Reservations based on caste in India.

Since 1950 the constitution of India provided initially though only for 10 years, caste based reservations.

Since then we have been continuing with it.

The question now posed by some people, is reservation based on caste system relevant after so many years in our country.

If we see the general population of our country, it is sad that even after so many years of this system, there is abject poverty and people are living in difficult conditions.

In major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai etc there has been large influx of people from rural areas and despite the fact they live in big cities, the general education level amongst slum dwellers is rather poor.

What is that prevents the population from taking advantages of opportunities to advance one’s standard of living.

It starts from education.

As the people find it difficult to eke out a living in our country, there is least priority for education and parents of poor families do not encourage education for their children, They are happy if these children earn a living so that household expenses are met.

It’s ironic that children are made to do jobs at young age, see the number of people employed in dhabas and garages across our country.

You can find them in every place across India.

As long as these children do not attend school, they would end up doing small jobs and their lives would not improve.

Despite the fact that there are reservations in education, these children do not come forward.

If this is so after 67 years of Independence, how can we think of doing away with the reservations in education?

As the population of lower caste is high, it is this segment which is also a majority in the poor section.

The lower caste people need to be motivated to take up education and then they would automatically improve their chances of a better employment.

That there is quota for lower castes in employments in government organizations is a big boost for this section, and this would definitely help this section to study more and further. Ironically the progress is not much.

What we see is that the affordable community in such section grabs these reservations and is exploiting these opportunities.

It’s time the government considers the income level along with the caste reservations, so that the creamy layer is discouraged from grabbing the opportunities.

The basic reservation should continue but however if the person from this section has earned sufficient wealth then he or she should be debarred from such reservation and asked to compete in the open criteria.

Accidents can be avoided.

The classic principles of accidents are as follows:

1.       Unsafe conditions.

2.        Unsafe Actions.

While we are debating these points let’s consider the meaning of these principles.

Unsafe Acts are those which are caused by the person ignoring safety rules and meeting with accidents.

Unsafe Conditions are those which allow accidents to happen, because of poor design.

Unsafe Conditions are the main reason for causing accidents worldwide.

It is the duty of the manufacturer who should ensure that there are no unsafe conditions in their appliances and it should be idiot proof.

The guards of machines should be such that a person cannot put his fingers into the covered areas thereby injuring his or her fingers. We are aware of these rules while designing equipment.

It is only the responsibility of the makers who have to ensure these designs.

Industrial accidents are viewed very seriously in our country.

The Factory inspectorate penalizes establishments for not providing the safety guards etc, and the employee is very well protected against such accidents. The employer has not only to pay for the injured person’s treatment but ensure corrective actions are taken to stop such accidents in future.

If the government is so strict in enforcing such stringent rules to safeguard employees- which are correct- then why accidents on the railways are brushed aside as trespassing.

I read a report in the The Times of India about the recent accident of Ms Monika More in Mumbai.

She was trying to board a train which had just started and in the course of her run to get a foothold, she slipped in a trench along the platform in Ghatkopar station, and slipped. The fall was bad and her hands got under the wheels of the train. This resulted in the severing of her both hands.

The girl is in the hospital fighting to survive, but has lost both her hands. The hospital could not retrieve her hands.

This speaks of a great tragedy in our country. Very often the accident victims in the railways are not attended to immediately. Poor facilities are available on the railway stations, lack of infrastructure and ambulance often delay in rushing the patient to a hospital. This delay not only affects the likely treatment but very often leads to death.

The Railways carry millions of passengers on the suburban network in Mumbai.

They get huge revenues from passengers.

Often the courts have highlighted the poor facilities on the railway stations but to no avail.

There seems to be no concerted attempt to mobilize these facilities and save lives and limbs of passengers.

The Ghatkopar incident is that of an unsafe condition.

How can there be a sudden gap in the platform along the boarding side of the platform.

The railways say that there are equipments below the pit, hence cannot be covered with cement.

If that is so what prevents them from making a frame of angles and covering the pit with plates so that nobody would fall and their equipments can still function.

Previously the trains had fewer compartments, now days the trains have 12 and 15 compartments and the railways should realize the danger of these hazards as the train stops very near the pit.

Can the government wake up now at least and ensure that such death traps are avoided.

Unsafe conditions cannot exist anywhere and have to be plugged immediately.

2013 the year gone by, let’s herald the New Year 2014.

2013 is the year in India a great one.

In Delhi elections, Aam Aadmi Party has trounced the ruling party and has secured a reasonable majority.

Mr. Arvind Kejriwal is forming the Government there in Delhi.

This would be the forerunner for bigger things to come in India in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

The traditional parties have to sit back and analyze what went wrong in Delhi.

The people of Delhi have voted for a change and the mood is upbeat.

Can AAP be a strong contender for the Lok Sabha Elections in 2014?

If so, then there is a good chance for the AAP party to win and form the Government in the national stage.

In the history of our country, this would be the first time the people would have expressed their choice based on the performance of a party which promises of a corruption free environment.

Are we going to see this happening, we need to wait and watch?

The big national players would be definitely pulling up their socks and would be apprehensive about their performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

We have heard of David and Goliath story, it’s happening here in India.

Can we really see this happening, if it has to happen, then the common folks- aam aadmi would be really powerful and a true democracy would emerge in our country?

Let’s herald the New Year 2014 with a vow to make India a corruption free country.

Could this be the new order in our country?