Re: [Assam] Affirmative Action --Galbraith; Upper Caste quota system approved in Indian state

Sun, 07 May 2006 17:56:01 -0700

I would say that since caste system is recognized by Hindus only then ONLY Hindu Dalits should have the benefit of quota system in govt jobs and educational institutions ect.
 
Let the govt estimate correctly what percentage of Indian population is Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Hindus only) -- and let them only benefot from the quota system ----- unlike today that besides Hindu Dalits -- Sikh, Buddhist converts and in some places including Rajasthan and I think Andhra Pradesh - Muslim converts from Hinduism -- are also provided the benefit of quota system .
 
These wanna be Dalits of other religions take away valuable resources from the much starved Hindu Dalits.
 
An interesting case of allowing powerful groups membership of Dalit community has been in Rajasthan and Haryana where Jats -who dominate the politics of both states - have been included in the 27% quota for Other Backward Castes (OBCs). They not only get nearly ALL the jobs reserved for OBCs - using their superior skills but won 42 out of i  think 46 seats in Panchayat elections (local bodies) reserved for members of OBC community.
 
Now the current Chief Minister of both states are from  Jat families -- and they are benefiting from reservation!!!
 
No wonder upper castes were up in arms in Rajasthan -- and the then ruling govt obliged (i think Raj. CM Gehlot of Congress of Sonia Gandhi team fame) by granting then 10% reservation -for their economically backward members -incl in elections for political seats. The Congress govt of Rajasthan  shifted the ball to Central govt's court by saying that this reservation for upper caste would be valid only if GOI validates it (then ruled by BJP's NDA).
 
So this is the vote politics -- support upper caste for quota if they stop voting for you. Support Hindu Dalit quota if they threaten to stop voting for you. Support non Hindu Dalit quota - if members of other faiths stop voting for you . Support female quota - if women stop voting for you.
 
And soon ... Support NRI quota if NRIs stop funding your political parties:)
 
No wonder John Kenneth Galbraith (who recently died) said that he started believing in God after coming to India (as US Ambassador in 1960s under Kennedy) becos if there was no God then how could India be running at all.
 
So it is up to God to save Mother India!!
 
Umesh
 

Barua25 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I think you getteing too much excited for nothing.
Is caste system not a part of Hinduism then?
When we talk of caste system, are we talking outside Hinduism.?
Does Hinduism not recognise caste system?
RB
----- Original Message -----
To: Barua25
Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 4:03 PM
Subject: Re: [Assam] Affirmative Action

>Where does Christianity come from?
>Is race part of by Christianity?
>Something is missing from your logic.
 
Christianity DOES NOT come in any where. All I did was to go by your logic where you thought it necessary to bring Hinduism into caste politics and GOI.
 
 
 


On 5/7/06, Barua25 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>"As long as there will be Race based quota it will be a shame for Christianity and all  Christians who want to >preseerve the dignity of the religion should oppose it.
 
It does not go that way,does it?
Where does Christianity come from?
Is race part of by Christianity?
Something is missing from your logic.
RB
 
----- Original Message -----
To: Barua25
Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 2:03 PM
Subject: Re: [Assam] Affirmative Action

 
Barua,
 
>The very idea of establishing 'caste based' quotas is to >officially recognoze that some castes in Hindusim are 'low' and >others are 'high', some are exploiters and some are exploted, >some are masters and some are slaves.
 
So, they are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
If the idea was ignored, you might have then complained that the "high" castes are discriminating or taking advantage of the "low" castes and the GOI or the powers that be are standing by doing nothing.
 
What about the US' Affirmative action laws? Do you think the reason these exist is because the US Govt. thinks that Blacks are "lower" than Whites?
 
and rewriting what you wrote, and substituting words like race for caste, and Christians for Hindus, this is what we get:
 
"As long as there will be Race based quota it will be a shame for Christianity and all  Christians who want to preseerve the dignity of the religion should oppose it.
 
 
Do you agree with the above?
It will be interesting to see what your response is? :-)
 
--Ram
 
 

 
On 5/7/06, Barua25 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>The Indian government's intention of introducing caste based quotas for the "Other Backward Classes" in centrally >funded institutions of higher learning and the prime minister's suggestion to the private sector to 'voluntarily go in for >reservation', has once again sparked off a debate on the merits and demerits of caste-based reservations.
 
 
The very idea of establishing 'caste based' quotas is to officially recognoze that some castes in Hindusim are 'low' and others are 'high', some are exploiters and some are exploted, some are masters and some are slaves. This goes against the arguments by the Hindutta that all castes are equal. As long as there will be caste based quota it will be a shame for Hinduism and all Hindus who want to preseerve the dignity of the religion should oppose it.
 
Do I make sense?
RB
 
  
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 12:29 PM
Subject: [Assam] Affirmative Action

 
Does the system proposed in the following article have any merit? I think it does, though there is room for improvement of the proposed system. I believe US private universities follow an applicant rating system similar to this and that is how some Hispanic applicants from little known places like Brownsville, Texas, get into prestigious schools in the east.
Dilip
============================================================================
TEHELKA DEBATE
Beyond Caste
Why only caste? Reserve seats in educational institutions on the basis of schooling, gender and family income. That is the affirmative way to ensure social justice. Purushottam Agrawal opens a critical discussion
The Indian government's intention of introducing caste based quotas for the "Other Backward Classes" in centrally funded institutions of higher learning and the prime minister's suggestion to the private sector to 'voluntarily go in for reservation', has once again sparked off a debate on the merits and demerits of caste-based reservations. Unfortunately, the predictable divide between the votaries of "social justice" on one hand and those advocating "merit" on the other seems to have once again camouflaged the real issues. It is necessary to take a holistic and non-partisan view of the issues involved.
The hue and cry about "sacrificing merit" is untenable simply because merit is after all a social construct and it cannot be determined objectively in a historically unjust and unequal context. The idea of competitive merit will be worthy of serious attention only in a broadly egalitarian context. But then, caste is not the only obstacle in the way of an egalitarian order.
After all, economic conditions, educational opportunities and discrimination on the basis of gender also contribute to the denial of opportunity to express one's true merit and worth. It is interesting to note that in the ongoing debate, one side refuses to see the socially constructed nature of the notion of merit, while the other side refuses to recognise the multiplicity of the mechanisms of exclusion with equal vehemence.
The idea of caste-based reservations is justified by the logic of social justice. This implies the conscious attempt to restructure a given social order in such a way that individuals belonging to the traditionally and structurally marginalised social groups get adequate opportunities to actualise their potential and realise their due share in the resources available.
In any society, particularly in one as diverse and complex as the Indian society, this is going to be a gigantic exercise and must not be reduced to just one aspect of state policy. Seen in this light, caste-based reservation has to work in tandem with other policies ensuring the elimination of the structures of social marginalisation and denial of access. It has to be seen as a means of achieving social justice and not an end in itself. By the same logic it must be assessed and audited from time to time like any other social policy and economic strategy.
Hence, it is important, to discuss reservation in the holistic context of much required social restructuring and not to convert it into a fetish of 'political correctness'. Admittedly, caste remains a social reality and a mechanism of oppression in Indian society. But can we say that caste is the only mechanism of oppression? Can we say with absolute certainty that poverty amongst the so-called upper castes has been eradicated? Can we say that the regions of Northeast, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh are on par with the glittering metros of Delhi and Mumbai? Can we say that a pupil from a panchayat school in Bihar is equipped to compete with an alumnus of Doon School on an equal footing, even if both of them belong to the same caste group? One of my students once remarked that he was regularly compelled to swim across a rivulet in order to reach his school, and the rivulet in question did not distinguish between Brahmins and dalits. Incidentally, this young man happens to be a Brahmin by birth! Can we also say that gender plays no role in denial of social opportunities? After all, this society discriminates against girls even before they are born. What to talk of access or opportunities, they're denied birth itself. Such discrimination exists across religious and caste lines.
Moreover, the question is: do we want to eliminate caste as a factor of social relations and political processes or do we want to perpetuate it forever? Is it not true that by treating caste as the only medium of oppression and hence by focusing all remedial measures on caste alone, we have only added to the longevity of caste as the determining factor of social identity? Individuals have been virtually turned into the epitomes of the caste of their birth — denying the multiple identities that every individual perforce carries. This also helps the powerful amongst the generally disempowered sections to corner most of the benefits of caste-based reservation. Caste, which in reality is only one of the features of identity at the individual level and the manifestation of an abhorrent social order at the social and structural level, has been turned into the essential identity of individual citizens. Such a situation helps only those politicians who are in search of shortcuts to power. It is harmful for the cause of a modern social democracy as well as to the cause of individuals in need of social justice and related affirmative action.
There seems to be a deliberate attempt to mislead public opinion by projecting caste-based reservation as the only form of affirmative action. Affirmative action has to "affirm" the social will to rectify unjust structures and practices in existence. Any society has a multiplicity of such structures and practices. Any programme of affirmative action has to tackle all these factors and not elevate any one factor to the level of a political "fetish".
I hereby propose a model of affirmative action that I will call miraa — Multiple Index Related Affirmative Action. As the name suggests, this model will take into account several factors when a candidate is considered for admission or employment.
In the specific situation of our country, miraa will consist of the following indices:
1. Caste/Tribe
2. Gender
3. Economic status of family
4. Kind of schooling received
5. Region where candidate spent his/her formative years
6. Status as a first generation learner/educational achievement in the family
Let me explain how this system will work. There will be no pre-fixed quotas. miraa will be operative on hundred percent of the available seats for education or employment. Suppose there is a 100-mark scale for entry to a college/organisation. These 100 marks can be distributed amongst entrance test, interview, and academic performance as per the wishes of the institution in question. First and foremost, all candidates would be ranked on this hundred mark scale, depending on their performance in the entrance test, interview etc. Then miraa would be applied and each candidate irrespective of their caste can potentially benefit from it, due to the different indices, which make up the system.
The maximum points a person can get under miraa are 30 and the minimum is 0. Now the candidate's miraa subscore is added to the score s/he achieved in the admission process described above. This will be the total score. The candidates whose total score clears the cut-off for a particular subject/job will then be offered the position. (see boxes on facing page)
Hence, this system does take into account both the qualification of the individual as well as the demands of social and economic justice. Unlike the quota/percentage system which confines the social justice mechanism only to a fraction of the available vacancies, miraa brings each and every seat under the ambit of social and economic justice.
This proposal doesn't take into account the religion of the applicant, as it is based upon the realisation the ubiquitous nature of the institution of caste in Indian society. Hence, the members of marginalised and disempowered communities across the religious spectrum will get due benefits.
For example, a Kidwai or Raza Muslim will not be awarded any points under caste index while an Ansari or a Salmani will get points in accordance with obc status. The same logic applies to Christians and others as well. I request the reader to think, consider and react to miraa.
The writer teaches at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
May 13 , 2006
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Umesh Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, MD 20740

1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

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