Caste Based reservations in Mahabharat

I have never read the Mahabharata but heard many stories of that from my parents and elders. As a boy, one of its stories that shocked me even with my poor imagination was that of Ekalavya. I literally wept when I heard that he was asked to offer his right thumb as guru Dakshina. Later the Mahabharata came on the TV in which Drona was shown as a very generous and impartial teacher. He regarded Arjuna as the best of his disciples and he proved it too. This was all nice up to this point but when he met his poor disciple Ekalavya, his generosity and impartiality melted away. Those who witnessed this scene on TV were shocked. The Brahmin Drona without a foot of mercy got cut Ekalavya’s right thumb. And I wept. How could a guru be so cruel to his disciple? What was the offence of Ekalavya? Was Drona really a generous and Impartial gur? Was education reserved for some castes only? Why this Brahmin did not appreciate merit in a non-Kshatriya disciple? I discussed these with some friends and they gave several explanations. But they were all unanimous that Drona wanted nobody to excel, Arjuna. But why he reserved this supremacy to Arjuna? Are we to become Intolerant and Jealous of a person who surpasses us in some field or skill? Is it proper to destroy skills Instead of acknowledging and utilizing it? If we despise and disregard heroism or skills of a man on the mere pretext of his caste and creed, would there by any progress in the world? One argument was that while acquiring the skills, Ekalavya committed theft for which he was punished by Drona. This again is a baseless and self-contradictory point. They say that vidya dana never decays on imparting it to others but increases. And vidya dana can’t be stolen by a thief. Ekalavya only drew inspiration from the image of Drona without making himself a burden to the guru. When Drona found out such an ardent disciple, he should have felt very fortunate and thrilled, and blessed Ekalavya instead of punishing him. If we curb the skills, talents and merits of men on the mere pretext of caste and creed, our social growth is sure to be doomed. Knowledge and education can never be a monopoly business. Any literature which creates intolerance and hatred is no literature. Be It an eple or textbook stories of the kind of Ekalavya should be taught in schools as a proof that the Varnashrama Dharma did not believe in “merit” but imposed caste-based reservations.