1)Background
- An undergrad student of a top NIT.
- I belong to the General category.

I initially supported the reservation system for SC/STs but now am vehemently against this system.

What did I see?
- When I first entered college, I was of the opinion that the students coming in through reservations would be very poor because I came to know that they got full tuition waivers. And truth be told, I was devastated to find that it was not true. Well, I got hung up in a hostel wing where there were 8 SC/ST students. And 6 of them were filthy rich and went to top class high schools. Why, my room mate was an SC himself whose father was in the real estate business with a huge turnover every year. A small glimpse into his world would be an iMac, a Samsung Galaxy phone, iPod, etc. And he gets off without paying even the tuition fees. If there was ever an injustice, I would say this would take the cherry.

- I thought that given the opportunity these guys would study hard and try to do justice to the reservation system. But I was hugely mistaken. They never did seem to study. There was this one sentence that I heard my room mate utter which changed my opinion on reservations for good. It was a day before the semester exams and I saw him sitting around gaming on his iMac. I asked him the reason for not studying for the exams. He said this - "I need not study as hard as you do. Cos I can easily get a job through reservation. I came to college to while away my time and not to study. Put peace, get a government job and settle in life." And all this he said with a broad smile on his face. And that was the moment I started hating reservations.

- Two of those guys' parents (the ones who came in through reservation) were IAS officers. And I know for sure that their family earns thrice what my family earns. They had led a luxurious life style, enjoyed their final years of school and had entered a prestigious institution for undergrad with relatively no preps. I, on the other hand had suffered so much, with my parents struggling to send me to a decent school. My school teachers called my parents and asked them to send me to JEE coaching classes, since they believed I could clear it if I had the right guidance. But then, my parents couldn't afford to send me to coaching since sending me to school itself was a burden. Thus I started own prepping, borrowing books from friends and studying as much as I could. And after all the efforts I put in to get a seat, I really detest the way some people who NEVER deserved to study here come through.

I feel reservations should be based on an individual's economic status and not be based on his caste. Its time the government understood that not all SC/STs are poor and not all who come in through the General category are rich.

Edit : And all the above explanation was for the fact that my room mate whose rank was thrice lower than mine, got a branch which I couldn't get with my rank. And in that sense, YES I felt cheated and discriminated.

2)Background
- BITS Pilani graduate
- Belong to General Category

Personally, I think yes, I've been discriminated on the basis of my caste.

During my school days I didn't even know what my caste is, what 'kutumb' i belong to and other related stuff. All this information is totally irrelevant to the Indian middle class.

Just like a regular Indian kid, I studied my ass out during 11th and 12th standard to get into the prestigious IITs. My father, a bank officer with adequate pay package, went out of his way and sent me to kota to prepare for the exam, dreaming of me getting into an IIT, and 5-6 years down the line curb all the financial crisis of the family. Please note that I DID NOT waste my time, DID NOT go to cyber cafes to play games/ watch porn, and DID NOT indulge in any kind of time wastage activities. My progress graph at Bansal Classes, Kota (The heaven of IIT coaching) was up all the way during my tenure.

I didn't get thru the IIT- JEE, as I could not clear 1 of the 3 subject's cut off by 6 marks (Its another story i thank god for this). There were friends if mine, whom I had never imagined of getting into an IIT, got in thru reservation.

Luckily, I went to BITS- Pilani, and completed my graduation. The college not only made me an Engineer, but also helped me evolve as a better human being. Caste- system discrimination is a term unheard of at BITS. I remember during my college days the Education minister called up our college VC along with some other private colleges to make them get reservation installed in the admissions process, and I was proud that Mr. L K Maheshwari stepped out of the meeting and did not agree for any kind of reservations at BITS.

Today, I work at a decent firm, earning an honest wage. I aspire to get into a good post- grad college, make a better job and earn more money, so that my dad, who is 56 now and has 3 loans on himself, can relax.

But that looks really tough. I have given CAT twice, and both times failed to qualify. One of my friends made 99.33 percentile in CAT last year, and still didn't get a single call, which adds to my disappointment. On the other hand, 2 of my colleagues of the same age group have gotten into the IIMs with really low scores, again thru reservation. Also, both of them weren't 'economically' backward or anything.

I never talk crap about people who use reservations, and never discriminate among caste and color, but there is a corner in my heart which is filled with anger and rage against this system. I know that eventually, I'll make up my mind to get into a good foreign university and live peacefully abroad. But then, i really don't want to do that.

So yes, I have, and I'm being discriminated on the basis of my Caste.

3)I am from two top universities - both different from each other.
BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus and
IIM Calcutta

BITS Pilani
I did my undergrad from BITS Pilani. There is absolutely no reservation here. And, students are also not concerned about caste of the students here.

So, I did not see any discrimination of the sorts in there. I don't even know what castes they belong to. Individual is given so much importance here. My parents make fun of me often when I say I don't know what my close friend's parents do for a living. I was not at all bothered to know even the occupation of their parents do unless was absolutely needed.

Caste is never even discussed there. Lot of students from BITS proudly claim that they are the only premier institute without caste-based reservations.

IIM Calcutta
I am currently pursuing my MBA from IIM Calcutta. Unlike BITS, admissions here have caste-based reservations component. While I have not seen discrimination here too (or may be I stay far from such stuff), I have a very depressing observation made.

When people come to such a highly competitive environment, the candidates who come via reservation face lot of difficulties. I am not talking about 90+%ile students. But for some sections of people, who come even when they score less than 90%ile.

I know few friends who come via reservation but work very hard out here. But, their basic concepts are not strong and skills are not well developed. So, even with the high amount of efforts put by them - they score very less here. This makes them fall into depressive mode. Some students choose to think that they are good for nothing while some others try to forget all this stuff and just never study. Both are bad. The social life of these guys on campus is very much screwed.

And their placements become difficult as the companies at this level look for specific skill set and there are hardly any govt. companies that come for recruitment here. Even if they get in, it is very difficult for them to cope up.

Personal view (out of topic I guess):

I am absolutely against caste-based reservation. It only spreads more hatred among castes and discrimination. But I still support reservation on economic basis. This doesn't spread discrimination and economic status can always change and not decided by birth.

4)Background:IIT D
Category: SC

Well let me agree with some of the answers here ,which say that category students are usually kids from well off families who are taking advantage of the system. I know. I am one of them.

My father is a well off public sector employee and has never left me wanting for any basic things in life.We didnt ever need to go hungry. He used every last paisa of his to send me to one of the best schools in my city. He even got me a decent enough tution for my iitjee , which i used to bunk to play counter strike at a local gaming parlour, so hate me , but that is beside the point.

The point is that there is also a batchmate of mine, one of the best students in his department, a very shy and polite guy , who is also a category student. His village recieves 2 hours of electricity a day. He cleared the iitjee "taking advantage of the system" too.

There are also others in my batch, relatively better off than him, who cleared the iitjee thanks to the quota system.Their economic statuses cover a wide range. Some of them are good students, some are good at sports, some are into cultural activities, some are just great guys to hang out with. In iit we have never been openly discriminated against. Sure once every two -three years you hear a remark like "this is why you 'scheddu' (scheduled caste/tribe) people never progress", but two out of three times even that is said just in jest.

Atleast in this college people who feel that the category system is unfair to them keep their mouths shut. Though mostly nobody really cares about it if they have cleared the iit jee too.

Generally the people who actually care about this are the people from your school who couldnt clear the jee. Your girlfriend who comes from a family ten times richer than you and who manages an AIEEE general rank twice yours even in her second attempt. With whom you spend 5 miserable years and yet are unable to tell her your darkest truth. That you belong to the SC category. You just keep quite and all through those years just listen to and agree how she lost her iit seat to some scheduled caste kid who didnt deserve it.

My maternal grandfather was one of those guys who was not allowed to drink water from the village well.Once when my dad was a kid , they fell on very hard times, and desperate for some money my grandma took him(being the eldest kid) to a church to ask some alms of the village padre' . They were told they could have the money but they'd have to convert first.

India got independent in 1947,from there it took my family 35 years to settle into a city, 45 to break into the middle class, and more than 60 years to make one of their sons an iitian. We're just only trying for the upper middle class now, and i am their first attempt.

So yeah guys like me, who are not exactly poor take advantage of the system, but then for every batch full of "rich" students like me there are a few guys whose families havent even reached the middle class yet.

The reservation system isnt foolproof , but then few things about our democracy truly are.

This has been a long answer , but if you have read it ,id just ask you to ponder over these two quotes:

"We all want equality only as long as we are lagging behind but once we get ahead , it is just an unfair excuse for others"

"What if the cure for cancer was hidden away in the brain of an african child with no access to education"

And by the way my relationship fell through. One of the reasons was that her parents wouldnt allow her to marry outside her high caste.

//EDIT

1st this was a straight from the heart answer.....i did not intend to start any debate which pitches the suffering of category students against that of the general cat. students...i dont believe in the rationality of any such debate....struggle and hardships are a part of everyone's life...i just wanted to use my own personal experiences to establish a point...

2nd My point was that yes , category students do have an advantage...there is no denying the fact that many general category students do miss out on opportunities due to the reservation system......but that does not give anyone the right to judge others....think about it ...and answer this to yourself.....if your caste had a quota , would you have opposed it?

3rd Even with reservation it is not as easy as you would think ....it still takes a basic level of competence to clear those exams....and most of the category students that i know are toppers from their respective schools....including me...i just was too disappointed with the system after class tenth so i stopped studying after that ....but then fortunately had a quota so i managed to scrape through the jee...and even so my jee score was more than most people who i have heard complain about the quota system.

4th I seriously did not know i was someone from the lower castes till i was in my 12th when my family told me that we were..since then the importance of this topic has only grown in my life....funny how this entire reservation thing has actually spread the caste system to a whole new generation....the entire youth has been divided on an issue that shouldnt even be relevant in the 21st century...

5)I am a general category IIT graduate (B.Tech). As far as I know, there is no discrimination among students on the basis of caste. I did not care what castes my friends belonged to.

Now, on reservation policy:
My father also grew up in poor conditions. So much so that, during his childhood days there was no money or food for next days meal. He worked hard to make his way upto middle class (of-course without reservations). I give my fathers example to show that poor people suffer, irrespective of their caste.

So for every "reserved" category candidate who has faced hardships, there exists a "general" category candidate who faces same level hardships but does not get into an IIT or any other prestigious institution.

So in my personal view reservations should be purely based on economic status. But for that to be implemented effectively, govt. must device methods so that one does not fool the govt. about ones income.

still want more?
maybe a google search would help......Stop vote bank politics and realise the world changes and the current reservation does more harm than good...!!