Arranged marriage , Arranged cum love marriage and Love marriage .

Which one is most successful in India and Why ?
Arranged marriage , Arranged cum love marriage or Love marriage .

frenchita said...
Arranged cum love marriage . I am taking the middle road , I guess ,straddling the fence so as to say . This kind of marriage satisfies both the youngsters and their parents which is an important factor . The two have met , liked each other ,their backgrounds are similar , their parents are in approval and will be a pillar of support should trouble arise in the marriage

lavina said...
Arranged cum love marriage......takes care of the all the aspects........parent's dreams, personal preferences, know-how about each other's family background and best of all parent's backing is there all the time ....... Why invite trouble unnecessarily ;) :))

Gul said...
Arrenged -cum-love marriage. Sabki Khushiyo ko Ek-saath leker chalne se Khushi Chooguni ho jati hai...!

Vrij said...
Donno... Not yet in love, nor have got arranged .. Anyone interested ;-)

Ashiya said...
not sure seriuosly......... love marriage ya arranged marriage ya arranged love marriage......... nah not sure.....

kratia said...
actually anything works..it depends on the people involved..any relationship requires a certain amount of adjustment and if one is ready for it, i guess any of it can be successful... but there was an sms i recieved which said love marriage is preffered over arranged bcos a known devil is better than an unknown devil...so..

K.subbaraman said...
Whether arrange or love or love-cum arrange marriage, what is required is tolerance. One has to accept his or her life-partner as she/he is. The problems arise when we try to change the other and become intolerant when the other fails to do so.. After all what we do in a marriage is blend two different family environment into one. It is tough task and calls for patience and tolerance. K.subbaraman

ellen said...
Marriage is a forever thing. Whatever the tradition or culture dictates, the foundation should stand on one sure thing -- love. So if there is anything that could last that long---it can only be love. Genuine love. And because any relationship will certaily go through the usual ups-and-downs of life, there should something strong to hold it together through it all. I know no other thing that can do that --- but love. True love. To quote: "love is patient, kind, without envy. It is not boastful or arrogant. It is not ill-mannered nor does it seek its own interest. Love withstands anger, and forgets offenses. It does not take delight in wrong, but rejoices with the truth. Love excuses everything, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Who said this? Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. In short, the greatest gift you can give each other in a marriage or any relationship for that matter --- is love. No gift is higher than love. But it is the most difficult to give. We act and behave contrarily to what it tells us. There is love and love... but only genuine love can withstand the test of time. As far as I know, there is only one who succeeded in it to perfection --- and He died on the cross. God bless everyone.

Important Thing in Our Life

What should be the most important thing in our Life-----Money, Power, Health,
Relations, Commitment, Social Status, Character or Something else?

anjali said...
health

anuja said...
HEALTH N RELATIONS

Ashiya said...
I think: Love and happiness

sur said...
Health then Chaaracter

lavina said...
hmmm.out of the ones you gave, i guess, character but i personally feel, peace of mind! satisfaction at the end of the day........then these things will follow automatically...happiness...money....etc cheers

Sumit said...
Character and being Happy

librangirl said...
i'll go for Health n' Relations

pri said...
agree with lavina.. peace of mind..then comes health and relations. love pri

Gul said...
Charecter.....Peace of mind......Health......happy n healthy relations

Utkarsh (Kabir) said...
Money, Power and Social Status are like saline water, incapable of quenching my thirst. What I will do, if my good health makes me survive for few more days. My world is full of loveless beggars, in which relations cant be defined. I am forced to adjust my Character everyday, by reflecting myself in eyes of others. Commitment for me is nothing but meeting the expectations of others (which i had been fruitlessly trying to meet from the first day of my SCHOOL) I want to reach a state in my life where all these things are like a minuscule dot in the horizon of my life. I want to be a "KABIR"........................

ellen said...
I would think that everything starts from CHARACTER. Everything else is a bonus. A developed character in the sense of goodness, strength, courage, wisdom, maturity, solid values, and beliefs taking root in a person-- can well help that person acqure the rest quite easily. And handle them wisely. The character of a person determines the good and bad in his life and in his relationships with people and with rest of the world. Let's raise our children to be of good character-- and you can be assured that he is far more richer than the kings of the world. God bless you! :-)

frenchita said...
Character would be number one for me .

taira said...
well all are linked with one another and equally important

Role of Prayer in our Life

Do prayers affect the condition of someone ?

Noble said...
Prayers do give you peace. Everytime I pray I feel comfortable. It doesn't matter which Prayer you Pray, But Sitting down and giving your attention to GOD is the most comfortable thing.

tejbir said...
actually i consider prayer and worldly matters distinct God has nothing to do with our health, wealth, and any material possessions whatsoever a prayer is actually the most selfish and the most humble act simultaneously a prayer never gets us any health, any wealth, any marks, any promotions etc etc it brings one thing - peace of mind, tranquility of existence and oneness (these 3 r indeed one) i know i haven't answered the ques directly, but this is what a prayer for me is

frenchita said...
Mostly people pray when they are in trouble or when they need something from God , like more wealth or an offspring . These can become selfish prayers ,should not fall in this trap ! True prayers are on a daily basis to communicate with this superior power who has given us life . To look upon him as the ultimate friend ,we are his mirror image ! Slowly and if done with sincerity , prayers do affect how we think and feel and act . If we dont become happier , at peace and more cheerful , then the prayers are not helping ,need to pay more attention .

sur said...
yea i complety agree to this.. when we pray for someone then those good wishes directly affect the one for whom we are praying coz i believe we are always surrounded by evil and good souls and when we pray something good for other then these all good souls help the person!.. thats why if we cant think good for anyone then we shant even think bad for them!!..coz i think evil travels faster than angel!!

DecentmonKey said...
Your question reminds me of an article I had read in Readers Digest a few years back.. There was a real experiment done in an hospital in USA. A batch of patients (all suffering from similiar ailment which I dont remember now) were divided into two groups, and the names of one group were prayed for on a daily basis.. After a few months, it was concluded this 'prayed for' group did better in terms of recovery, side effects and lesser deaths than the not-prayed for group.. This article was titled 'The power of prayers'

Sumit said...
Logically Prayers are insignificant, but it's just a matter of internal belief, because of your faith in god which makes him a pillar on which you can rely in the hour of need... and that's why I pray when I need him and even when I don't.


Vasu said...
Prayers are important for ones own peace of mind. Prayers take our mind away from the daily troubles and fill it with hope.

Anonymous said...
prayers may or not affect our lives its wat we believe, i.e. psychological effect , we pray coz we believe things wil go well by doing such , we r hving positive frame of mind , n wen we have such attitude , we work 4 it wich al our energy n that brings d right kind of results

Reservation in IITs and IIMs

Do you think that Government plan to reserve another 27% seats in IIMs & IITs is in the interest of country?

Dr. Karan Thakur said...
I totally disaggree with the policy on reservations, more on my blog onepointoh

savy said...
totally disagree...we create more bias when globalisation is working towards a symmetry of sorts. i thought we had crossed that bridge but sadly....being pushed back again.

tECHJ said...
they are playing pure vote bank politics... people who cannot learn or dont have the brains to learn...will be taught...and with the money we pay as taxes...

librangirl said...
Not at all.... n' worst still to come- they wud be implementin' in all the universities. Reservation is nothin' but crap & bull shit.... cheers

AngelzFear said...
Arjun Singh can do no better. For the sake of votebank politics, he can go to any extent.

skj said...
Hi guys: I too disagree with the Govt's plan for reservations.... but isn't it a truth that we can avoid this issue and we have to find a solution which should be fair and acceptable for all. And the best solution is that - Reservations in Jobs and Education or anywhere should not be allowed. But the education should be free of cost for SC/ST/OBC community. cheers..skj

anjali said....
i hv a suggestion........y dont govt. open sm of d institutes only for them...........and lets c hw dey cope up in the job market.........no reservation

IKWP said...
Implementation of additional reservation is disgusting... it will degrade our premier institutes. On one hand our premier institutes are going global and on the other hand we are hell bent to ruin their standards and in turn ruin the country.

Vrij said...
Very soon, a person earning 90lakhs will be looking down on another earning 88L because the latter wud gave gotten in thru 'reservations'. Bloody diarrhoeal shit... to blast with these reservations

Me said...
hi, we as the ppl of india r born with reservations. reservations of every kind.its nothing but political gimmick tht thing reservation. initially it was for 10 years when india got its independence, but the politician of our country the wise ppl they smoothly carried over tht to another 10 years religiously.it ll be a better idea to give education to the underpriveledged ppl then to force reservations on them becuase ulitimately the benefit goes to the priviledged reserved ppls. hope u dont mind just an observation

Sumit said...
From Bad to worse... another poll gimmick...

Gul said...
hum bilkul bhi sahmat nahi hai . IIM and IIT jaise hamare Desh ke sirmour sanshathane bhi estarah ka reservation.Bilkul bhi nsahi nahi hai. Yesi policy banati hi kyu hai Govt??? Gul.

zady said...
India is simply digging its own grave with this policy, if merit is not the criteria then we had forget the dream of being a self sufficent and superpower. This law will have a similar impact as Atom Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WW2.....boom goes our world...never to be same again

kk said...
No....this is rubbish. no reservations.

soma said...
I totally disagree with the new reservation policy... if we want to uplift thew backward classes ( that I believe was the major purpose of reservation) then let them prove their merit, after tht the govt can fund their education in the best institutes across the country. Admission to a top rung institute or a professional degree should be on the basis of merit and merit alone.

Sohrav gupta said...
so one thing, take amar singh to me i will try to convince him to take his words back. as its indian youngsters life and they are damm serious this time.

Ankit Mathur said...
Can you imagine this happening in INDIA? Government of India has a online Grievance forum at http://darpg-grievance.nic.in/ The government wants people to use this tool to highlight the problems they faced while dealing with Government officials or departments like Passport Office, Electricity board, BSNL/MTNL, Railways etc etc. I know many people will say that these things dont work in India, but this actually works as one of our colleague in CSC found. The guy i'm talking about lives in Faridabad. Couple of months back, the Faridabad Municipal corporation laid new roads in his area and the residents were very happy about it. But 2 weeks later, BSNL dugged up the newly laid roads to install new cables which annoyed all the residents including this guy. But it was only this guy who used the above listed grievance forum to highlight his concern. And to his surprise, BSNL and Municipal corporation of faridabad was served a showcause notice and the guy recieved a copy of the notice in one week. Government has asked the MC and BSNL about the goof up as its clear that both the governent departments were not in sync at all. So use this grievance forum and educate others who dont know about this facility. This way we can atleast raise our concerns instead of just talking about the 'System' in India. Well I'd say if it really works perhaps its the time to start using it as a mechanism to appeal against the YET AGAIN QUOTA SYSTEM in educational instituitions. Its for the betterment of people of india that we stand united against this move or, else at some stage perhaps sooner than later we'll find ourselves grappling with these insane laws. Looking forward to some co-operation.

Priya said...
Hi Shrawan disagree with reservations, its like handing it them on a platter without any hardwork. take care :)

Rohit bhardwaj said...
What are you resenting these politicians will do the following 1. Wait till assembly elections 2. If congress wins , it will be imposed in all education institutons including the primary aide and non aided schools 3. Then they will become bold and impose it in private sector jobs through an ordinance 4. announce mid term elections 5. If congress wins it will convert it into a bill and pass the law 6. If congress losses the other junta will do it in any case it will make the next govt very stable and INDIA A DIVIDED COUNTRY

smilegirl said...
reservations are total injustice..what about the students who slog n work hard ..where as the others just get in like that.. the standards of various institutes n univ's will fall n so will the country's..rather the govt shud have a better alternative like..providin free n better education to the underprivleged... if they have the apptitude they will come up..other than providin them addmissions on a platter...its simply unfair n total injustice...its just a political move to gain more votes...

Me said...
I can't beleive that politicians can't think beyond securing the next 5 years to earn gr8 bucks,unfortunately they don't give a dman to the country.if imposed a very sad decision indeed.Have a post 'Reserved' on my blog.wud love to hear frm u guys there.

Changing_Hues said...
Its a mockery of Democracy - We donot need laws to cripple our economy with unskilled "reserved" unprofessionals. Sadly, PM, who I thought was sensible, has proven that he is nothing but a political pawn. more on http://o3.indiatimes.com/thinkingwomen/

camelpost said...
I challenge the concerned jokers to go ahead with 50% Reservation for not only students but also for teaching staff. Its better that Government builds one more IIT and IIM and call them RIIT and RIIM (R stands for you know what) and let others live in peace and maintain their standards. RIIT and RIIM may be put under AICTE for added glory. It will be wiser for the government to offer the best of education from primary education and make them face the world rather than give them feel of artificial security by reservation.

camelpost said...
Naam Arjun Raknewala sab Yudh nahi jeeet sakteinaur IIT IIM koi Kurushetra bi nahi heinNa is Arjun ke paas koi Krishn bhi haiParitranaya sadhunam vinasaya SathuskrathamDharma samsdha banarthaya sambavami yuge yugeTora Tora Tora

Anonymous said…
reservation in iits n iims is sure to demean d standars of such premier institutes . it is nothing bt a step to enhance one's vote bank coz d ones for whom reservation is meant wud never be benefitted as dey r nt even aware of it. 1600 seats out of iits n 246 of iims quite a large figure to count on , d meritorious r cheated dis way .

camelpost said...
AICTE Punched by Court OrdersThe Madras High Court, in an interim direction relating to the regulatory jurisdiction of the AICTE and the UGC over deemed universities, has instructed the former to issue a public notice advising students to attend classes. Reserving its final order, a bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Prabha Sridevan said the AICTE in its advertisement should mention that students must return to their colleges, since failure to attend classes would result in their losing an academic year. It must be published in English and Indian language newspapers, the judges said. The bench indicated that orders would be pronounced in the third week of May and observed that all deemed universities must take prior permission from the UGC before starting new courses. The AICTE could be part of the inspection team mandated to visit deemed universities, the judges added.

Anonymous said...
What "merit" are we talking of anyway ? Scores in entrance exams at age of 17?Take the claim of "merit based" entrance to all IIMs and dozens of other institutes. The CAT exam is based on the SAT exam in the USA . It has been proved beyond doubt that the SAT test is culturally biased . Blacks and hispanics do poorly at it year after year .If a student who is eligible for admission to IIM on the basis of his CAT score, were to take the same CAT exam in which he/she cleared in a language that he/she did not understand then he/she would be at a disadvantage compared to someone who was schooled in that language . Not knowing that language does not mean you lack the capacity to clear that exam. Approximately 25 % of CAT test is about English! Another 25 % is about English Comprehension!!!! There you are !!!! About 50 % so called aptitude test is a hoax for someone who is from a non-english speaking background .This is how the CAT like the SAT is discriminatory . See the full form of SAT …Scholastic Aptitude Test . The problem is aptitude testing is not so simple . There is no test on earth which can reliably tests aptitude .Aptitude tests such as the SAT have a historical tie to the concept of innate mental abilities and the belief that such abilities can be defined and meaningfully measured. Neither notion has been supported by modern research. Few scientists who have considered these matters seriously would argue that aptitude tests such as the SAT provide a true measure of intellectual abilities. It was found that people could be coached to better their scores at SAT . The name SAT …Scholastic Aptitude Test could not be correct . So under such valid criticism the name was changed to Scholastic Assessment Test, since a test that can be coached clearly did not measure inherent "scholastic aptitude", but was influenced largely by what the test subject had learned in school. Even the College Board which conducts the SAT has beaten a hasty retreat.This was a major theoretical retreat by the College Board conducting SAT, which had previously maintained that the test measured inherent aptitude and was free of bias. About ten years back , however, even the redundancy of the term assessment test was recognized and the name was changed to the neutral, and non-descriptive, SAT. At the time, the College Board announced, "Please note that SAT is not an initialism. It does not stand for anything."The framers of these SAT tests assumed that intelligence was a unitary inherited attribute, that it was not subject to change over a lifetime, and that it could be measured and individuals could be ranked and assigned their place in society accordingly. The SAT evolved from these questionable assumptions about human talent and potential. More and more people are questioning the validity of SAT . In the past MENSA used to accept high SAT score individuals . For the past decade it has stopped accepting SAT scores .The whole exercise of deciding merit based on CAT scores discriminates against those from lower socio-economic status.Though many non-IIM institutes have started accepting CAT scores, the application fee of these institutes is still inexplicably high. The CAT is primarily an exam of Math and English. Logical and Analytical Reasoning is nearly absent (except for some verbal reasoning which again depends on knowing English well!!!!). CAT is a clever way to keep those from lower socio-economic strata away Institutes funded with tax payers money .So claims of “Merit” based on CAT scores is hollow and discriminatory against those of lower socio-economic strata.Dhirubhai Ambani had a poor command over English . He would not have made it through CAT. So what "merit" are we talking of?

Anonymous said...
Bit more to add than my earlier post .My main point was that inherent aptitude/talent (INBORN MERIT) can’t be tested. What gets tested in a test like the CAT or SAT or any test is the person’s learning (ACQUIRED MERIT). I am not saying this learning(ACQUIRED MERIT) is a bad thing and those who possess it needs to penalized by denying them an opportunity for furthering their education .I am saying lets stop pretending that we are measuring inherit aptitude/talent(INBORN MERIT) in these entrance examinations . Once we accept that what we are measuring in CAT or the other entrance exams is something that has been learnt with effort often since childhood we also see that others who have not had the good fortune of such a childhood could also learn those very things if only with harder work in teens or adulthood . And a person who has learnt skills late in his life can be as competent as anyone. So some one with a poor score in an Entrance exam can acquire sufficient merit like any one else. Rashmi Bansal of IIM Ahmedabad ,popular blogger , editor of an English youth magazine says in this article http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2006/may/02rashmi.htm“All students must learn English because it is a vital skill in the New Economy” But even the Americans don’t think its going to enough in the “new economy” .American President Bush thinks that learning Hindi and a few other foreign languages is a "critical need" for the US's national security and prosperity. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1591447,00050001.htmOr http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1362386.cms In this article http://www.cmomagazine.com/analyst/031805_csa.html That article quotes Former German chancellor Willy Brandt who said decades ago: "If I am selling to you, I speak your language. If I am buying, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen" (or "Wenn ich zu Ihnen verkaufe, spreche ich Ihre Sprache. Wenn ich kaufe, then you must speak German"). People are much more likely to buy if they fully understand what it is you're trying to sell to them.All successful business, like politics, is local - or should appear that way to the buyer. The right language is the first step in becoming a local hero says the same article .The importance of my earlier post goes beyond the caste reservation issue.English is NOT the language spoken and understood by majority of the population worldwide!!!!!!!The Summer Institute for Linguistics (SIL) Ethnologue Survey (1999) lists the following as the top languages by population:(number of native speakers in parentheses)Chinese (937,132,000) Spanish (332,000,000) English (322,000,000) Bengali (189,000,000) Hindi/Urdu (182,000,000) Arabic (174,950,000) Portuguese (170,000,000) Russian (170,000,000) Japanese (125,000,000) German (98,000,000) French (79,572,000) The following list is from Dr. Bernard Comrie’s article for the Encarta Encyclopedia (1998):(number of native speakers in parentheses)Mandarin Chinese (836 million) Hindi (333 million) Spanish (332 million) English (322 million) Bengali (189 million) Arabic (186 million) Russian (170 million) Portuguese (170 million) Japanese (125 million) German (98 million) French (72 million) How about being tested in these languages alongwith the Indian languages of each state ?.The IAS used to be conducted only in English.Today in the IAS examination there is no discrimination between candidates who answer in Hindi or English or other regional languages. The IIMs can learn something from how the IAS is conducted.Let our management graduates eye new markets which are big and getting bigger including local ones.Like I pointed out we have some serious competition from the no-nonsense Americans .They understand that one does not stay number one by being complacent .If knowledge of International language is the reason why CAT is held in English then there are other International languages which also have a claim to be in the question paper. See how knowing Chinese or Japanese or Italian or French or German would be to an Indian business man. Just look at the size of the world trade of the countries I have just named . And also see the growing importance of Asian countries .Lets raise the standard of the Entrance exam . Let do away with the English paper and bring in a multilingual language paper. Lets introduce other important foreign languages in the CAT examination . To gain a competitive edge it will introduce the genial joys of learning a foreign language to the members of the anglicized cosmopolitan community. Lets say the first ten most widely spoken language in the world be included as options in the entrance examination .Quite a few Indian languages will figure in the examination questions on the basis if the sheer number size of their speakers . ( Bengali follows Hindi in sheer numbers, its spoken in Bangladesh as well Bengal ) But lets consider all India state based languages equally . It will drastically cut down but not eliminate the importance of English . A person who knows more than one language will get rewarded. If the answers are standardized then correction could also be easier . It may also inspire our professors to learn newer international languages so that the immense research material in say Japanese management or French management becomes available to our budding management wizards . When our professors struggle with the Chinese script it will help them empathize with the struggle of a student who is struggling with English . Lets further raise the standards of the entrance examination !!!Along with Maths lets also have a paper on Humanities . After all 90% of a managers success depends on handling people. So instead of promoting anglicized number crunching geeks who are blind to local and global social realities lets promote a more socially aware manager . Most corporates nowadays have larger social aims in their mission statements . They will love students who are conscious of social realities within and without the country .Let there be a compulsory section on “Community”, “social capital”. You can’t understand concepts of “Caste”, “social justice” without studying these terms . It will bring down the ridiculous percentiles because the standards of the entrance would have gone up . .What I have suggested is complicated and I am sure can be improved upon . But where there is a will for merit and fair play there will be a way for merit and fair play .What has been done in IAS examinations can be done in IIM.The IAS used to be conducted only in English.Today in the IAS examination there is no discrimination between candidates who answer in Hindi or English or other regional languages. Both can coexists . Innovation should not be just a management buzz word !!

Anonymous said......
Man is a social animal . And he forms communities to work with , marry ,socialise .In the pre-agricultural economy of forest ,communities are tribes .In agricultural economies of village, communities are the traditional castes (like you see in India) . Perfect conditions in agricuture through history made castes a widely practiced phenomenon in the subcontinent . Even religious conversion has failed to remove the caste system .Caste clearly follows a different dynamic which has nothing to do with religion . In industrial economies of city based, communities are a new “cosmopolitan caste”. These three kinds of economies 1) tribal ,2) village(traditional caste) and 3)city (cosmopolitan caste) have fashioned the modern nation as it exists today .Most modern nations are have come into existence during the Industrial revolution . Modern nations all over the world have had to grapple with the problem of how to assimilate those left behind in the forests and villages in pre-agricultural or agricultural economies . In India due to poor economy growth the problems are vastly more acute . We cannot wish away the existence of these pre-agricultural tribes or agricutural castes and exclude them from our industrial cosmopolitan caste.Forest covers are disappearing. The very habitat of the tribal in endangered .And its tough to compete with the developed countries Industrial technology based agriculture with India’s traditional pre-industrial agriculture . Take for example today 57 of the Indian population is engaged in non- machine aided agrarian activities, this translates into an Indian food worker producing enough food for himself and a surplus for another Indian.We are still importing food from time to time. Contrast this to US, where less than two percent of American population is engaged in machine aided agriculture or related activities. An American farmer produces enough food for 50 people including himself, with even more left over for export. Therefore the American farmer is very productive and very rich by comparison. Agriculture needs water. Water table is receding in India. Today 70 per cent of irrigation needs and 80 per cent of domestic water supplies in India are met through pumping up groundwater through tube wells. But this massively deployed private response to public failure can only be temporary. Water tables are plummeting and aquifers are running dry. Estimates show that 15 per cent of aquifers are already critical and the number is projected to rise to 60 per cent in just twenty years .For more read http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/apr/28water.htm With each passing generation inherits ,the share of the agricultural land of each subsequent generation becomes less and less . When each person has a very small plot of land you cannot have advantages of scale .Traditional means of incomes are drying up in forests and villages .Farmers have been commiting suicide . Naxalites philosophies are attracting a greater following in some jungles. Situation is grim . There remains a large part of population simply unequipped with skill set required to compete in the industrial/service world . We have a tragedy of enormous proportions staring in our face . Castes are a form of social stratification from the agriculture economy era . Some castes have been able to make the shift to industrial economy to become a member of the new cosmopolitan caste to a greater extent than others .Castes in India are endogamous . Majority of indians still marry within their castes .The sense of traditional caste is weak for the new cosmopolitan castes in urban Indians as they work in industries in these cities .In their case a more cosmopolitan anglacised sense of community has replaced the pre-industrial traditional caste system. This is simply the industrial version of the traditional caste system .Members of this new cosmopolitan caste also practice endogamy . They marry their own kind . And prefer to work ,live and socialise with their own kind . It is an unacknowledged caste in the sense they see themselves above the caste system . “Caste no bar” if you belong to this cosmopolitan caste . Looking through the matrimonial advertisements in news papers or surf through matrimonial sites on the web . You will see right away that those who consider themselves diehard cosmopolitan is miniscule .Most people still retain that weak link to the traditional caste system when it comes to important decisions like marriage . What needs to be kept in mind that people prefer to work with their own castes . For example for his medical needs someone from the cosmopolitan caste is not likely to see a general practioner who has poor english skills. In the same way someone who is a say from a tribal village is unlikely to be comfortable with a general practioner who is a english speaking westernised dandy. Where possible people go to physicians who they consider as one of their own, some one who speak their language and understand their lifestyle .You see this same division in private sector as well. If you are corporate entity and your company has predominantly members from the Cosmopolitan caste you are likely to reject someone who does not seem to reflect your cosmopolitan culture,especially for the important high profile,high visibilty appointments . Companies call this “cultural fit”.Will Azimbhai Premji announce that the next owner of Wipro will not be his son? Will he make that decision on merit ? Why did Ratan Tata succeed Bharat Ratna JRD Tata ? Was he the most accomplished person in the Tata empire ? So you see the cosmopolitan caste reserves the topmost creamy posts to one of their own in a very similar way like the traditional caste system .These posts are very much “Reserved” . If the english speaking members of the cosmopolitan caste fails entrance exams , group discussion, interviews all of which are often conducted in English , then there are always management quotas ,governing body quotas ,NRI quotas ,paid seats within India or paid seats abroad all of which can be accessed with money or influence .Owners or management recruiters from each caste almost always recruit people from their own castes .Some one of their own kind . If you do not have enough members of your own caste as recruiters whether it is government or private jobs the entry points into the industrial economy drastically come down. Each caste has its ‘Creamy’ layer .Some castes have very thick layers of cream . Some castes have a thinner layer compared to their size. Thick or thin…. this creamy layer is its entry point into the industrial world . This problem is by no means peculiar to India .What is different is the sheer magnitude of the problem .Governments all over the world use “affirmative action” to remedy this serious problem.Reservations and quotas are a form of Affirmative action. What is affirmative action ? Affirmative action is a policy or a program aimed at increasing the representation of members of groups that have traditionally been discriminated against. This typically focuses on education,employment, government contracts ,health care or social welfare.Just look at how it is practiced in the following countries :American President Lyndon Johnson said "You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line in a race and then say, 'you are free to compete with all the others', and still justly believe that you have been completely fair."In USA : American President Lyndon Johnson brought in affirmative action by an “excecutive order” . The order aims "to correct the effects of past and present discrimination". The order specifically requires certain organizations accepting federal funds to take affirmative action to increase employment of members of preferred racial or ethnic groups and women. Any organization with fifty or more employees and an aggregate revenue exceeding $50,000 from a single federal contract during a twelve month period must have a written affirmative action plan. This plan must include goals and timetables for achieving full utilization of women and members of racial minorities, in quotas based on an analysis of the current workforce compared to the availability in the general labor pool of women and members of racial minorities.Regarding Native Americans there are today more than 563 federally recognized tribal governments in the United States. The United States recognizes the right of these tribes to self-government and supports their tribal sovereignty and self-determination. These tribes possess the right to form their own government, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal), to tax, to establish membership, to license and regulate activities, to zone and to exclude persons from tribal territories. The recognition confers benefits, including the right to label arts and crafts as Native American and they can apply for grants that are specifically reserved for Native Americans.In Japan : there is an informal policy to provide employment and long term welfare (which is usually not available to general public) to Burakumin (untouchables). In Brazil :Brazilian Universities (State or Federal) have created systems of preferred admissions (quotas) for racial minorities (blacks and native Brazilians), the poor and the handicapped. There are also quotas for the disabled in the civil public services.In Malaysia :there are laws called bumiputra laws which are a form of affirmative action meant to provide more opportunity for the majority ethnic Malay population versus the historical financial dominance of the Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indian populations.In New Zealand :individuals of Maori or other Polynesian descent are often afforded preferential access to university courses, and scholarships.In South Africa : there is a the Employment Equity Act aims to promote and achieve equity in the workplace, by encouraging equal opportunity amongst all workers. It includes efforts to identify reasons for inequalities and change the employment rates of previously underrepresented groups for a more equitable job market.In UK: according to the Good Friday Agreement the law requires that the Police Service of Northern Ireland recruit equal numbers of Catholics and non Catholics.In Indonesia: affirmative action programs give natives preference over Han Chinese who have immigrated into the country.In Macedonia :minorities, most notably Albanians, are allocated quotas for access to state universities, as well as in civil public services.In China : there is a quota for minority representatives in the National Assembly in Beijing, as well as other realms of government.In the European Union: there is an antiracism directive which concerns the application of the principle of equality without regard to race or ethnic origin. This anti-racism directive, is to be implemented in national law of the member states.In Germany :there are programs stating that if men and women had equal qualifications, women had to be preferred for a job. The anti-discrimination law which is yet to pass, aims at improving the protection of minorities.Belgium government :proposed in January 2006 a measure that will make some job opportunities available exclusively to immigrants, disabled and elderly people.Much of the developed world does believe that social justice can be done by reservation/quotas for those that are discriminated against. Dalit issues of India have already been linked with human rights issue in International forum like the UN . To repeat what past American President Lyndon Johnson said "You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line in a race and then say, 'you are free to compete with all the others', and still justly believe that you have been completely fair."

lucifer said...
India is the only country in the world that is herding out its talent, merit and excellence out of it's own country by using rods and sticks and stones(read reservations) and simultaneously blaming them for being unpatriotic and unthankful.............!!!MBBS students toil endlessly to get admission to PG courses. But govt. is more than willing to give admissions to those who may know nothing but will give them votes. So meritorious student has no other option to go abroad , where colleges and govt. are more than willing to appretiate and reward their hardwork and talent. Then what does the govt.do.........!!!!Instead of mending its ways, it increases reservations and blames poor students who have no alternative choice, of being responsible for brain drain......!!!!! Our politicians are forcing brain drain upon us and blaming us for it as well. We are not greedy or selfish to go abroad but rather our politicians are most greedy for power, votes and money.

trivialinc said...
Will Rajiv Goswami's sacrifice go to waste? Please go to his house and see his little children, his 5 year old son, doesn't even know why he does not see his father for the last one year.

Smrti said...
Totally agree with policy on reservations.smrti.net


amalh said...
The reason for this reservation mess as well as other evils in our society is because professionals and honest educated people have not come forward to participate in the political process. Many Criminals, uneducated and corrupt persons have taken the place instead. They use educated or Nehru family persons on the top as a front only.If professionals want to make a real difference they should immediately form a new party open only to, professionals (doctors, engineers, chartered accountants, lawyers, Ph. D. holding academics, professional students from leading colleges like IIT, IIM, I. Sc., Industrialists and NRI’s only). A few politicians who have openly opposed reservations like Kapil Sibal and Navjot Siddhu should be invited to guide in the political process. The agenda of the new party should be1. Make all casteism illegal and abolish all proposed and existing reservations2. Genuinely help backward communities by improving there living and financial conditions, providing good education right where they live from nursery up3. Have zero tolerance for corruption4. But all issues on back burner until basics like electricity, water, and timely justice in courts is establishedThe new party should then field candidates in all elections, by-elections at all levels in the country and shun games like seat adjustments. They will win surely because Indians are fed up with the mess.

arsaboo said...
i read the article in todays TOI - Mumbai edition regarding inhouse reservation. i completely agree with you. infact i myself have been the victim of this kind of reservation policy. i had given entrance test for MD/MS 2006 in Banaras Hindu University - Varanasi. out of roughly 5000 students i secured 7th. rank, which seems to be wonderful. but to my dismay, when i saw the distribution of seats available i lost all hopes. there were just 9 seats in open merit [out of which onlu 5 were clinical, rest were non clinical] & 4 in reserved category i.e. SC/ST. when i went to Varanasi, then i came to the reason behind this skewed distribution of seats. REASON - IN - HOUSE RESERVATIONS. out of roughly 120 seats around 40 were reserved for in house UG students, meaning out of 60, 40 in house UG students are bound to get a seat [whatever there score may be!!!!!!!] after studying so hard, & securing such good marks, still i'm unable to secure a seat of my choice. that is really very disheartening.

Anonymous said...
We the so called educated people have never even thought as to why reservations came into existence. We are ok with the caste system, wherein people are discriminated against in the name of religion. But the moment we are asked to give a solution for removing this discrimation, everybody goes on giving reservations based on economic criteria.The reservations came into being because the Indain society needed to have equality to remove backwardness. Is backwardness due to economic reasons only? Or is it a socio economic issue ? How does a person born in the same society become a second rate citizen ? Based on his caste for which he has no control. What did a Gandhi or a Nehru do to abolish the caste system ? How many of the reservations have been actually been effective ?Pt.Nehru wanted this country to become a first class country. it is the only country which has a caste system embedded in its religion, to discriminate against people. Are all people from the so called 'open' quota very efficient and those from the lower castes inefficient.This is no crisis. It has been made up to be seen as one. Are the upper castes afraid that the lower castes would become their equal ? These very people who have a problem with reservations, can tolerate the'reserved for management' quota. Why because they address only the influential and are less in percentage?Most of the people on the roads at the moment dont even have an inkling as to why reservations should be there. Let us not compare ourselves with the Americans. How many of us want the caste system to go ? Do you think that the caste system being in existence and the backwardness have no connection whatsoever ?Think about this buddy .Most of us would be happy with the existing caste system, because just because we are a certain caste gives us an advantage.

Anonymous said...
The caste system in India, particularly, is an extreme form of discrimination most affecting the Dalits, who comprise one-sixth of India's population, or 160 million people. Human Rights Watch, through research on these human rights violations and the exploitation and segregation of the Dalits over 6 states in India, concluded that Dalits are subject to the most extreme forms of discrimination and abuse.The lack of economic opportunities extends to allocation of land, likewise. In India, despite decades of land reform legislation, most Dalits do not have access to land that can lead them to economic security.There is a stark distinction between upper and lower-castes in access to education, and in some communities, lower-caste peoples have less or no access to higher learning at allAfter independence from Britain in 1947, India launched an affirmative action plan to wipe out caste distinctions, setting aside places for Dalits in universities, government employment and legislative assembly seats. But these moves only benefit about 3 percent of the nearly 240 million Dalits.

Anonymous said…
Future Shock for India Wisdomless PoliticiansMeritless Admissions Meaningless Curriculums Substance less Examinations Faculty less Departments Student less Colleges VC less UniversitiesKnowledgeless Society Developmentless Nation Into that hell of gloomdom My Father Let my country go to Sleep Let my country go to Sleep..... Poem by BR Natarajan of BITS Pilani

Memoryking said…
Read your blog.Liked it a lot.Here is mine http://www.emotionalzombie.blogspot.com/"You say, if a student knows a seat is reserved for him he is not going to work towards it. Ask yourself- If a person knows Education is subsidized for his kids, food items are subsidized for him, is he going to work? Isn’t it harming the Economy? Isn’t the highly subsidized education we avail a classic example of social injustice?

Present Education System in India

Education aims to impart knowledge and makes good citizens.
Do you think that present education system in India is efficient
in this regard or it is critically in need of reform ?

zady said...
It is a catch 22, the education has helped us make what we are (economy wise), it is not what we learn but the work ethic instilled in us which goes a long way...Thats what is our USP Now if try to be progressive...we should shun these practises...is it correct to loose the USP which made the economy it is and is the driving force...hard work aint easy???

pearl_pradeep said...
It needs to be changed.... Damm these reservations..... Why do we need them once when we want to practice equality.....???? Yes can surely help the fiancially needful by charging less fees.....but seats should be given only and only based on merits..... Also the donation seats are ruining the system....

Vrij said...
The Edu system in India SUCKS. Kids carrying bags double their size, Tenth n Twelth graders slogging away the nights to get admissions, professional students getting blackmailed by examiners to pass in practical exams... and this is Not All !

GussaWaala said...
Tough question. Clearly India can boast of some of the greatest eductaional institutions in the world. We have some of the best engineers, doctors, business men, statisticians, economists etc. So obviously something is right about our education system. But then why are so few with good education? Therein lies the problem. We do not have quality or even reasonable education for the masses or the poor or in rural parts. Our institutions for the most part are just for the privilidged. As far as reservations are concerned, fundamentally I am against them. But I think we all know that religious and caste based hatred in India is still extremely prevalent and that removal of reservations will pretty much ensure that certain segments of our population will receive nothing no matter how smart they are. Face it, we talk equality in India, we don't walk it. Cutting through the chase, yes we need change. We need to improve the quality of education provided to the poor and to rural parts of the country.

sk said...
hi very nice poest with a tough question............its true educations help us to built our strenthn power.............really very nice post indeed..................keep it up..

frenchita said...
One can be a good citizen without education also .... :))) Depends somewhat on up bringing and moral values . Education in India is good , provided all its population takes advantage of it ,instead of indulging in communal religious schools alone . No , there is no critical need to reform the education given . More encouragement to parents to send children to school , less child labour , increasing wealth is essential .

tejbir said...
As for the question the system is presently checking nothing but the rote learning abilities it should be designed in a way where it checks depth of understanding and its application and for that the whole system including teachers themselves need to change & evolve

smilegirl said...
i think the system needs 2 b changed..stress shud b on env.sc and application of whtever is learnt. there shud b no reservation..all shud b treated eually..compulsory n free edu till class 8th..stress on girl child edu.. though govt comes out with various schemes but they do not apply them!!!...

Vikas Goyal said...
I believe good education leads to a better nation. Everyone shall get a chance of better educations, Business shops should be shut and ideal people shall come forward to help building a better nation (No place for reservations). Help economical weeker sections by free education. More institutions like IIT's and IIM's shall be opened, or better, the level of other institutions shall be exteneded to provide good education. Education system shall produce enterprenuers who can help themselves as well as employ others?

Exam and Suicides

Should parents be held responsible for exam related suicides?

Lust4life said...
Parents r not to be blamed completely. Depends upon the peer pressure, school/college environ,upbringin also

vani said...
the basic education system is all wrong. the pressures a student faces is enormous... parents who have unreal expectations, teachers who hardly counsel and peer pressure -- all r responsible. what ths o3 family all abt???

Blogesh said...
Parents should'nt be the prime responsible for exam related suicides. But they can be surely prime contributing factor for avoiding the suicides. It is the peer and outside world pressure, one is not able to take up. One to one dialogue is the need of hour in every home rather than spending time in "isolation" by every family member. Its the key for many problems, in my opinion.

frenchita said...
Sure I think parents should be held responsible . they should be clued in as to what their child is going through .They should then alert the teachers as to the excitable or depressed state of their child , before the kid does something irreparable .

tejbir said...
as for the ques.... not the parents exactly though they have some questions to answer and have their bit in contributing to such suicides but education system is THE MAIN culprit.

sumit said...
Well on this I feel... children or parents are not to be blamed the education system which is completely marks driven is the culprit... no credit is given to a childs other aspects, it's only academics which matter, to get into any course after school.. and for parents as well marks are the only criterion to judge the performance of thier children... so why should be they blamed for pushing thier children

ashiya said...
nahh.. i think its not the parents who lead to these suicides..... i think its the overall pressure from peers, from people around, self pressure- that what will happen if i dodnt succeed..... i think all these pressures add up to suicide..... so we just cant point and say that parents are the culprits..... but i think parents can be the major hand in avoiding this... but letting the child know... that what ever may happen.... we are there for u, and we will work out together... for making your future....

divya said...
Well there are times when parents put a lot of pressure on their kids and have way too many expectations which when the child cannot fulfill, he is compelled to commit suicide....parents are responsible only to a certain extent however! There are definitely other factors too like the ambience in school, way of upbringing, friends circle and well also on some other factors!! The very fact is our education system is horrible...the more you can mug up (even in science - haven't you read "Five Point Someone") the better marks you get!! The system of judging students on the knowledge they have is wrong and well another thing these days is that parents do have way too many expectations and at times, over-hype the potential of their child!