How can St. Stephen's College, a fully state-funded constituent college of Delhi University, retain its Christian minority status and reserve 50% seats exclusively for Christian students?
Sikhs have done much better than Muslims in India. We, certainly, do not need reservations anywhere. Any reservation will alter our basic character of hard work. I do not advocate reserving seats for any community based on religion in particular colleges/universities. Such reservations give unnecessary powers in the hands of college administration and institutions like SGPC or Maulvis or Churches, not sure how much justice these institutions do to the followers.
I agree with you in so far as the institutions are established and funded by the state exchequer.
However, if SGPC is to run its institution for the students, we must permit 50% of reservation for the Sikh students – but within this slot of 50%, admission of the students must strictly be on merits, and that is what the rules lay down— there cannot be any pick and choose even in this quota.
In practical life, it doesn't work. Reserved seats remain vacant because there are not enough students on merit basis (they join some other institution), then authorities fill up with whoever is available. Plus, those in administration know very well how to use the quota. Even without reservation, I have seen Sikh students getting admission in Khalsa college Delhi, Mata Sundri College Delhi, based on recommendation of some Jathedar, similar to St Stephen admitting students on recommendation of Bishop. Respectfully, SGPC is politically motivated, I remember, they used to refuse rooms in Ram Das Sarai in Amritsar to Sikhs coming from Delhi, calling them Sarna's folks.
Then the way forward is to reform the SGPC, which definitely includes early elections to the full House, now that the work regarding registration of new SGPC voters is almost complete.
A statutory body, the last election to which was held in the year 2011, can no longer be deemed to be a truly representative body of the Sikhs that manages their historic Gurdwaras. !3 years is along time, and the youth who have since attained the age of 21 years must be allowed to express their mandate.
There is a need to deradicalize SGPC. In its pursuit of separating it from Hindus, it goes extreme lengths. At the ground level, Hindus and Sikhs relationships do not work the way it is given in Rehat Maryada. The fundamental defect in SGPC's functioning is that it works top-down - SGPC will tell Sikhs what to do. If you see in Harmandir Sahab, any day, any time, you won't find more than 10-20% sangat (men and women) saabat surat. This shows that sangat believes in Guru Sahban but not in SGPC's radical approach. Not sure how elections will help, given that there are only 28 lakh voters, while those who believe in Gurus are several crore, in India itself.
Sikhs have done much better than Muslims in India. We, certainly, do not need reservations anywhere. Any reservation will alter our basic character of hard work. I do not advocate reserving seats for any community based on religion in particular colleges/universities. Such reservations give unnecessary powers in the hands of college administration and institutions like SGPC or Maulvis or Churches, not sure how much justice these institutions do to the followers.
I agree with you in so far as the institutions are established and funded by the state exchequer.
However, if SGPC is to run its institution for the students, we must permit 50% of reservation for the Sikh students – but within this slot of 50%, admission of the students must strictly be on merits, and that is what the rules lay down— there cannot be any pick and choose even in this quota.
In practical life, it doesn't work. Reserved seats remain vacant because there are not enough students on merit basis (they join some other institution), then authorities fill up with whoever is available. Plus, those in administration know very well how to use the quota. Even without reservation, I have seen Sikh students getting admission in Khalsa college Delhi, Mata Sundri College Delhi, based on recommendation of some Jathedar, similar to St Stephen admitting students on recommendation of Bishop. Respectfully, SGPC is politically motivated, I remember, they used to refuse rooms in Ram Das Sarai in Amritsar to Sikhs coming from Delhi, calling them Sarna's folks.
Then the way forward is to reform the SGPC, which definitely includes early elections to the full House, now that the work regarding registration of new SGPC voters is almost complete.
A statutory body, the last election to which was held in the year 2011, can no longer be deemed to be a truly representative body of the Sikhs that manages their historic Gurdwaras. !3 years is along time, and the youth who have since attained the age of 21 years must be allowed to express their mandate.
There is a need to deradicalize SGPC. In its pursuit of separating it from Hindus, it goes extreme lengths. At the ground level, Hindus and Sikhs relationships do not work the way it is given in Rehat Maryada. The fundamental defect in SGPC's functioning is that it works top-down - SGPC will tell Sikhs what to do. If you see in Harmandir Sahab, any day, any time, you won't find more than 10-20% sangat (men and women) saabat surat. This shows that sangat believes in Guru Sahban but not in SGPC's radical approach. Not sure how elections will help, given that there are only 28 lakh voters, while those who believe in Gurus are several crore, in India itself.