IBNLive Chat: OBC quota, is this the end of merit?

HARD TALK: CNN-IBN's National Affairs Editor Diptosh Majumdar discusses issues on quota.

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Diptosh Majumdar: Reservations are hardly a guarantee that it would remove disparity. It will definitely act as a catalyst. But quotas can also demoralize a very creative section of your society.

Akshay DB: is reservation in the private sector the next step?

Diptosh Majumdar: As I have already said non-government jobs and non-government education are different propositions. The government will not be able to do much.

Sandeep Malik: hasn't congress' vote bank politics strengthened by the sc decision?

Diptosh Majumdar: Strangely, it won't. At least not everywhere. There may be immediate beneifts in Karnataka but definitely not in the north Indian OBC-dominated states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Citizen: Hi Diptosh, I would like to ask you personally do you prefer quota over merit?? It is really sad that our politicians using this one as weapon to woo voters. It has been 60 years after we got independence still how many more decades we need this quota.

Diptosh Majumdar: In ideal conditions I am against all forms of quota. But I think that there can from time to time need for quota to rectify a past wrong. But it cannot be perpetuated. Quotas have to be removed as soon as they have served their purpose.

V Seshadri Sesha: DM: In my opinion, while ensuring 27% for OBCs and 22.5% for SC/ST, overall, their numbers admitted in the open category itself should also be taken into account. When their quotas are totally full, rest must be open on merit only.

Diptosh Majumdar: I think that 49.5 per cent is very notional. It won't happen straightaway. Even now IIMs have never been able to admit 22.5 per cent SC/STs. There won't be so many eligible applicants. As in the SC/ST experience, several students haven't been able to cope with the IIM/IIT pressure and have dropped out after the first year. I think more than reservation, the government should have really thought of improving and strengthening the school system.

Gagan: Is there any data to take in to account how many people have been benefitted by reservation. Then why increase more reservations?

Diptosh Majumdar: The last caste census was done in 1931. But going by sample surveys done by Mandal Commission and later by the NSSO (National Sample Survey Organization), it should be a little above 50 per cent of the total Indian population. It is the majority caste segment in this country.

Sumit Gupta: Communities like Vanniyars (Ramadoss's community), are among the creamy layers. But they are still a part of the OBC list. Who will be the watchdog whether certain community forms creamy layer or not. The Govt in itself decides that. So overall this policy with or without creamy layer is more or less same. Don’t you think we need some independent authority / regulator to decide on creamy layer.

Diptosh Majumdar: Agreed. The criteria has been laid down quite clearly but I do agree with you that there would be efforts to get on board the reservation bandwagon even by those who don't really deserve it a regulator should be put in place. In fact if you read Justice Arijit Pasayat's judgement, it 's slightly.

Different from other judges...he has suggested that the entire reservation business be visited every five years.