Now, Sundays are the same for all us, even these slum dwellers. They too rise late as we do. Children were sitting sleepily on the pavement, staring at empty space, looking nowhere. Their mothers were making tea. Those who had already had tea, had that Wah Taj smiles on their faces, though I don't think they care much about brands. Songs were flowing, not blaring, out of transistors. Some were idly lying on cots on the road. Time seemed to have lost its flow. No hurry to go to work , they can take their time, but can't take a day off as we do.
I walked the entire length of the road. I saw many things. I saw green farms, very unlike Delhi. You know farms are the preserves of the rich in Delhi, think of Sainik farms. I saw two women, in sarees, buying milk from a milk booth, which a wise businessman had started. I saw temples, two of them. I saw Swamis offering prayers, and some devotees too. It seems there are no Sundays for them.
But there were things that I didn't see, many of them. I didn't see toilets. Many of them could be seen walking into the fields with a bottle of water. And I didn't see any school. None of the children there, right in the heart of Delhi, the national capital, go to school.
Those kids deserve better. They deserve a chance to earn what I and you do, and live like I and you do. Thank God, they have our politicians to look up to. In fact the politicians are working overtime to rescue the underprivileged from the pit they are in. And they have hit a magical formula. Reserve jobs in the private sector for the backward classes. So nice of them. They won't build schools for these children to go to, in fact they are closing down many unprofitable schools, even as they splurge money on public sector enterprises that are neck-deep in losses, but they will reserve jobs for the backward classes. They are instituting rewards, without giving the underprivileged the means to earn that reward. So nice of them.
Right across the road in Mayur Vihar, a friend of mine used to stay. His father, who belonged to a scheduled caste, was a sessions court judge. This friend of mine is now in the United States, working for a multinational software company. During our college days, he used to say he had an option to fall back on, if he didn't realize his dream of flying abroad. A government job, which he was sure he would get by virtue of reservation.
That is the sad truth. Most of the beneficiaries of quota come from lower middle class or middle class. The law, which should help people from the remotest of villages, is of more help to jobseekers from cities and small towns. Quota for backwards classes is slowly becoming a quota for middle class 'underprivileged'. first published:April 21, 2006, 21:37 ISTlast updated:April 21, 2006, 21:37 IST
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Last week, on Sunday morning, too early in the morning let me say, I went for a walk. This time I took a road from Mayur Vihar, the one that goes into the Yamuna. Yes, it just dissolves into the water. Not many take this road. Even those who do, do only when they are going on morning walk. Against the backdrop of the middle-class colony that Mayur Vihar is, this road is a mismatch. For the road is flanked by slums on both sides.
Now, Sundays are the same for all us, even these slum dwellers. They too rise late as we do. Children were sitting sleepily on the pavement, staring at empty space, looking nowhere. Their mothers were making tea. Those who had already had tea, had that Wah Taj smiles on their faces, though I don't think they care much about brands. Songs were flowing, not blaring, out of transistors. Some were idly lying on cots on the road. Time seemed to have lost its flow. No hurry to go to work , they can take their time, but can't take a day off as we do.
I walked the entire length of the road. I saw many things. I saw green farms, very unlike Delhi. You know farms are the preserves of the rich in Delhi, think of Sainik farms. I saw two women, in sarees, buying milk from a milk booth, which a wise businessman had started. I saw temples, two of them. I saw Swamis offering prayers, and some devotees too. It seems there are no Sundays for them.
But there were things that I didn't see, many of them. I didn't see toilets. Many of them could be seen walking into the fields with a bottle of water. And I didn't see any school. None of the children there, right in the heart of Delhi, the national capital, go to school.
Those kids deserve better. They deserve a chance to earn what I and you do, and live like I and you do. Thank God, they have our politicians to look up to. In fact the politicians are working overtime to rescue the underprivileged from the pit they are in. And they have hit a magical formula. Reserve jobs in the private sector for the backward classes. So nice of them. They won't build schools for these children to go to, in fact they are closing down many unprofitable schools, even as they splurge money on public sector enterprises that are neck-deep in losses, but they will reserve jobs for the backward classes. They are instituting rewards, without giving the underprivileged the means to earn that reward. So nice of them.
Right across the road in Mayur Vihar, a friend of mine used to stay. His father, who belonged to a scheduled caste, was a sessions court judge. This friend of mine is now in the United States, working for a multinational software company. During our college days, he used to say he had an option to fall back on, if he didn't realize his dream of flying abroad. A government job, which he was sure he would get by virtue of reservation.
That is the sad truth. Most of the beneficiaries of quota come from lower middle class or middle class. The law, which should help people from the remotest of villages, is of more help to jobseekers from cities and small towns. Quota for backwards classes is slowly becoming a quota for middle class 'underprivileged'.
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