A democracy held to ransom

Agitation. Protests. There is something quintessentially democratic about these two concepts. They signify the guarantee of Freedom of Speech and Expression, which the constitution of India provides.
Since the past 3 weeks however, this very freedom has been used to hold a country to ransom. Yes, I am talking about the ongoing agitation by a particular section of society. Squatting on the railway tracks, demanding reservation in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota. The regular threats of cutting supply lines to Delhi, railway losses and 'retaliation' should galvanize our leaders. Its not just about the crores of rupees being lost daily due to lost productivity, but something deeper.

Lets try to think aloud what went wrong.

Subsidies, reservations, duties etc these are what our governments use to garner votes. India has a long history of "quota" system. Be it people, companies or goods. Giving special privileges to a particular section is a temporary way of improvement. Time and again this has been proven right. A closed economy, with quotas for local companies, brought us to the brink of an economic disaster. But this preferential treatment is the only way to guarantee a large number of votes in a short time. So this becomes a high return political stunt.
In the current context, the UPA government is not able to enforce law and order solely because of the fear of loss of votes from a large community.

This psyche of ensuring quick electoral wins diverted government's priorities. What really should have happened is a massive investment in basic infrastructure. Well connected cities and villages with good education would have suppressed the need to provide reservation. A village with access to a good highway that leads to a city with good government schools. An efficient bus service to facilitate that. This should have really lifted the backward classes out of the ignorance they faced in the independent India.

Now the valid question what can be done to quell this agitation ? This incident is the second instance of what Gujjars started. Will there be more of them ?
There can be a start here. Education vouchers to the poor sections can be provided simultaneously starting up good governmental schools. The current agitation leaders should be convinced that in the long run these measures will be helpful for everybody. To handle the current situation there is no way but to cede to these demands. But the leaders should also take the reverse step, canceling quotas for the uplifted sections, which has not been done since the Mandal Commission report implementation in 1989. That means, well, its not working out.

Recruiting at my Alma mater - a reflection

5th March 2011.
N.I.T Kurukshetra awaited The Royal Bank of Scotland to hire interns. One of the employees to form the interview panel was yours truly.
It feels just out of this world to go back to your Alma mater as a fortune 'maker'. Although I had experienced it on 16th Sep. 2010 also, when I came to recruit full time employees, but this time it was more pronounced and profound.

Owing allegiance to your college and organisation

This is the most exciting part. You know in your heart that it is the place that made you what you are today. You want to select every student of your college and make their careers. Then comes Mr Henry Fayol, shrieking with his theory of subordinating personal interests over organisational interests. The critic in you has to come out and eliminate more than half of your own college juniors.

Still its people who are fresh out of college and go for recruitment that can give valuable feedback on the employability of the students. Simply because they give a damn. One observation though, people need to be more thorough with their interview preparations. Its their sheer bad luck and the company's good luck that the most recent batch of alumni came. Please do away with bogus entries on your resumes! Being on the other side of the table it is very easy to see through every sham and charade. So by eliminating such contenders you tend to profit your organisation.

Some suggestions to students reading this

Don't ever stop enriching yourself. That humble bit of knowledge that you thought was unnecessary may turn out to be the highlight of your interview.
The daily newspaper is not enough. The subjects are also not enough. Keep reading everything and anything. Attend as many speaking and discussion sessions you can. They help every time.

Hoping to come back soon again to the campus of the B.O.K and the land of Mahabharata.

Enough gyaan, goodnight.