Anti SC/ST fallacies debunked
[Tue Jul 15, 2003 9:29 PM]
As I had mentioned long ago, it was one of our SC/ST former Chief Ministers during whose tenure he floated the idea of lobbying
to include the Meiteis as SC/ST but we Meiteis were too proud and promptly turned that down. We now need them to mull over again
the pride v/s opportunity lost debate but this time it HAS to be an INFORMED DECISION equipped with our exhaustive pros and cons
debate information specially given that the issues behind the current incendiary friction between the Meiteis and our minority
ethnic groups could be removed by the Meiteis too becoming SC/ST.
My objective is to get the maximum number of people to debate the issue and most important make ALL THE pro and anti reasons and
the rebuttals available for them to contemplate and ruminate. The problem of our isolated underdeveloped society is that we do not
have enough INFORMED intellectuals and of the few, even less with a determined and persistent activism and self belief to overcome
the enormous odds of trying to lead our majority uninformed fractious skeptical insecure public given the frustrating environments
of corrupt incompetent officials and most of all the extortion demands. So we cannot leave it to chance, GOD or time.
So it falls on the few of us active informed intellectuals to NOT force the others to think on your lines BUT to make ALL the
UNBIASED information available to them and then encourage or GOAD them to contemplate and debate the issues among themselves.
In the absence of such unbiased information, it is very easy for some unscrupulous people to exploit the rest of the uninformed
gullible public for their own self interest. So the aim of this forum when reaching out to the public is not to push ones beliefs
however convinced you are of it BUT to purely get all the unbiased information out to them for the public to make their OWN conclusion.
So the end objective is not to convince others and win the debate but to make sure all misinformation are debunked and the COMPLETE
information disseminated to as wide an audience as we can. And with knowledge will invariably come the self belief and confidence of
the public which in our free democratic system will then automatically sort out our politicians.
ANTI SC/ST for MEITEIS - arguments and obfuscation debunked :
FALLACY #1 (Q4, Q5, Q6, Q19): "If Meiteis take up SC/ST, we will promote mediocre students to get a job and lower our
educational industrious ethic."
That logic holds true only when that newly introduced opportunity can be made available to mediocre students. During price
hikes following an NH39 blockade, releasing a few tens of rice bags will not bring the cost down but releasing a few thousand
bags definitely will. SC/ST opportunities are -
1. VERY VERY FIERCELY competitive and - 2. VERY LIMITED in number. The educational openings that SC/ST will provide are opportunities
that the Meiteis in our current state HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO AVAIL IN THE LAST 55 YEARS (except for maybe a negligible 5 people)!
So claiming that opening SC/ST seats to premium institutes like AIIMS, IITs and IAS will allow mediocre Meiteis to get into these
seats is flawed. If there were 5 seats that the Meiteis can avail in a year into these institutes through SC/ST reservation, they
WILL BE THE VERY TOP 5 Meiteis students. Assuming another 15 students get into less competitive institutes through SC/ST in a year,
the total new 20 SC/ST opportunities out of a student population of about 50000 students vying for that position WILL NOT MAKE the
Meiteis more complacent in competing for those positions.
FALLACY #2 (Q12): It is more of lack of hard work that is the main drawback for the Meiteis and not lack of educational infrastructure.
If we worked hard, we can compete at an all India open competition.
Statistics - About 5 people from a million Meiteis population for 55 years got into premium Indian institutes and that too only
after they got education outside Manipur ! I rest my case !!
But this long story is to show that claims that it is just lack of hard work that stands between a Meiteis with a Manipuri education
and an IIT/IAS/AIIMS seat in the open category is SHEER BOGUS and GROSSLY offending to cast that aspersion on industrious people
like him that he did not work hard enough to compete successfully with the rest. It is INVARIABLY students from such poor families
that excel academically and so people like us who could afford better education outside Manipur cannot preach to them to overcome
the poor Manipuri education with more hard work ! Some have made it (however I still don't know any with a pure Manipuri education )
but even if there are, they ARE EXCEPTIONS - our Einsteins ! I agree such an educational gap that existed during my father's days no
longer exist but today relatively the disadvantage is still the same as even a small difference in educational infrastructure makes a
big impact when competing for such limited seats in these premium institutions in a billion population country. But I wont be surprised
if the remote areas in the hills still, in 2003, have the same lack of qualified teaching staff ! The biggest disadvantage and most
critical that remain today is the mental lack of self confidence when you go out off Manipur ! However these days because we have a
bigger Meiteis Diaspora population with active association this is mitigated to some extent but it still remains the biggest hurdle as
success in all spheres of life is TOTALLY dependant on self confidence and self belief that is ACQUIRED and NOT INHERITED IQ from genes.
So this JUST WORK HARDER solution is flogging it a bit too much !
FALLACY (#Q3,Q13, ): Only rich students from non deserving families will avail the SC/ST jobs depriving the poor.
Everybody accepts there are better effective and fairer models of SC/ST reservations but THIS IS AN UNRELATED ISSUE. Moreover the
selection process in India (outside Manipur) SC/ST seats CANNOT be influenced or bribed and will ONLY BE PURELY ACADEMIC MERIT BASED.
If a Meiteis from a well off family that went to better costly education beat a Meiteis from a poorer family with limited resources
PURELY ON ACADEMIC MERIT, I am perfectly OK with that though I agree it is unfair.
FALLACY #4: SC/ST will never be granted to the Meiteis so this is an exercise in futility.
This is challenging the very core foundation of the existence of the Manipur-Diaspora forum. We take up issues here not because they
are easy but we feel if our generation like preceding ones too throw our hands up and surrender at the obstacles we might just die
away if left to the forces of the law of natural selection ending up as a minority as we see in some of our north east regions like
the natives in tripura and assam or in a divided state in flames. You are free to hold that view and we respect that. But YOU ARE
VERY WRONG if you think I am the only one in our group dedicated and committed to take up the challenge. MOREOVER WE STRONGLY PROMOTE
ENCOURAGEMENT OF OUR MEMBERS.
FALLACY #5 (Q3,Q10): WE are not inferior to the mayangs and SC/ST for the Meiteis is an admission of that.
Taking up SC/ST status is NOT an admission that we are mentally inferior but YES .. an honest admission that we are handicapped and
underprivileged in our resources and infrastructure which is MANDATORY for our mental, intellectual and self confidence development.
It is just unfortunate that the misleading politically incorrect term "SC/ST" projects that misconstrued notion. Reservation is
provided to compensate for depriving them of a better education that the people from other developed areas enjoy so that they can now
compete at a leveled playing ground.
FALLACY #6 (Q17): SC/ST reservation is an unfair system for those not in the general category.
I selfishly am only interested in the benefit for the Meiteis as we will ALL be in the SC/ST fold and SPECIALLY when there is a
justification in terms of an equal infrastructure handicaps to that of the other SC/ST north east states.
FALLACY #7 (Q1, Q2, Q16): Seat reservation for Manipur domicile is different in nature to the SC/ST reservation.
The ONLY DIFFERENCE is that unfortunately the politically incorrect "SC/ST" term is a big shameful dent to our EGO and pride
specially to the mindset of an insecure underdeveloped minority in a discriminating, intolerant, opportunity starved and poor
majority Indian population. If you oppose opening our current Manipur domicile ONLY seat reservations to an all India open
competition for all Manipur education and job seats to promote more competition and hence engender a more industrious work
ethic amongst the Manipuri, ALL THE ARGUMENTS OPPOSING SC/ST for the Meiteis FAIL !
FALLACY #8 (Q18): SC/ST has failed in the last 55 years to uplift the people that have availed it.
SC/ST reservation is not meant to solve that ! Economic and Educational Infrastructure improvement in those areas are the solution.
SC/ST reservations is merely an equitable compensation not to disadvantage these underprivileged people in the ABSENCE of that
infrastructure improvement to those areas.
FALLACY #9 (Q7, Q14): SC/ST inclusion for the Meiteis only addresses job and educational issues.
The ethnic divide very critical today that threatens to break up the state can be diffused partially by the Meiteis too being SC/ST
thus bringing about an equal law in access to all land in the state allowing more mingling of the ethnic groups. Also SC/ST central
job postings will lead to a wider distribution of the Meiteis Diaspora in India easing settlement for future Meiteis generations
outside Manipur.
FALLACY #10 (Q8, Q9, Q11): Having more Meiteis IAS, AIIMS, IIT candidates is not very important. We still have many engineers,
doctors, beaureacrats and politicians but that has not brought about any development.
Having Meiteis from such premium institutes selected purely through academic merit ( as all India selections will be ) and not
corrupt and influenced Manipuri selections, will yields more honest and competent people with a higher resolve and dedication to
bring about development to the Meiteis and Manipur. Moreover people form such premium institutes are exposed to more competition,
smarter people, more information, and more opportunities beside a MUCH better education. We would have then had a much bigger
overseas Diaspora if we had managed to send a couple of meities to these institutes every year. And that is a big difference.
Most of the development of India we see today is driven and funded by both knowledge and money from overseas resident Indians. And
that is the primary objective in our education funding program we tried to start off almost 4 years ago - Select and fund education
all the way to an overseas post grad for Manipuri students and they will bring in money and knowledge.
FALLACY #11 (Q15): If a student gets in through a lowered standard, he/she will pass out incompetent. So we should
not allow Meiteis to take up the lowered bar that SC/ST reservations provide.
If totally incompetent the student will not pass out of the institute. And most people change with opportunity. And moreover for
the opportunity starved Meiteis, we should grab every opportunity that comes our way. These SC/ST reservations are set at a safe
minimum competency level and we are not demanding a further lowering of that for the Meiteis like what is being demanded in Manipur
for the MBBS SC/ST seats. These all India SC/ST seats are very competitive too and in all likelihood, the brightest Meiteis with the
limitation of a pure Manipuri education may still fail to make the SC/ST selection.
Don't take this as a cocky argument but my format here and the previous 19 questions format are just BULLET PROOFING to prevent
further dodging of the rebuttals so we don't go around in circles but to guide the debate forward with newer or unaddressed points.
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