An Indian tale...

Sridhar Thyagarajan is an ambitious youngster in his late teens just out of his schooling. He is fair, tall and had piercing eyes that'd spell-bind any girl. Even though the society called them 'upper class'; his family's economic position wasn't any close to it. Sridhar's dad was an accountant in a private firm and his mother was a home-maker. His dad was one among the Julius Caesars of the middle class, who is constantly at war with his liabilities and commitments to meet the basic needs of his family. Right from his childhood Sridhar wanted to become a doctor and the sight of a white coat and a stethoscope decorating him in his dreams was amazing and blissful. The urge in him and his inborn brilliance made him a constant topper especially in Biology.

But as luck would have it, Sridhar had a severe hepatitis attack that kept him in the hospital for 3 months. It was a devastating thing that not just emptied his dad's reserved peanuts but also took away valuable time that he needed to prepare for his board exams. With not even a month left to prepare for all the exams he managed to score a whopping 92%. But 92% wasn't good enough for a 'higher class' 'upper caste' aspirant to become a doctor. It was a crucial position where he might get lucky or unlucky; and all he could do is sit and watch what was about to happen like an injured captain watching his team play from the stands and praying for its victory.

The big day came and the auditorium in Chennai Medical college was flooded with youngsters moving around with papers and files; as busy as bees in a hive. Sridhar has never been as tense in his life. His dangling position gifted him with a sleepless night and endless prayers which were still running constantly in his mind. There was still one seat left in the 'Open Competition' quota and as the candidates were called in one by one for their turn, Sridhar's heart started thumping so loudly that he could hear it echoing across the oblivion. "Sridhar... Reg no 501484" called the peon and with an anxious mind, high adrenalin flow and shivering hands Sridhar stepped into the small room. The officer glanced at him, confirmed his identity and asked for Sridhar's community certificate. Sridhar hesitated and mumbled that "I don't need a community certificate sir! I'm an OC candidate". The officer looked at him like a doctor who let down his patient and said... "Sorry! All OC seats are full. We only have BC, MBC, SC and ST seats left". Sridhar tried to plead but realized that the officer was helpless...

As he walked out of the room with sweat replaced by tears, he heard the officer talking to himself - "Every year, there are vacancies that are left unfilled and poor fellows like these are denied a chance. It's the curse of this country" and Gandhi was smiling as usual above the officer's head with a shining plate under him that bore the words "An eye for an eye makes us all blind".