I was not born when, as literature says, the high caste rulers oppressed, rebuked, and castigated the low caste unfortunates. That it is still prevalent in some places in India, atleast proves that the literature was not completely incorrect. However, I am definitely born in an India where a wave of radical change is taking place. Change for the better? Maybe or maybe not. It depends on which side of the coin we are looking at.

Today, the Yadavs, the Mayawatis are riding high. And with the latest Supreme Court judgment, the OBCs along with the SCs/STs will ride even higher. That it will cast doomsday on meritorious students, that it will affect the quality of students produced by the IITs and the IIMs, that it will be detrimental to the productivity of the software giants... is all a matter of speculation and subject to never ending debate, which the media is currently doing a good job at. However, one thing is for sure. This is "their" time and their "moment of truth". They are finally getting their due - a due which they may not be even worthy of. A due which no doubt will shatter the dreams of thousands of meritorious students, a due that can affect India's growth, but then, it is not their fault. That it shows the lust of the power hungry mongers as well as shows the inept performance of all governments in providing quality primary education to one and all is a different story. Agreed, it is not "our" fault either. "Our" as in "We" who are witnessing this change. It was a fault committed by our so called high caste forefathers and their unfortunate great great...grandchildren are bearing the brunt. Sad but true...what goes around...comes around.

And it is not only in this case. For centuries, women were oppressed, brides burnt alive for the lust of dowry, and were confined to the corner of their houses. Today, when women use or misuse the infamous 498a bill, all men cry foul. Agreed, in most cases, as reports suggest, these men are innocent. But then so were the women who were charred to death. Unfortunately, we are paying the price for the crimes committed by our so called "seniors". Again...what goes around comes around.

Today, most children of my generation are mistreating their parents, trust is being broken umpteen times by partners, and all in all, today's generation is more for materialism. We might escape the cruelties that we are currently committing, but let us all spare a thought for our future generations. They will have to bear the pain for something that we are doing...just as all the meritorious students will now bear for something that someone else did. After all...what goes around...comes around.

Vande Mataram