Arjun Singh and OBC Reservation in IIMs and IITs

Ours is a great country. One of the greatest thing about our country is the collection of ironies that define our collective existence. Yes, the co-existence of Mercedes and BMW and cows on our roads is just a very superficial manifestation of the kind of dichotomies we live in - day and night.

So we have a government hell bent on making us a USA by 2020, the PM being the champion of progressive globalization that freed us from the flawed ideology of Nehruvian Socialism, we have a Fin minister who is highly regarded for his progressive policies, we have a president who is the epitome of talent, hard work and impressive achievements and amidst all this, we have an HRD minister who is a relic of those good old days of the 80's when empty rhetoric of Socialism, completely short sighted policies and blatant vote bank gimmicks were the rule of the day.

Welcome to 27% for OBCs.

India as a talent hub be damned. India as an economic superpower be damned. IIM alumni winning obscene salaries with global corporate giants be damned. Strategic importance of India's economic machinery and services sector potential be damned. Mr Arjun Singh has elections to win, Ms Sonia has "sacrifices" to make and PM Manmohan has "Rajgaddis" to bow infront.

And then, we have Hon. Arjun Singh innocently pointing out to the Election Commission that he has made no announcements, all this was ratified by Parliament long back and its not with an eye on the five assembly elections. Do you think, Mr HRD Minister, that the people in India are brainless donkeys or are their heads filled with horse dung?

A couple of years back, we had a Physics professor of an HRD minister who thought by reducing the fee of IIMs, he will make IIMs accessible for all and win all the junta's hearts and, more importantly, their votes. The rhetoric was that IIMs are not accessible to Aam Junta. The logic was that Indians are emotional, hare brained morons, who will not know that even with 1.5 lakhs annual fees, IIMs are very much accessible to the Aam Junta, those who can fight it out in the competition. That both the rhetoric and the logic were nothing but horse shit became apparent in the next election when he himself bit dust. He bit dust in his own constituency.

It seems we Indians don't deserve centers of excellence. We deserve to be forever relegated to the status of a pre-civilization, third world country continuously marred with disease, poverty and illiteracy. We deserve being the land of snake charmers and elephants. We dont deserve all the hulla-baloo about an economic superpower in the making. When we can't respect our centers of excellence, we don't deserve them. Every rat-brained moron who takes up the chair of HRD minister thinks it his birthright to play around with what has been made with so much hard work and sweat in whichever way he pleases. What the f*** are Mr Arjun Singh's credentials which empower him to tamper with IITs and IIMs - what does he know about technology and management, what does he know about institutes of excellence, what does he know about the dedication and hardwork the students put in, what does he know about the brilliance of the residents of those campuses - except that there are about 50% OBCs in the assembly constituencies and while he can divide the Hindus by his Mandal politics, his party can simultaneously play the Minority card to cater to Muslims thus growing his base and ensuring the "thaath-baath" of an MP and minister for the rest of his wretched life.

Had it been a movie, the solutionw ould be simple. But in reality, things don't get solved by a passionate, "Maar Dalo Use.."