reservation here at the All India
Institute of Medical Sciences remember
2006 the government had announced
extension of OBC reservation to
educational institutions they were
protests and they were protests
including by doctors I used to write I
used to think that I used to research
about these things
and I kept thinking here are some of the
most intelligent minds of this country
sensitive beings because they deal with
someone else’s grief and pain all the
time and people who are used to looking
at evidence why can’t I go and convince
them why can’t I speak to them of course
I never got an invite so when I got an
invite for TEDx from Ames and that too
on the 27th of September I hold the
suspense of why 27th of September is
important I said I have to go and I have
to speak on why reservations but wait a
minute is it really that important is
subject going by numbers this is a very
small question of our country just look
at this number of the entire employment
in the country organized sector all the
jobs you and I talk about care for from
Chopra see to the cabinet secretary from
CEO of a company to the guard all of
that put together is 7% of all
employment in this country of that
government jobs account for little more
than half so we are looking at
at the most 4% of employment in this
country why bother
is it really that big you would assume
looking at the numbers that it’s not but
if you look at these photographs this is
the maraca reservation really three or
four days ago this is that tragic figure
from empty Mundell education of the
earlier times when it comes to
reservation we argue passionately don’t
we we protest we educate remand leave we
protest violently so it’s always
occurred to me that there’s something
more to reservation than the sheer
numbers it could well be I thought that
this is the most happening sight because
we people like us care for jobs all the
time but it seems to me that there’s
something more to it that that is a raw
nerve somewhere you remember that ad de
Marquis but vigil are they I always feel
reservation is one of those questions
you talk about to begin to address so
many other questions that need to be
addressed that’s why I’m sure to talk to
you about reservations and that’s what I
would wish to invite you all for
inviting you to think afresh about this
question all I require and ask for is an
open mind willingness to be persuaded
and evidence ability to look at evidence
with an open mind and in order to do so
to have this decent argument I would
suggest that let’s not get into some of
the usual arguments that are given for
and against those who argue for
sometimes say well it’s the majority’s
will in this country all political
parties are together
public opinion is with it which is true
all this is right but that’s not a moral
argument people can be convinced for
wrong reasons political parties in this
country come together for all kinds of
weird and obnoxious reasons sometimes it
is said it is constitutional legal well
it’s not quite constitutionally
mandatory but it’s constitutionally
permitted and yes Supreme Court has
argued more than once given judgments in
its favor but legal reasoning is not
moral reasoning law does not define what
is right or wrong our sense of what is
right and wrong should define law so
that the Supreme Court has argued in its
favor it’s to my mind not a not a good
enough reason
someone needs to convince me that is
good those who argue against it very
often say when politicians did it I know
the motive of that fellow he wanted what
banks he wanted this or that as someone
who’s in politics now can I tell you
something every good thing in this world
is done for very petty reasons motives
for the greatest of things if you go
back to American Civil War and look at
the motives of those who wanted slavery
abolished you would be embarrassed
so whether something is good or bad does
not depend on the motive of someone who
started if motives are usually pretty
low and in any case the world is full of
very grand motives which led to
disastrous consequences let’s not even
look at it
or to say 50 years the problem has not
disappeared this is like your patient
coming to your doctor 7 days I’ve been
having this medicine I’m not cured you
would say all right but I see some
I see certain relief I’m into managing
I’m not into magical cures sorry so
that’s not a good reasoning that
question is are we address is there a
problem is it being addressed is there
relief are we progressing in the right
direction or not alright so we have to
we cannot avoid this big question the
simple question that all of us discuss
all the time is the current practice of
largely caste-based reservation in this
country just for the purpose of this
talk I’ll not get into the political
reservations that’s easier to defend and
easier to talk about I’ll speak about
the question you and I talk about namely
education and jobs reservation there is
it just how do we even begin to argue
about that all of us have strong
feelings sometimes self-interest how do
you argue about something like this I
suggest we do so in three steps first we
talk about principles then we would look
at some evidence and then we look at
whether caste-based reservation offers
us some solutions or not let’s not begin
straight with caste reservations in such
life let’s get the principle right what
is a good social order but how do you
argue about it and now we do propose a
thought experiment it’s a lovely thought
experiment we’ll have to do it quickly
here but someone has written a 600 page
book on that the thought experiment is
very simple and intuitive
let us redesign this country called
India let’s sit down in this room and
decide how should this country be
organized how should all the benefits
the rewards punishment be distributed in
order to do so we have every possible
knowledge sociology ignore me
history past evidence data we have
everything but is one thing we don’t
know and listen to this carefully we
don’t know who we are I’m going to
design this country called India the
only one thing I don’t know is where I
might be born I could be born on the
28th floor of that building where there
is a helipad waiting to take me to
Mumbai to various places or I could be
born in a slum next door I could be born
in a village in check this girl I could
be a Dalit I could be a Muslim I could
be an upper caste I could be anything so
now you have to design a new country a
society without knowing where you
personally might be placed in it why
this game because the idea is to detach
that element of self-interest from moral
reasoning the idea is to say let us
argue about what is fair or good without
being overly affected by the accident of
birth
which all of us are so much influenced
aren’t we all the time all right so what
would be the conclusion from this
thought experiment try doing it my sense
is that you would say okay whichever way
you decide it should be a fair system
because I don’t know where I might be so
I want the system to be fair and by the
way what could be the condition of the
worst of person in this system because I
could be that person okay so the
argument is that finally after this
thought experiment you would arrive at
this conclusion John Rawls who has
written this book on theory of justice
about which dozens and hundreds of books
have been written so far the conclusion
is those who are at the same level of
ability and have the same willingness to
use them should have the same prospects
of success regardless of the initial
place in the social system regardless of
where I am born
I should have fair chances equal
opportunities and in this system equal
opportunity would not simply mean
schools being open to you if someone
said well schools would be open to all
girls you would say minimally but would
there be a toilet for girls in their
school would I be teased would girls be
able to actually go there and what would
be the quality of education for heaven’s
sake so when we say we want equal
opportunity we don’t just want formal
equality we want substantial equality
that’s the whole point of this hot
experiment the thought experiment is to
simply say that if we were to have
something of this kind we would want
substantive equality of opportunities
and the point is equality does not mean
similar treatment equality very often
can mean differential treatment and
that’s something I want to draw your
attention to equal treatment does not
mean same treatment it may require and
indeed very often does require
differential treatment as in this
picture of 400-meter race they all have
to cover the same ground and that is why
they don’t start from the same starting
point they are given differential
starting points because they need to be
given a fair and
opportunity I guess that’s what you
would want that’s the principle I wanted
to establish and this is the principle
of affirmative action of preferential
opportunities sometimes you need to give
preferential opportunity in order to
give equal opportunities all right some
evidence now very quickly evidence from
our country what we see
do we see a country with equal
opportunities probably we don’t we see
holding of opportunities in a few hands
based on location urban people hold
opportunities based on class in favor of
the rich gender in favor of men boys and
community in the case of upper caste
Hindus the first three I probably don’t
need to prove we see it all the time if
I take a fall all of you would agree yes
our balloon matters rich poor matters
gender matters what about caste we are
not quite convinced look at this
evidence this gives you a share of
Indian population what are the major
communities I just want you to focus on
this red thing that we don’t talk about
we say SC ST OBC generally what is this
generally there is something called
Hindu upper caste which we don’t talk
about which remains unnamed so that’s
why we put it on red by broad estimates
official estimates it should be around
26% sociologists think it is closer to
20%
what sort of share do they occupy in
August institutions of the kind that I
stand today sharing a survey of
Government of India look at the ratio of
the red 67% this is all Central
Universities and all institution
of higher learning put together national
importance institutions like this one
what about teachers in those
institutions the same survey government
of India figure 66% so about 1/4 of our
country occupies 2/3 of places in elite
institutions the trouble is not that
they occupy those places the trouble is
that they complain bitterly about being
denied opportunity about doors been
closed for them this is what I find so
amazing weird funny laughable we don’t
learn to laugh about things that we need
to learn about but is it that the
difference of gas that we see is
probably simply rich and poor SC ST OBC
look less educated because they are poor
no that’s not the case here we have
picked up only poor the first slide is
about brahmins and other communities
which had traditional access to
education second slide is about OBC
apart muslims lower SC hindu these are
the bars so the first set of bars is
only poor males and as you can see the
red Brahmins and those communities which
were given access to education 200 years
ago they stand out and this is only poor
there is no class difference here among
poor female goes down further is it a
question of yesteryears no sir this
applies very much today as well and
about poor female as well so what we are
looking at is a very grossly unequal
access to quality education which is
multiplied by money and where the
privileged become invisible what should
be – that’s the final set of
that I want to make if this is the
situation what should we do let’s design
a solution and the solution would be you
have to identify and track privileges
you cannot be quiet about privileges you
have to ensure economic inequalities are
reduced high quality of schooling
preferential opportunities to women fair
representation in politics all that has
to be done reservation alone cannot be a
solution for something as complex and as
multifaceted as inequality of
opportunities in our country
but is there a place for reservation yes
caste-based reservation does one thing
reservation is an instrument that is
guaranteed to work
it’s the sledgehammer it works the
trouble is that it is inflexible cast
cast is the least possible certificate
this is the one certificate you cannot
lie about in this country it is a good
proxy for many other things and this is
something which is lodged inside our
modern institutions we need to erase it
change it so caste-based reservation is
necessary but not sufficient what do we
do about it we need to find unit there
are many things that need to change in
caste based reservations exclusion of
creamy layer is already happening it’s a
very good thing
there should be intergenerational
benefits if one generation has benefited
the next generation should not be
allowed benefits at that level there is
need for sub classification within OBC
within SC within SD there are
communities which have benefited so much
that you need to bifurcate these Ottis
there is an explosion some communities
are no
backward they need to be excluded they
need to be thrown out from these lists
all that needs to happen and we need to
move towards a multi-dimensional index
and we need an Equal Opportunity
Commission in this country finally
should reservation continue forever no
reservation cannot be a solution in
perpetuity
it’s not a matter of pride it is a sign
of something wrong of a pathology so
instead of asking when good reservations
end the question we should be asking is
when would gas inequalities and when
would unequal opportunities and in this
country if we do so then reservation can
be an instrument against caste based
inequalities reservation can become a
tool for any relation of caste otherwise
unfortunately it can also become an
addictive medicine which you get
addicted to that’s what I learned from
Kishen Pattanaik and 27th of September
happens to be Kishen G’s anniversary
death anniversary and I’m so privileged
to be able to speak about this today thank you