00:00Imagine two kids writing the same entrance exam. One grew up surrounded by books, had
00:06parents who could help them with their homework and could attend coaching classes. The other
00:10was the first in their bloodline to actually finish school. They write the same exam in the
00:16same exam hall under the same rules. That's called equality. Equality simply states that everyone
00:23has the same starting point and that everyone should be treated equally. But the problem we
00:28are trying to solve today is a problem called equity. Equity simply states that not everyone
00:34has the same starting point. That distinction between equality and equity is the lens I want to
00:40use to talk about caste based reservation system today in India. Now, when it comes to reservation,
00:47a lot of people tend to say that reservation should be based off on merit. But what a lot of
00:52people also
00:53fail to recognize is that merit isn't something you're born with. It's something you build along
00:58the way. It's built out of the schools you have attended, how much internet access you had,
01:03if you had enough food to eat on your plate, and most importantly, if you had enough freedom
01:08to actually focus on your studying instead of survival. And it's definitely not only about poverty
01:13or income levels. For centuries, Dalits were not only poor, but they were also treated as subhumans.
01:20They were denied access into school areas. And most importantly, they were forced into work
01:25labels that no one else wanted to take up. For example, manual scavenging, sanitation work,
01:31and disposal of the dead. Now, even if we take today's example, a well-earning Dalit man or woman
01:37can still face discrimination in housing, in jobs, and in school areas.
01:43Has caste discrimination ended? No, definitely not. It has just taken a new form. Scheduled caste continue
01:51to report that their income, wealth, and educational levels are still low. And studies document that
01:57Dalit communities or the scheduled caste still face discrimination in housing, hiring, and basic
02:03public services. And we as a society have grown so numb towards the violence against the Dalit and the
02:10Adivasi communities. Kerala introduced this new scheme called 10% EWS for the general category.
02:16It was for the weaker economical section of the general category. Now, no one called that stealing
02:23seats or no one called that unfair because we all need to understand this one fact that different
02:28reservations or different schemes are made to address new, new, different issues. To sum it all up,
02:34reservation was never meant to be a permanent charity case. Neither was it meant to completely erase
02:40merit. It was solely created because equal opportunities hasn't produced equal outcomes.
02:46We as a society should question that why for the so many of us out there, there are only few
02:52quality
02:53educational institutions or seats left. And we also need to understand that why few people have to run
02:59so far just to reach it.
03:05you
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