Its been a never-ending saga these days in the Indian newspapers, of peoples viewpoint on the Reservation policy. It’s been debated hugely everyday. I have seen shows on the television where the ‘intellectual’ beings portray how irresponsible and selfish has been the Indian Bureaucracy been while devising the policy. I specifically use the word ‘bureaucracy’ and not the word the ‘government’, as the proposal wasn’t objected by any of the political parties. That’s not about it, last weekend I was out with my friends to hangout where yet again the topic of reservations cropped up. All of us were discussing the topic so passionately with a can of coke as if it were to directly effect us, miles away. That’s not about it, my orkut communities have been flooded with discussions on how ‘stupid’, ‘k*****’, ‘irrational’ was the government to implement something of this sort.

Ok, to be honest. The reservation story does move me. Not only, but earlier too when the pics and videos of how the ‘rang de basanti’ phenomenon had spread the country with students objecting to the devised policy did it manage to move me. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t bother me nor affects. It doesn’t bother me because it’s just another ‘breaking news’ and the effervescence would dry out once IPL becomes a phenomenon or SRK signs another game show. It doesn’t affect me because I have never harbored dreams of joining either the IIT’s or IIM’s.

But then it is surely making me watch India from a better perspective. I am currently in one of the world best country (AAA-rating if not wrong), a country though which is just an island and a ‘dot’ on the world map is among the top developed nations. One thing which I have learned being here over past 3-4years: the ‘hard-way’ is that merit is of utmost importance. Be it at any levels: schools, universities, jobs and even politics to a certain extent. This has been one of the reasons for its success. No, its not that It does not have to face issues. The traditionally land of Chinese and Malays has become for everyone a ‘place of be’, which definitely attracts criticsm from locals but then it’s the way the governments steers the problems away and keeps the citizens happy. I even have heard where one time ‘not-so-local/of foreign race’ Bank employee is the Minister of finance today. It speaks tons of the government.

That‘s missing out in India at every level. Forget the ‘jacks’ we all try to get for our college/jobs, Just look out at our political frame. We had Jawaharlal Nehru as our first prime minister, then we had  Indira Gandhi legacy followed by Rajiv Gandhi and today we have Sonia Gandhi and probably in the future Rahul Gandhi. Why is it in India that we have a hierarchy of family ruling us, with due respect to all of them, isin’t leadership which is an innate gift, ‘born leaders’. Leadership is something which has to be fought for and shouldn’t come easy. Were/are all of them born leaders or were/are/would be on the post due to the names attached to them.

Ok let’s talk a little different. After the 2004 elections, all of us in the youth though we would have a healthy representation in the parliament. We had the the Milind Doera’s, Sachin Pilots from elite institutions getting a seat in the parliament. They were supposed to signify the growing youth power in India.  Can be same said today about them in 2008. How have they been fruitful to their constituencies, have they even dared to speak in the parliament? Did they even express their views over the reservation policy in the parliament or even the media? Even the most optimistic opinion would be Naah. Probably they hold too little or actually nil to qualify to speak in Indian Parliament.

I have probably reached a conclusion, however clinched it may sound. Youth surely does not hold any power on its own, do what it may. The bureaucracy wins the race. Yeah we may have become more outspoken, increased the number of times we visit a club, or even fall short of asking before we buy something new: but then at the macro-level we are of little importance. And many like me are probably too selfish to even care about it, but then I still do feel for my friend with 91% in his 12^th boards and 96 percentile in CAT’s lost out a seat to the OBC with 58% in 12^th boards and 40 percentile in CAT’s at IIT.