mid day editorial: Creating jobs the only solution

The Maratha reservation issue seems to be a brewing thunderstorm for the BJP-run government in Maharashtra. Caught on the backfoot, the state government seems to be scrabbling for time, telling the court that the committee constituted to study the Maratha community and come up with reasons why they deserve reservation, would need three more months to complete its work.

Government reservations have always been a contentious issue, with politicians fanning the live coals, ensuring the issue is kept burning. Every election, politicians make absurd promises, with an eye on the numbers in the ballot box. Reservations were created to tackle the issue of caste and class, and were primarily meant to uplift those at the absolute periphery of society. The objective now seems to be defeated as all communities, even those long considered privileged and upper caste like the Marathas or the Jats in Haryana who enjoy tremendous political heft, have been demanding reservations.

While there can be a debate on whether reservation on the basis of caste should be considered as the only criteria, the demand for reservation from every other community shows that there are not enough jobs created in the private sector. For long, India has been spoken about as being at an advantageous stage because of the demographic dividend of a young and able work force that can contribute to the economy. However, this dividend may become a time bomb if there are no jobs available. If there are no jobs in the private sector and the rural economy continues to be in distress, then there will be more joblessness and eventually more unrest.

The need of the hour is for reservation on basis of caste to be completely done away with. If at all reservation is required, it must be on socio-economic status. That way, the country can end this misplaced sense of victimhood that political parties have encouraged for years.

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