Sissyphus is Thrilled... 'cos something he wrote actually got published to a readership greater than three! On an editorial page, to boot :)

It's at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1913833.cms on the oft flogged reservation issue that I've been working with a group of alumni on now for a while. So, the real text, prior to the edits is below (Tra tra traaa, pa-ra-pa-pa-pa-pa-pum-paaaa [sounds of trumpets and other cool band baaja]) Hurrah!!! :)

Key learnings from the exercise are:

• Never bulletize stuff that you send to the press. The end product looks ultra-wierd
• Keep it short - but this was not a "short" letter , and nobody wants to hear what I have to say in say a 3 part series! :)
• Talk is cheap - what do we do next?

so here's the text of the letter - slightly abridged version of what we sent to the PM/Prezzie, which also included some other proposals that we thought might better serve the goal of Aff. Action.

An Open Letter to the President and Prime Minister of India

The Pan-IIM Alumni Council, a body representing alumni of all the 6 Indian institutes of Management recently wrote to the President and the Prime Minster of India to convey their concerns on the policy of reservation currently under consideration by the Govt. The PanIIM Alumni Association also submitted an alternative set of actionable proposals to help serve the cause of affirmative action in higher education


Excellencies,

The PanIIM Alumni Association representing Alumni of the six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), was recently formed to communicate the entire alumni community’s strong concerns regarding the Government’s proposed initiative to create reserved quotas for OBCs in Institutes of Higher Learning.

As all other right thinking citizens of the nation, we are strongly committed to the principles of a just and equitable society on which this nation was founded. We are convinced that there is an urgent need to address the issue of socio-economic inequity before the nation can take up the challenges of the new century. However, we are extremely disappointed by the policy mechanism being articulated by this Government to address this issue.

We do not believe that the proposed System of Reservations is the correct approach to solving the problems of socio-economic inequity and strongly oppose the proposed creation of reservation quotas for OBCs in Insitututes of Higher Learning (IHL) including the IIMs.

While the underlying concerns of ensuring a just and equitable society remains laudable, the manner in which this entire issue has been handled, both in the definition of the problem and the proposed solution to it, is a serious cause for alarm for the citizens of this country. There has been a systematic attempt to politicize the entire issue and ram through the policy without even a passing pretence of due diligence or fair procedure.

We firmly believe that a carefully considered and efficiently administered alternative affirmative action policy can and must be created to benefit genuinely deprived sections of our nation’s society. Such an alternative policy would necessarily be:

• Based on demonstrable evidence
• Transparently designed and administered
• Sensitive to the multiple dimensions of disadvantage including but not limited to caste
• Designed to preserve institutional excellence in IHLs
• Non-prejudicial to the fundamental constitutional principles.

It is unfortunate that these points, which should normally be de facto assumptions of policy-formulation procedure in a progressive civic society, should require active reminder. However, it is a telling indictment of the current proposal that it satisfies none of the above criteria!

The current Reservation policy suffers from several serious flaws that form the basis of our opposition to this initiative. They are as follows:

• The Reservation policy is targeting the wrong problem in our education system - Low representation of groups in higher education has a strong correlation to poor quality primary and secondary education. Poor educational facilities at primary and secondary levels also have a clear causal relationship to success in higher education. The systems for delivering primary and secondary education in this country are in an appalling condition. We believe this problem needs to be addressed and corrected first, before reservation in higher education can play out its stated role.
  
• The real disadvantaged are those who cannot even dream to acquire a college degree, (and they belong to all castes), because they cannot afford education. Given that only 8% of all Indian youth (17-23 years of age) attend institutes of higher learning, quotas in higher education clearly will not serve to address the fundamental causes of socio-economic inequity. Quotas in IHL are therefore, a poor instrument to ensure participatory growth.
  
• The basis of the Reservation policy has not been transparently or objectively reached - No reliable, current data has been used or presented to make an objective case for OBC reservation. The data that has been cited is not contextually relevant, it belongs to a different era altogether and linear extrapolations thereof are an unscientific basis for such a significant policy initiative. What is disturbing is that more contemporary data sets from the NSS Series 1999-2000 and National Family Health survey,1998 appear to contradict the most fundamental assumptions on which the policy has been framed ( i.e. the proportion of OBCs in the overall population, their grouping as one homogenous disadvantaged set, and the extent of their under-representation vis-à-vis share of population in higher education).
• The policy is socially divisive – The Constitution enshrines the right to Equality of all citizens under the law. It is the fiduciary responsibility of the state to create policy interventions that do not distinguish between its citizens on the basis of caste, creed, religion etc. particularly when objective, non-discriminatory and feasible alternative means of identification and targeting exist. In this instance, we believe that the Government has betrayed this responsibility by resorting to a socially divisive mechanism for affirmative action that unfairly distinguishes between citizens suffering from the same socio-economic disadvantages, simply on the basis of caste.
  
• We believe that meritocracy and excellence should be the guiding principles in implementing reforms, including those in the education sector. Implementation of affirmative action should not come at the cost of institutional excellence or undermine the primacy of merit in public life. The manner in which this policy is being implemented will greatly weaken the strength of our institutions, and thereby seriously jeopardize the future of our country.
  
• The policy does not clearly enunciate the requirement of minimum merit standards/entry criteria in IHL- This will create a situation where candidates enter educational environments where a certain minimum proficiency is assumed in pre-requisite areas, without basic skills. Mandating a fixed quota also deprives institutions of the autonomy to define minimum student proficiency levels or entry mechanisms and negatively affects the overall classroom experience (e.g. advanced topics may not be covered as some sections of the class may not be able to cope). Over time, this negatively affects institutional quality.
  
• Quotas encourage a ‘once in, permanently in” syndrome that seriously damages the cause of institutional excellence. Disadvantaged groups should be challenged to raise their standards instead of being dependant on quotas forever. The policy does not propose any sunset provisions.
  
• Arbitrarily lowering the admissions standard/criteria for one group over others is unfair as it treats equals unequally and offends the idea of a just, merit based society. It is discriminatory to candidates in the general pool. Demand for quality education is set to grow as we enter into an increasingly knowledge-driven economy. Creating fixed quotas discriminates against candidates in the general pool by artificially constricting or limiting supply when the need of the hour is to increase overall access.
  
• IIMs today have won worldwide recognition because of thousands of brilliant students of all castes, creeds, and linguistic/ethnic groups and a dedicated and knowledgeable faculty. This reputation has been hard-won, based on these institutions’ unwavering commitment to excellence and merit as the sole criterion for admission and success. We urge the Government to preserve and enhance these great institutions by continuing to respect their autonomy, particularly in defining their selection criteria viz. the rigorous selection process currently in place. Any dilution of the admission process will have disastrous consequence to the culture of excellence cultivated over the last four decades.
  

We urge the government to constitute a Judicial Commission to look into the entire issue of affirmative action including imposing reservations in IHL and to advise the Government accordingly. Members of the Pan-IIM Alumni Association would be happy to be represented on this Commission and to help design/implement fair and equitable affirmative action program, in cooperation with Government and Industry.

Sincerely,
R. Jayaraman
President
Pan-IIM Alumni Association representing alumni of all six IIMs.