Now coming to the OBCs, this is where the fun starts.


Again, it is important to understand who the OBCs are - and the position they occupy in society vis-a-vis the SC/STs. If you dont understand their position in society (either by intuition or by reading between the lines in the media) - then you cant expect to have a meaningful discussion on the current issue.


The OBCs are the most powerful people in India today. They were also powerful yesterday, 50years back, 100 years, 200 years back. In TN, the OBCs are Mudaliars, Pillais, Gounders, and Thevars, at least these are the dominant ones. These are large land holding communities, each dominant in their own geographical areas of Tamilnadu. The important fact to remember is that at no point in history were these communities subject to injustice. The brahmins (the main non BC community in Tamilnadu - others are Chettiars) were in no position to torment these communities. This was probably because the Brahmins were really dependent on handouts from these communities. The OBCs have dominated for decades, for example there are only *2* FC MLAs in the TN assembly. One is H.Raja of BJP and the other is your Amma. Most top private univesities are owned by OBCs. The richest Tamilian is also classified as OBC, so are all his relaties. It is for these people that the IIT/IIMs want to reserve seats. That is the issue being discussed now.


Do not also have any illusions about the capabilities of students from Mudaliar / Pillai / Gounder and other OBC communities. They can easily outscore and outshine brahmin students in entrance exams, in the universities, in real life. Yes, that is the fact. Last year, only 40 students from the FC category got admisson to MBBS courses even though 200 seats were available for them to contest. I would bet that the remaining 160 seats were taken by Mudaliar / Pillai / Gounder students - not because of reservation. It is because they are just better students who beat the brahmins fair and square in the exam.