Mockery of merit

Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Quota quagmire” (August 25). As if the provision for entry into the job sector, despite faring worse than the ‘privileged’ class through the backdoor of reservation was not enough, it is absurd when the pampered lot (many of them being economically prosperous) are awarded promotions after promotions so as to place them in the pinnacle of their careers leaving their ‘forward’ seniors much below the rank thereby making a mockery of efficiency and meritocracy.

There should be no provision of this unequal system of reservations in any sector in India. Meritocracy, based on academic record-marks-eligibility-efficiency-quality, should be allowed to flourish in all sectors of society.

Poverty is not the sole bastion of any particular caste groups. So if reservation policy still gets pursued, it needs to be forwarded to the financially weaker sections irrespective of their caste credentials.

Under-privileged children must be provided with free education, coaching and study materials so that they can be brought at par with their privileged counterparts.