A lot of rage, a little Rang De
May 24, 10 pm: Anger
Shantanu Agrahani, Amit Tripathi, Kartik Sridhar, Pawan Dixit and Deven Pachauri come from Bihar. Undergraduates from SN Medical College, Agra, they all have something to say, and struggle to keep their voices low.
"For doctors, graduation is never enough. Post-graduation is a must, but with almost 50 per cent of seats reserved for some group or another, our choices have already been snatched away," they say. I ask them what kind of anger it is that drags them from their hostels and books to protest on a night like this. "Some act, others watch," says Amit. "We wanted to act."
They were also attracted by the fact that, according to them, this movement has no leaders. "We are all leaders," they assure me. Are their parents upset about their decision to be here? No, because some of them are doctors too. A few have even offered to fund them, if necessary.
The anger comes from what they believe is a sense of being forcibly marginalised. "The government refers to doctors, lawyers, engineers and the media as intelligentsia comprising 1 per cent of the population," says Kartik. "They would never dare attack a group of blue-collar workers because they are interested in votes alone. They think we can be ignored, but it is this 1 per cent that runs the country."
They also have uncomplimentary tales to tell about fellow OBC students. "Some are pushed up even if they can't cope with exams. They are always involved in everything from violence to drunken driving, because they aren't interested in studying. These days, some have been painting 'Proud to be an OBC' on their faces!"
Karthik believes reservations at an initial stage are okay. What he and his friends have a problem with is reservations at a postgraduate level after students have had access to the same faculty and facilities. "They get free books, fee waivers, as well as scholarships," says Shantanu. "Some are children of politicians who have higher incomes, and yet rely on the quota. Why give facilities to a person who doesn't want to study in the first place?"
For someone so young, there is a surprising amount of resentment in that voice.
Also See: Doctors in arms