Date: 6/1/2006
It will divide India: Sri Ravi Shankar //////// Press Trust of India//////// Posted online: Monday, May 22, 2006 at 1638 hours IST Updated: Monday, May 22, 2006 at 1644 hours IST/////// http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=68113/////// Chennai, May 22: Expressing concern over the fast-spreading protests against the proposed reservation in educational institutions for OBCs, spiritual guru and `Art of Living' proponent Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Monday said that providing quota would not end disparities. "Caste-based reservation will not end disparities in the society. While being born in any particular caste should not be a curse, reverse discrimination is not the way for justice," he said in a release issued in Chennai. While advocating strong economic support for the downtrodden, he said empowerment of all castes and communities `is essential as there are poor people in every community'. Claiming that hundreds of students were seeking his `intervention', Ravi shankar said what India needed were `measures that will unite the country and remove inequality at all levels'. Reservation on the basis of caste will not only `divide the country but also hurt the self-esteem of our people', he said and called upon politicians not to `divide and discriminate in the name of caste and religion'. 000000000
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