NR
NRI 500 students and professionals protests against reservation for OBC in India

• Demonstration against the trend of using reservation for politics.
• Needs clearly defined goals.
• To show the best strategy for India's development

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Indian Americans hold rally to protest quota
Monday June 5 2006 18:20 IST
PTI

WASHINGTON: The anti-quota protests in India found an echo in the United States with over 500 Indian American professionals and students from the San Francisco Bay Area holding a demonstration against what they dubbed as the disturbing trend of using reservation for politics.

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

The rally included a signature campaign on a petition addressed to the President of India questioning the proposed policy of reservation for OBCs in Central institutes.

A street-skit performance 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