Yoginder Alagh is quite right that in education, ?clarity rather than ambiguity? is needed (?Beyond education quotas?, April 11). What is the objective of reservations? Are there lessons from the US affirmative action programme? The US Supreme Court had upheld Ivy League universities? priority admission policy for representatives of marginalised groups identified by particular labels on the plea that the institutional and power elite should be adequately reflective of the country?s diversity, for the sake of national unity and progress. Likewise, PepsiCo?s former CEO Steve Reinemund believed that business managements had to start mirroring their target markets in terms of diversity for sustainable success. This was market logic. In India, scarcity and state control have warped the debate. While the ?merit? argument is valid, and the ?inclusive education? angle also merits articulation if we are not to reach a ?let them read Blake? stage of elite insensitivity, we also need a more market-oriented and enlightened debate on education.
?Preeti Singh, Jaipur
