Dr Vikas Bajpai is the other face of protest at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. Sitting barely 100 metres from anti-quota protestors on a hunger strike, he leads a handful of pro-quota supporters.
A radiologist specialising in the detection of cancer and convener of the Medicos Forum for Equal Opportunities, his group is asking the government to implement the quota system in higher educational institutions with immediate effect.
"The developments of the past few days have exposed the true caste chauvinist character of the ongoing anti-reservation stir. It is the first agitation of medical students and doctors in India which has directly been sponsored by corporate houses to the tune of lakhs of rupees," Dr Bajpai, himself a Brahmin, alleges.
Lambasting the government for chickening out of its commitment to the Other Backward Classes under pressure from the upper caste protestors, he says: "The agitation has been hijacked by caste leaders. Caste chauvinist political forces have been fanning the fire of caste hatred in our society to achieve their gains."
He wanted to know why the anti-reservationists were more inclined towards the Bharatiya Janata Party. "But for vote bank politics the BJP would not have supported OBCs. The upper caste agitationists are sitting under coolers, drinking cold waters and sleeping on foam mattresses and call it a dharna. They call themselves Youth for Equality -- would they like to share the job of 15 lakh scavengers and carry human waste on their heads?" he asked.
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