While I agree with the overall tone of the article, I found this part quite funny.

>What can we do? We can pressurise our local representatives, >MLAs and MPs to take action on them if they want to be >re-elected and want to hold office.

Huh? When was the last time you did that?

I agree this has not been done and it cannot be done by one person. That's where the wish list comes in. If people like you and me can convince others like us to do it, it can be done.

I know of a NGO in Bangalore which does it and it has done it quite successfully. It is called JANAGRAHA and they hold local government officials responsible and audit the books on a regular basis.

It cannot be done by one or two persons. It has to be mass movement.

Mukul Dharwadkar

The view expressed by Supreme Court might have delighted the members of Forward Castes, but it has greately dissappointed the millions of OBCs. It is false that reservations were available to OBCs for the last 60 years. It is only after mandal commission the reservations were introduced in central services which in fact rules the nation. The absence of OBC member in Supreme Court Judges in the indipendent India speaks volumes of deprivation to which these citizens are put to. There is no voice for the OBCs in the judiciary. Similar the case with appointments made through UPSC and other central recruitments. Nominal presence of the OBCs in IAS and IPS, IFS etc. to be looked into to know and appreciate the status of OBCs. Let forward caste members come forward (male and female) members volunteer,without prejudice, to marry out side their respective caste, let even from other forward castes. It would make them to understand the nation called INDIA

OBC not being there in IAS, UPSC, IFC is a truth....the fact is the candidates are less coz they dont deserve to be there only coz it is based on MERITs and not Reservation....this is the only fact why there are less OBCs in the Govt System....let the debate be whatever this is a fact that OBC candidates do not deserve any rights themselves when it comes to Merits....nothing to do with merits and inequality

The notion of reservation was brought upon with the fundamental idea of creating equality among all the races within the newly formed Republic of India. While casteism was, and is, in true regard a major issue facing the liberated India, the solution by the means of 'current implementation' of reservation has been indeed disastrous.

If you want to create equality your approach should be
- Create equal opportunity for advancement among all classes of society
- Make any acts of discrimination based on caste or gender punishable by law

However, this approach is completely falsified by the current implementation of reservation system
- It actually creates more inequality just based on the fact that for a person now it is important to know what 'Caste' he is from, this will never eliminate casteism. If they want to eliminate casteism, they should first stop asking person at every stage of his life which caste he comes from.
- It actually discriminates a person just based on the 'birth' over which none of the individuals has any control (at least not yet!).
- It creates factions among citizens of a nation which is by constitution Secular and Democratic. This, many times, creates a ill-feelings when one person is favored over the other just based on the fact that he is by birth privileged. (See the irony! Now being from SC or ST is a privilege!)
- To provide better opportunities to socio-economically needy people, one should focus on increasing literacy and understandings among population, especially rural population, that all humans are created equal in this world and they should be treated as equal. (Do you really think reservation will create equality? At least in last 50 years it hasn't!)

Some proponents of reservations claim that the reservation has benefited several SC/ST people to lead a better life. However, if, instead of reservation, these persons were just given good education and better socio-economic surroundings and if they were never told what caste they come from, I bet they would have done better!

Of course, it is highly likely that a person growing among a mob will have mob characteristics and a person growing among highly intellectual nice family will have that approach towards life. The solution should be to create better surroundings for every individual, a better society, a better nation!