Of Mocking Birds and Reservations

To Kill a Mocking Bird' by Harper Lee is one of the all-time favourites for many. Its on my list too. The book makes a deep impact on the reader and is arguably, the best of the lot, when it comes to taking up cudgels against the torture and pain people were subjected just because they were not born with white skin. The title of the book is taken from the advice given to the main protagonist Jean Louise Finch and her elder brother Jem by their dad Atticus about firing their air rifles at birds: "Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird". The blue jay is a very common bird, and is often perceived as a bully and a pest, whereas mockingbirds do nothing but "sing their hearts out for us". Metaphorically, several of the book's characters can be seen as "mockingbirds", because they are constantly attacked despite doing nothing but good. The mockingbird represents innocence, and to kill one is to metaphorically kill innocence. Superstar of yesteryears Gregoty peck won the Oscar for best actor, playing the role of Atticus Finch in the movie adaptaion of the novel.

This was a 1960 novel, and to some, it might seem irrelevant in the present day. But come to think of it, one could easily draw a parallel with the arm twisting going against the 'so-called' forward class of the present day society. By introducing reservations against them in every sphere of development is very much similar to killing mocking birds just because they are easy prey. And the proposed reservations in IITs and IIMs is the limit. The reservation system is spreading its wings and it is sometimes scary to imagine what the future has in store. A few years down the line, do not be surprised to see the boundary rope shortened for a non OC player the next time India is playing Pakistan, a four hit by him is counted as six and he is allowed to get out twice in each innings.