EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL

As many as 28 more categories of backward classes have been added to the existing list. This includes 15 entirely new castes, the remaining being additionally identified subcastes. Even after 70 years of independence, the everincreasing number of backward classes, year after year, is beyond comprehension. It should normally be otherwise. By now, we ought to be pruning the list. Were the initial survey for identification grossly wrong or our parameters for identification of backward classes are just faulty? Caste-based politics cannot continue perpetually. As our economy develops and benefits of development reach all sections of society, there is but little rationale for classbased reservation. Equal opportunity for all should be our motto. DS BANATI, SAS NAGAR