‘Go to the playground of the school or any stadium and watch a 400 metre race on any track. Why are the competitors in the outer lane placed ahead of those in the inner lane at the starting point of the race’?
What would happen if all the competitors start the race from the same line? Which of these would be an equal and fair race? Apply this example to a competition for jobs.
Since, the outer lane has a bigger circumference than the inner lane, more than 400 metre distance will be covered in one round of the track. Thus competitors in the outer lane are placed ahead, so that they are given an equal opportunity compared to the person in the inner lane.
If all the competitors start at the same line, the outer track competitors will have to run a longer distance, which will not be fair. So, in the first case, it will be a fair race. ‘
Similarly, in a competition for jobs, if the Scheduled Castes are given reservations, they can compete on an * equal basis, because they are educationally and
culturally backward, although they may be fit, for the job, for which they have applied.