A Hobson's choice for talented OBCs?

During Mandal I regime, there was a different sort of protest. I am going to elaborate it on a later post but let's just say at that time reservation for OBCs was seen as a very welcome move by this group. Keep in mind though, the term 'OBC' is a politically coined term and does not have much relevance to reality. For the time being read this post to check out what I am alluding to.

In any case, back to the problem at hand. Take the IIT-JEE, the world acclaimed Joint Entrance Examination for example. Each year, about 3000 odd students make it beyond this most difficult test. If you take out the SC/ST quota students, about 2300 students are lucky enough to gain a seat in the IITs. Although there are no reliable published statistics, I am willing to bet there are about 500 students who make it, who would fall under the OBC category at least in some states(*). A number of these students make it towards the lower end of the ranking (called the AIR or all India rank, which drives the IIT class system and not the student's caste background as of today). Now, think about what happens when they introduce this 49.5% quota. Many of these OBC students will not make it unless they apply through the quota! They will be faced with a tough choice - go to IIT using the quota or go to a regional college without.

If you say it does not make any sense, well that's precisely the point. That is the reason talented 'OBC' students are equally upset this time.

(*) The observant reader might ask, what will happen to a person who is recognized as an OBC in state A and applying to an IIT situated in a state where he is not? Since IITs are central institutes, will there be a central list of OBCs which will be separate from individual state lists? I do not have any answer. The whole thing stinks to high heavens anyway.