Back to the Dark Ages

Sri Venkatasayi Ramanarasimham is a concerned man. Sitting in his comfortable cabin of a renonwned Indian software company he incessantly sends offline messages urging all his friends in yahoo messenger to 'raise their voices' against the proposed reservation policy which sets aside a considerable portion of the seats in the top indian institutions based on caste and religion.

The offline messages are longer than his typically long Telugu Brahmin name. But it pales and fades in comparison with with tv images of numerous Medical students selflessly carrying on with a strike against this policy which takes the nation back to its Dark Ages. What do they have to gain participating on strikes risking expulsions and other disciplinary actions? Nothing much apart from the fact they do not have to explain to their sons an daughters why a person who worships God A is to be given preference over a person who believes in God B.

Because of India's cultural and socio-political stigmas developed over centuries, it might take more than a Medicos strike to create a social awakening. But surely it is a a glimmer of light which will ultimately be a revealation in the years to come. So while the Supreme court has the told the striking students to shut up for a while, in this comfortable office in Dubai, like Sri Venkatasayi Ramanarasimham, I keep hoping for the best.