Anti-quota fire spreads to US, NRIs hold protest

WASHINGTON: The anti-quota protests in India found an echo in the United States on Monday when Indian American professionals and students from the San Francisco Bay Area held a demonstration against the government’s move to reserve 275 seats for Other Backward Classes in central and private institutes.

The protesters dubbed the government’s controversial move as a disturbing trend of using reservation for politics.

Under the banner of “Bay Area Indians for Equality”, Indians from the region including Berkeley, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Milpitas and San Jose organised the protest at Fair Oaks Park in Sunnyvale, California.

The rally included a signature campaign on a petition addressed to President Kalam questioning the proposed policy of reservation for OBCs in Central institutes. A street-play poked fun at the politics and policies of reservation while sending a serious message on the long term impact of reservations on society.

“We are not pro or anti-reservation, but question the facts, figures and basis of the government policy. We ask for complete analysis to show why it is the best strategy for India’s development,” said Manish one of the organisers.

“The government has not measured the success of reservation policies of the past. On what basis can they extend such a policy?,” questioned Shambhoo, another organiser of the rally.

“We need clearly defined goals, well analysed strategies and time bound metric to measure its success.

Results of reservations are long lasting and we need to study them properly before moving forward,” he added.