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‘Missing brain cells’: The Print columnist Shivam Vij trolled for asking why 15.5 per cent of upper caste in Bihar has a 50 per cent quota

Vij, who seems intellectually challenged if his utterances on X, formerly known as Twitter, are considered a credible indicator of mental fitness, recently questioned why 15.5 per cent of the upper caste population in Bihar commands a 50 per cent quota in reservations.

Intelligence has never been the forte of The Print columnist and self-described ‘liberal’ Shivam Vij, who recently had an embarrassing moment when he shot himself in the foot in an attempt to attack the upper caste population living in Bihar.

Vij, who seems intellectually challenged if his utterances on X, formerly known as Twitter, are considered a credible indicator of his mental fitness, recently questioned why 15.5 per cent of the upper caste population in Bihar commands a 50 per cent quota in reservations.

Taking to X, Vij shared the results of the Bihar caste census released by the JDU-RJD government earlier today. The author, who has authored columns for various portals, including Shekhar Gupta’s The Print, provided a percentage-wise caste breakdown of different communities living in Bihar.

The EBC forms 36 per cent of Bihar’s population, Backward classes 27 per cent, Scheduled Castes 19 per cent, Upper castes 15.5 per cent, and Scheduled Tribes 1.8 per cent. Shivam’s gripe, however, was with the Upper Castes that form 15.5 per cent of the total population living in Bihar.

In a display of hilarious tomfoolery, Vij asked why 15.5 per cent of the population has 50 per cent of the quota. And before long, a raft of X users descended on his timeline and on the social media platform to point out the glaring flaw in his logic.

Popular X user Gabbbar Singh took a dig at Vij, referring to him as the JNU humanities expert and highlighting his dimwittedness. The user rightly pointed out that everyone, including the reserved classes, can fight for the remaining 50 per cent unreserved.

For the unversed, the Indian law sanctions 50 per cent of reservations for reserved classes such as ST, SC, OBC, NT, and other castes, while the remaining 50 per cent is unreserved, wherein everyone, including general category applicants and those belonging to the reserved classes, can compete based on the merit.

But Vij assumed that just because the law mandates 50 per cent reservations to reserved castes and groups, it meant the remaining 50 per cent is reserved exclusively for upper castes.

Now, such examples of foolishness are why leftwing ‘liberals’ are fast losing credibility among the masses. When they can’t process something as fundamental as basic math, one would be naturally inclined to harbour reservations over their understanding of complex topics such as geopolitical issues, scientific discoveries, and inter-community dynamics. 

Social media users troll Shivam Vij

The disdain for Vij and his class of ‘intellectuals’ was visible on X, where users mocked The Print columnist for his inability to comprehend fundamental mathematics.

An X user quoted Shivam’s tweet saying, “Missing brain cells.”

“Gazab c**tiya hai bhai tu”, said an X user over Vij’s tweet.

“Akal jab bhagwan baat rhe the tb sabse peeche khade the kya? Ki mili he nhi paayi? (When God was distributing wisdom, were you standing last in the queue)” asked another user.

Many others tried to knock sense in him, pointing out that there is a difference between open and reserved seats. 

But any attempts to bring him to reason appeared futile as Vij doubled down his spectacular buffoonery. He rambled on why the SC had come up with only a 50 per cent reservation figure and not 49.5 or any other. He further claimed that OBC, ST, and SC couldn’t get the seats in the 50 per cent unreserved or general seats, although he did not furnish proof to back his astounding claim.

If there is one reason why India’s education system needs an urgent overhaul, Vij’s tweet attached below provides a compelling case. Vij claimed that SC, ST, and OBC seats are converted into general because suitable candidates cannot be found. He then goes on to claim that raising the quota limit to 75 per cent would result in the implementation of the 50 per cent reservations.

If 50 per cent of reservations do not yield candidates required to fill the reserved seats, as claimed by Vij, how is 75 per cent of reservations going to be of any help?

Nevertheless, such fallacies in arguments have been a hallmark of Shivam Vij’s brand of journalism, which is replete with frivolous analyses, denial of reality, pathetic understanding of basic concepts, and a perverse desire to back oneself even when called out for intellectual dishonesty. With his refusal to accept his mistakes in this case, Vij demonstrates that he is perhaps among those journalists who try to distort facts to support their preconceived notions rather than allow factual accuracy to inform their inferences.

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Amit Kelkar
Amit Kelkar
a Pune based IT professional with keen interest in politics

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