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Whereas in India caste based discrimination is written in the law. Yes the so called "upper caste" are discriminated against at every step of their life. Be it
by zapdrive 4y ago
Whereas in India caste based discrimination is written in the law. Yes the so called "upper caste" are discriminated against at every step of their life. Be it college admissions or government jobs or getting elected, almost 50% seats are reserved for the "lower caste".
This was written in the law at the time of the formation of republic, as a temporary measure to uplift the lower castes. But no party in power has even talked about removing these even 75 years later, because you know.... Votes!!! It would be a political suicide for a party to undo these reservations.
Now I'm not against giving reservations to weaker sections of the society. But these must be based on economic status, not caste. There are many cases where even the third generation is taking benefits. I personally know a few where the be grand father retired from a plush govt. job that he got under reservation, the father is currently in a top bureaucratic job and the kids are getting reservation seats in medical college admissions. This makes 0 sense. This is only giving rise to more division among caste lines as the upper caste feel like being discriminated against.
- emodendroket 4y agoAgree with it or don't but this is obviously a measure intended to redress an extreme historical imbalance up until it was instituted.
- zapdrive 4y agoRead my comment again. I agree it was necessary at some point. But not anymore. Does the third generation need to take these benefits? Do you think the children of a Deputy Commissioner, or an MLA are being discriminated against? They are the most privileged already with best educational opportunities. Why do they need reservation for college admission?
- roguecoder 4y agoIn the absence of a system to correct for historical and ongoing injustice, you get the English system where 73% of all government jobs are held by people with the generational wealth to attend elite high schools (who are otherwise only 7% of the population). And then you end up with the horrible mess of class-anxious governance by mediocre-but-born-rich folks that is the current disaster England is living through. I'm not sure why people would aspire to that.
- unmole 4y agoThe reservation system needs tweaking and excluding privileged people from taking advantage would be a good start. There's already the creamy-layer criteria for OBC reservation, the same can be applied for all categories. The fact that a small minority is able to corner the benefits of reservation when the overwhelming majority is left out is not a pursuasive argument that reservations are no longer necessary.
- russelldjimmy 4y agoI’m not sure why you are getting downvoted for expressing the issue in clear terms. This is a real issue in India.
- junofan 4y agoAny perceived critique of affirmative action will rustle jimmies. Especially one suggesting affirmative action may be motivated by voter demographics rather than by morality, in spite of the intense focus on voter files in US politics.
- fooker 4y agoThis is the main reason you all see a large number of Indians overseas.
- unmole 4y agoThe reason you see a large number of Indians overseas is because we are literally the most populous nation on earth.
- roguecoder 4y agoThe real question is why even with those techniques so few of the high-paying high-ranked jobs are held by historically-marginalized people, not why the country is using the extremely effective tool of affirmative action to mitigate that grave injustice. (Citations for the efficacy of affirmative action: https://arstechnica.com/science/2012/02/granting-women-a-competitive-advantage-wont-destroy-society/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2012/02/granting-women-a-com... Bonus! It also improves the collective outcomes.)