Riya Dabi has secured 15th rank in the prestigious UPSC Civil Services Examination. Four years back, her sister had topped this examination and had become a sensation among Indian youngsters.
There is no denying that the success of Dabi sisters is inspiring. They have managed to crack the toughest competitive examination of India with such a wonderful All India Rank. They have also managed to rank great not only in their category, SC, but also among General Category.
Napolean had once quipped, ability is nothing without opportunity. Brilliant students from dalit and marginalized community have proved Napolean right. However, some questions have also been raised about Dabi sisters using reservation, which they should not.
Like her sister, Riya has also done exceptionally well in the second phase of this examination – Main Written (and, Interview) Examination. She sailed through it and performed brilliantly. However, her performance in the preliminary stage was not good. It is the preliminary stage where both Dabi sisters have sailed through because of their category.
When students belonging to General Category were preparing for prelims, she was doing hard work for Mains. She was aware of the fact that with little bit of knowledge, she can easily sail through Prelims – the most unpredictable stage, and that’s what she has done.
SC/ST and Creamy Layer
As you might know there is no provision of creamy layer in SC/ST category. That applies only with OBC (and, now also with General). That is why you will hardly find a candidate among SC/ST who is really worthy of using the reservation. Take the example of Riya Dabi (and, also Tina Dabi).
The grandfather of Riya Dabi was a senior officer with CISR. Needless to say, he had used reservation to get there. His status was very high and there has not been a single instant when he was discriminated for being a dalit. His son Jaswant Dabi, the father of Riya, has completed education from Birla School, Pilani and engineering from DSE, Delhi. He had used reservation to get entry at both of these institutions. Jaswant didn’t stop there. He again used reservation to crack UPSC Indian Engineering Services (IES) Examination and had joined Telecom Department. Vajpayee Government had given him another opportunity to get reservation – in promotion. He wholeheartedly accepted the offer and used reservation to get promotion. He has become the General Manager of BSNL, the firm which has burned thousands of crores of rupees of Indian taxpayers.
If you are thinking about Riya’s father using reservation at various stage, then stop and take a look at her mother. Her mother – Himani Dabi – has also used reservation to get admission in NIT – Bhopal. She has also cracked UPSC IES and was from the same batch as Jaswant. Here also she has used reservation.
Do you think that they should be clubbed as being socially and educationally backward? That is the criteria for getting reservation. Now, an economic criterion has also been added for General Category. They obviously don’t satisfy this criterion.
Whether it is Tina or Riya, none of them should be called as socially and educationally backward. They are NOT. Then, why should they use reservation? What if Riya had not used reservation? Well, then someone else could have become an IAS officer – someone from dalit community. May be someone who is deserving.
There is not an iota of doubt that what Riya (or, even Tina) has done is wrong. But, she is just an example. If you scan through the list of SC candidates who have made it to the final list of UPSC CSE, you may be surprised. You will not find a single candidate of SC category who can be termed as socially or educationally or even economically backward. That is the case with every year without any exception.
If you scan the list of General or OBC category, you will find many candidates with humble background making it to the final list. But, you won’t find anyone in the SC and ST list. Why?
It is high time when the Government take step to review the prevailing reservation system in SC/ST category. You can increase the reservation according to their population, but introduce the concept of creamy layer.
While you are celebrating Riya Dabi, remember there is also a Preeti Hooda in the same list. She has also cracked UPSC CSE. She is from General Category. Her father is a bus conductor with DTC.
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