen as a white elephant and a comfort zone. As much as it divides communities, it unites them as well. As a case in point, when it comes to the state government jobs, it divides the three communities and when it comes to central government jobs, it unites these very communities. It is a pretty complex subject-matter and the complexities multiply when people realize that reservation can be counter-productive as well. In general, the output is matched by the quality and make of the input.
Secondly, we are having a skewed view on reservation. Reservation per se is not meant to be confined to the prism of jobs and education. It must not be viewed in perpetuity. Rather it is a broad term that has far reaching consequences for communities as a whole. The inherent nature and objective of reservation is to help communities come ‘at par’ with all others. It is a means to ensure adequate representation in jobs and education with the ultimate intention of helping that particular section scale up in the economy. That means it has a time frame. However, it has turned into a political vote bank card. In the process, it is now a juggernaut with no indication of a logical end. No political party has the guts and gumption to appropriately structure and redefine its framework. To this end, the most recent census figures and socio-economic census data can be the starting point.
Thirdly, arguably the hammer of reservation falls the hardest on the students. If the students are affected, then it will undoubtedly impact upon the nature and progress of our state for the next 30-35 years. After all, macro-economic development is a matter of moving from one generation to another. In general, reservation seems to work in an inverted manner as far as our students are concerned. Contemporarily, the cognitive processes of this valuable lot called ‘students’ are pretty disturbing. In recent times, if we ask our students, ‘What do we need to do to find a job?’ The most common refrain would be, ‘We need money or we need to pay a bribe or we need to know people (earthly gods)’. Well cherished and valued words/thoughts like ‘we need to study/work hard/sincerity/dedication/determination’ and so forth are somehow lost in the wilderness of crooked governance. Further, this cognition is built on the comfort of reservation. As such, our students seem to be planning and implementing their study and professional approaches by having reservation on the back of their minds. This is dire counter-productiveness. This is because instead of motivating students to reach for the highest levels, sometimes the reservation cut-offs seem to be the stimulus and deciding factor for the degree of effort in studies and work culture. Clearly, if this is what reservation does then governance needs a good hard look and decoding and revisiting this entire framework.
Fourthly and relation to the above, students are the real building blocks of any community. If reservation negatively impacts upon their ‘achievement motivation’, then it ultimately reflects in the vibrancy and dynamism of our communities. It reflects on our outlook towards competition and progress. It disturbingly impacts upon our work ethics and culture. All of these are contributory factors towards determining the growth and development of our state. ‘What do we need to do to move forward as communities?’ are the more important issues that require real attention. That way, bickering over reservation must take a back seat.
Lastly, it’s not all doom and gloom. As communities we are progressing and refreshingly there is a shift in the thinking on reservation. There is a change on the deliberations concerning its merits and demerits. Gradually, reservation is starting to lose traction (albeit slowly) in the jobs and education milieu. Nonetheless, there is a long way to go as far as it’s percolation into something meaningful is concerned. To this end, all educational organizations at all levels have a leading role to play.
(The writer teaches in NEHU)