Does ‘merit’ have much merit?

 This would probably be controversial, but it still needs to be said. A lot of people oppose reservations, and I often hear "I worked hard, nobody handed things to me on a platter" to justify removing/ revoking reservations. They may think they have a point, because what they see is some people getting a coveted seat they couldn’t get despite having lower grades. Yet, is that how it really is?

I am born to Brahmin parents, and I topped every bloody exam I wanted to top. Through all my school and college days, I too opposed reservations "on principle"- I genuinely believed it was my hard work that got me where I was. And I expected others to put in the same amount of work to get there, instead of seeking reservations.

But guess what. I was wrong.

It didn’t happen overnight, but gradually I came to realise that while I had brains, and worked extremely hard (and smart), I also had a privilege that I was blind to.

I had access to the best education my parents could afford. Nobody questioned me when I aspired to occupy a place of excellence. My family supported me.

While I certainly had good brains, and worked extremely hard, it wasn’t just "my" hard work and "my" brains that got my where I was.

What got me there was generations of being at the apex of an inequitable system. A system that empowered and enabled me to compete on what I thought was a level field, but actually was one that was stacked in my favour.

There are many who are as intelligent as me. And are willing to work as hard. But at every stage they are denied opportunity.

They struggle to find teaches willing to teach. They do not have access to libraries. They do not have a family that can sustain their curiosity. They are constantly derided by the education system. Even after they get admission into good educational institutions, they are often no accepted as equals by the faculty and other students. Their competence is questioned, even though there is no reason to presume they are in any way not equal to the rest. In short, the field is stacked against them.

Till those inequities are removed, let’s not even think about passing a value judgment on people who do not have the benefits that we do.

Access to education, healthcare, livelihoods and social acceptance should be universal.

Only then will there be equity. And only when there is equity, would there no longer be any need for reservations.