Affirmative Action: My Say

Part of me doesn't really care about this whole quota-reservation thingy that's going on. I'm joining college this year (hopefully!) and, well, it's not gonna really hit me. The other part of me, however, is pretty ticked off.
For one, as a student vying for one of those 20,000 medical seats in India (before this quota ruckus), I know how hard it can be. So when I say the average middle class kid is seriously screwed if this goes down, I mean seriously screwed. The messed up thing about affirmative action in India is that in order to uplift one section of society they supress another. You're not making a change. You're just tilting the balance. So in order to give the poor tribal advasi a fair shot at life, you screw a middle class kid over. I fail to see the logic.
On the other hand, man, I sympathise with the Indian poor. Our school had a pretty sweet social experience program and it really changes your perspective on things. And, hey, if reservation really did work, I would (although reluctantly) support it. Or at least not be against it. But, that's the thing. It doesn't work. An average SC/ST dude, who's had substandard elementary education, is not really gonna make it in the real world. They have to have ability. Chucking a whole bunch of SC/ST/OBC guys into an IIT isn't gonna make them smarter. Neither is it going to land them a good job. What it will do is get guarantee the ruling party their votes. Which is what this whole thing boils down to: politics.
Votes. Votes. Votes. And if it means neglecting a whole section of society, hell, if it's for the votes, why not? If it means diverting attention from the real pressing social issues of our times, so be it. If it's for the votes, why not?
The bottom line is this: Quota increases help noone.