IANS Exclusive: Sam Pitroda expressed his opinion on the complex issue of reservation for SC ST in India
When asked about the debate in India regarding reservations and whether the creamy layer among SCs and STs should also benefit from reservations , Indian Overseas Congress Chief Sam Pitroda said that "This is a very complex question. The bottom line is that we need to uplift a large number of people at the bottom of the pyramid who are deprived in many ways—such as in jobs and education. Our priority must be to lift them, and it's going to be a challenging and painful process. It’s not easy..."
Transcript
00:00a complex question. We discussed this at length during the National Knowledge Commission
00:10while we were discussing issues on higher education.
00:13The bottom line is we need to lift a large number of people
00:21from the bottom of the economic pyramid who are also
00:24deprived, in many ways, in jobs, education and our priority has to be to lift them and it's going
00:41to be painful. It's not easy. I mean in America we find that with the situation of minorities.
00:51So, it's a battle. Inequality and exclusion is a challenge because you can't make everybody happy.
01:05It is unfortunate that in India you have an added dimension of caste.
01:09You know I'm supposed to be OBC. I'm son of a carpenter. It didn't bother me. I didn't care.
01:18I'm not part of this whole thought process about Brahmins and non-Brahmins and I don't give a damn
01:26personally. But in general, society cares about these things. So, it's our job to lift people.
01:36A simple way to look at it is how many Dalits are vice-chancellors of the universities?
01:41How many OBC people are
01:46in key positions in the banks, in government offices? Like Rahul Gandhi has been saying that
01:5510% of the top people control 90% of the best jobs. That has to change. You can't go on like this.
02:04Nobody talks about the fact that the telecom revolution was brought into India by OBC.
02:11No one says that. I don't want to say it in that way. To me it's not about OBC or non-OBC. But the
02:19point is how many people are given the opportunities? There's a lot of talent. Don't underestimate the
02:27There's a lot of talent. Don't underestimate the talent. They may not have a degree
02:34but they are artisans. They are craftsmen.
02:40They are musicians. And they do most of the work.
02:46They construct things but they don't get the due respect and due share of the economy.
02:56I get a lot of Vishwakarmas coming to me and complaining that, Sir, we are at the bottom.
03:05We don't have wealth. We do all the work. We create
03:09buildings but we get only the wages. So, in our society, there is a lot of work ahead of us
03:25to equalize. It will never be equal. But you've got to lift a large number of people and it's
03:31not going to be easy. As soon as you give an opportunity to Dalit, somebody's going to say,
03:35wait a minute. I'm talented. I'm deprived. Yeah, it will happen. Too bad. I don't like it.
03:43But that's part of the progress we have to recognize. So, you've got to give
03:54more preference, quotas and all that to Dalits, minorities, tribals,
04:05OBC and others. You've got to do that.