Vishal ( name changed ) joined IIT in an unexpected manner !
He was never an extraordinary student, he has been a very good sportsperson and used to get a decent marks which could have fetched him a seat in any of the state engineering colleges ! He wanted to be a technocrat but never ever dreamt of IIT , but yet he was a part of IIT
Under the normal circumstances, he could never be a part of this institute and would have been a perfectly happy engineer – in one of the local engineering colleges ! The marks he secured him in JEE secured him as a modest and average student , but not certainly the one to be a part of aerospace department of IIT !
But being part of quota , the moment he got this admission , he and his family was more than happy ! a top branch in IIT – it might fetch him the best possible job down 5 years ! He started about a job in USA , top paid person in IIT etc.
Lest one thing that he fatally forgot was the fact that he was competing against his fellow batch mates who had secured more than two times of his marks throughout his student life !
And then began a journey for him with endless failures ---- increasing number of Fs , not able to understand the concepts , failures in the tests , not able to compete with the fellow students made him feel more and more frustrated ! Irrespective of his batch mates , friends were ready to help him out , he simply could not take the pressure !
A few years went like this for him to realize that his dreams are shattered with endless Ds on his report card , he could see no end to his journey and suddenly ……….. one day Vishal hanged himself to end his journey …………..
Moral of the story --- can we understand it?
A growing number of such incidents keep happening on various campuses, but have we cared to get these details?
Do our HR ministry care for such innocent lives being wasted and sacrificed in the name of “equal social justice” ?
Does media find no such stories which bring the most cruel and shocking picture of India’s social system and its “overhaul” being continued, as projected by honorable ministers ?
What are we playing with here? With the social fabric of the country? With the lives of those innocent people – who try to take the opportunities without considering their own limitations or the fact that probably they can do some other things in a better manner ?
Sir, this is the very fallacy of claims of social justice which are being made by your government or even the governments in the past ! Doctor Babasaheb Ambedkar – was highly talented . hardworking and extremely sharp visionary and he has paved a path for himself without waiting for the opportunities being “given” to him rather he took them all ahead !!
The norms of social justice need to be viewed in the context of the above stories. We all would love to eradicate the caste based systems in the country and let the merit in the best form lead the society !! Will it not be appropriate by providing equal opportunities to all at the primary levels of education ?
Can we not formulate a better system by looking at the financial conditions of the applicant and overall socio-economic condition of the applicant ?
Do we not have a panel of experts to be entrusted upon the responsibility that no body with merit should be denied the chance of any form of education or opportunity irrespective of his caste and/or economic condition ?
I hardly see any reason of this not being possible ! It is a question of political will and will to sacrifice the perceived benefits of “vote bank” for a short term for long term benefits for the society and the country !!
Can our religious and caste leaders not look at this possibility positively ? I believe government shall be able to win more number of votes sustain ably if such a step is taken rather than inculcating the habit of spoon feeding !!
We are a diversified country and we all respect the talent in the society irrespective of the caste of the person ! Hence , for the benefit of all , it is imperative that we shall take all of them ahead to build strong nations !
Let us try not to have more “Vishal” ‘s in this system ! The poor fellow had a right to dream , he was sure about his abilities in certain fields and would have certainly led his family to a better life ------- if he would have understood his limitations and was not lured away with the – so called benefits offered to him by the system !!
Let there be no more Vishals !!
Let us eradicate all the possible quotas – may it be management quotas ( by paying additional fees or so ) or any other caste based quotas !
At the same time let us assure a good financial support for a economically backward class meritorious student to pursue his dreams in the best possible manner!!
Can our government and people think sensibly to create a long-term goodwill rather than looking at the short term benefits for themselves?