Monday, November 29, 2010

Nothing works!

This is my political reporting assignment. The topic which was given was "Reservations in private sector. Will it work?"
Now, before I copy paste my assignment from a word document, I want you to know that this is the most not-thought (if there exists a word like that), crappiest and unsatisfying assignment which I have ever done. For which I scored a 6 upon 10. Pretty decent. But, "how????" that's the question in my head. the material I read to do this assignment was totally opposite to what my opinion was, which made it more tough for me. This assignment was done in about 45 minutes, while other assignments took me minimum 3 hours or may be even 2 days.
Okay...Here it is....
____________________________________________



Reservations in private sector will not work. It has many arguments and crucial factors associated to it. First, private sector strives for quality of work and efficiency. Private sector is competitive and economy-driven.
“The private sector is defined in a manner so as to include not only employment but also commercial concerns, which enviably include transactions in various markets”
According to Ambedkar, the real solution lies in removing the structural inequalities caused by past exclusion and isolation in more fundamental ways and suggested the policies of “structural equalization”. In his final solution, Ambedkar suggested dual remedies, firstly a set of policies relating to the safeguards against discrimination and secondly strategies to overcome deep rooted deprivation caused by historical exclusion and isolation of lower castes.
Among the several reasons, the absence of discrimination in recruitments and use of merit based policy in private sector are the main arguments against reservation in private sector by the corporate sector and others. With regard to this, the chief of Infosys, Mr. N.R. Narayan Murthy asks, "Are you going to have reservation in the Armed Forces?" (Source: http://www.rajputbrotherhood.com/knowledge-hub/essay/an-controversial-essay-on-the-politics-of-reservation-system.html)

Some of the suggestions mentioned by people from the private sector are: 

The FICICI   which represent about 443 chambers, associations and member bodies suggested that three measures, and this  include  (a) definite medium and long term plan for  educational and skill development through Government and private partnership for SC/ST (b)  development of entrepreneurship with well define affirmative action policy  for financial institutions to supply capital to vulnerable groups for  setting up businesses (c)  awarding government licenses and contracts to SC and ST   and preference  to the SC/ST  in government procurement ( c) some  representation of the disadvantage  communities in private employment on an voluntary basic with substitutive incentives  to the firms following the preference in the forms of  tax-breaks.
Has the private sector become the preserve of upper castes? remain a question in everyone’s minds.
“A study conducted by Carol Upadhya and AR Vasavi of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, states that the IT “workforce is less heterogeneous than is commonly assumed, and that the large majority of IT professionals come from middle class, educated, urban backgrounds, and from the upper castes.” Of the 132 software engineers who were interviewed, 71 percent belonged to the upper castes. About half were Brahmins. Eighty-four percent of the respondents were from middle class families, while only 5 percent hailed from rural areas. (Source: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main25.asp?filename=Bu012007IT_sector.asp)
What one has to analyze here is why should/do we look at this from the perspective of caste? As we know that private sector is economy and merit-driven, caste takes a back seat in such circumstances. While recruiting, private firms or companies choose a person based on his or her merit, not considering his or her caste, which is very encouraging because at least then people do not bring in discrimination here. Even if a person belongs to a lower caste and has merit, he or she is recruited without considering his caste.
Considering the history of caste discrimination in Indian society, caste is undeniable in our country and therefore, we bring that issue in every aspect of our life which is not so appreciable but ingrained in our minds as an indelible scar.
 Most of the industries in private sector do not recognize the existence of discrimination of lower castes in employment in supply of capital, in education and other markets because they are dependent on quality.

But, there is another argument. Private sector is directly or indirectly associated with politicians and the way the government runs. Many bureaucrats in the private sector also control the economy of the country. Despite the existence of reservations in India, lot is controlled by bureaucrats including the economic policies and budget allocated for various sectors. 

For example: When the general budget is announced, most industries and companies in the private sector are benefited. Similarly, ICICI being a private bank was almost affected by recession, but it was not brought into public only because many top shots in the country had their accounts in that bank.

“Padmini Sharath Kumar, Polaris’ vice-president, corporate communication, said, “We don’t ever capture any information on caste in any of our HR processes. So, we would not have any data in this regard as far as Polaris is concerned.” Vivek Punekar, HCL’s vice-president, HR, said, “HCL is an equal opportunities employer. Our recruitment policy and procedures strongly prevent any discrimination. We do not maintain any data on caste distribution, simply because we have not felt the need to differentiate people” (Source: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main25.asp?filename=Bu012007IT_sector.asp)

Another criticism about private industry is that it is economy-driven. A good no. of companies from abroad establish their base in our country to expand their market. This in turn is dependent on our country’s economy too. Because, if private sector compromises on merit and efficiency accompanied by quality of work, many companies from outside India would never set their base in our country, which in turn would affect the economy of our country as a whole. Directly or indirectly, a significant percentage of our economy depends on the private sector. 


“However, some companies and industry spokespersons have acknowledged that the private sector must bear some responsibility for social justice and for creating greater opportunities for a wider section of the population, and the idea of evolving a voluntary affirmative action programme has found favour in some quarters” ” (Source: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main25.asp?filename=Bu012007IT_sector.asp)

“Reservation in the private sector could stoke hope and optimism. At its worst, it will be a placebo. A placebo is a medication that is made of an inert substance. Placebos are prescribed to provide mental relief. They are most useful in the treatment of economic disorders and ironies” Source: (Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/08/27/stories/2004082700211000.htm

Also, government itself plays a very major role in promoting the private sector and if reservations in private sector are introduced, then the whole purpose of the private sector s lost. 
Therefore, what matters in the private sector is “not where you come from or which caste you belong to, but how you perform.”
___________________________________________________

1 comment:

EPIGNOSIS said...

Teju,
I strongly believe that the reservation should be based on economic factors only & not based on caste, i.e.the applicants coming from poor families should get benefit of reservation irrespective of his/her caste. Secondly, reservation should be mainly limited to education & training. Beyond that point economy should be open to quality only.

Basu uncle