Current Affairs 31/08/2015

Failures of Reservation Policy

The existing reservation policy that has failed to assimilate lowest castes/tribes within the mainstream economy and society, has created a sense of dissatisfaction and injustice among those who are denied the benefits of reservation
The reservation policy has been used mainly in vote bank politics played around the castes.
The tool of reservation has failed miserably in removing caste differences and has promoted the caste divide and caste conflicts.
The policy has ended up as a tool that discriminates against the high caste youths in favour of the low caste youths, sometimes coming from the same economic background.
It is not the poorest but frequently the non-poor, middle income groups of SC/ST/OBC (creamy layer) who are seen to be the beneficiaries of reservations.

Clearly, the time has come to rethink our reservation policies, that have ended up giving preference to more or less the same class of SC/ST/OBC in school/college admission, in jobs and in promotions as well as subsidies in innumerable programmes and schemes, leaving out the poorer sections among them at the bottom.

The radical rethinking on reservation should aim at (i) excluding the entire creamy layer from reservation; (ii) developing the capabilities of the deprived and excluded beyond offering them admission to higher education or jobs on a platter.
The underlying principle should be that all the poorest at the bottom get support.

Growth has not transformed into development. GDP increased but there is no proportional increase in jobs which is the major cause of frustration among youth.

The danger of the demographic dividend turning into a demographic disaster is looming over the country.

Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area and a Project Tiger tiger reserve located in Chikmagalur district in Karnataka state, India.
Baba Budan Giri Range lies near the sanctuary.
The Manikyadhara Falls is located on the nearby Baba Budan Giri Hill.
The tributaries of the Bhadra river flow west through the sanctuary.
Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary is a biodiversity hotspot. Most of the area consists of dry deciduous forest, moist deciduous forest and semi evergreen forests.
Flora and Fauna
It is the habitat of valuable teak and rosewood.
There is also bamboo and several types of medicinal plants
An estimated 33 tigers are found in Bhadra.

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