Q. Hasn't the reservation policy strengthened caste hierarchy instead of promoting social equality?from a feature called 'prabhu chawla answers' in india today. you might ask: how would reservations based on economic criteria weaken caste hierarchy? let's see what reservations based on economic criteria would achieve : if 100% of seats in all higher educational institutions are reserved for the poor, 90% of the students would be dalits, muslims and obcs. yes, that'd definitely weaken caste hierarchy.
A. I agree with you. Reservations based on caste have strengthened caste hierarchy because it has benefited the rich among these castes while the poor have been left out. Reservation should be done only on the basis of economic criteria and not on caste.
what's wrong with that conclusion? if poverty is what's stopping all these 'dalits, muslims and obcs' from getting into higher education, where's the need to weaken caste hierarchy anyway? it doesn't seem to exist, in the first place, because its effect on performance is zero. chawla's right.
excellent solution to a non-existent problem, right?
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13 comments:
Reservations are free meals. Free meals attract the undeserving anyways, add unskillful. Reservations: An incentive to remain backward.
People pay tax that runs the country run. Taxpayer money is not paid to run charities to cater to incompetence under the guise of reservations.
Do rich OBCs kids automatically become good at studies? Or do they still hanker for reservations to get into colleges?
Family's good financial status was supposed to help in their kids becoming more 'intelligent' right?
Don't be surprised if that is not the case. Merely proves that irrespective of money it is inherent ability and inclination that makes people good at what they do.
The rest will use their caste to get free meals :) :)
politically incorrect,
you're not just politically incorrect.
Excellent post "Kufr". Many of the uppercaste people just dont understand how evil and oppressive caste structure can be and that the society would have to pay a price for atleast some time to combat this evil.
I love you posts on the stupid bigoted T seperatism. Post more on it.
kiran,
your appreciation means a lot..because it sometimes gets very lonelt out here. thank you very much.
Not just on this post "Kufr". It was a great joy reading your posts as this is the first time I have met on net who shares similiar set of ethics to judge on important issues facing us.
More specifically this is the first time I have met an Andhra blogger who 1) takes a rational approach to markets 2)takes up an uncompromising stance against caste system 3) does not appear to be a closeted right wing Hindu communalist 4)does not mince words in pointing out the utter stupidity and sheer bigotry that chara cterizes Telangana seperatism.
I met many who agree to some of the points above but not all.
how are you doing sir?
your appreciation means a lot..because it sometimes gets very lonelt out here.
I think a lot of people in the blogosphere appreciate your efforts so you really shouldn't feel lonely. In fact, just today Abi referred to your posts about choice offered by private schools and caste.
I have been keenly following your series of posts on caste and even though I don't agree with the tone of a few of your posts and also some arguments in a few of them, they do provoke me to think about the issues involved and research some more. So please don't be discouraged by some prejudiced commenters and instead keep making them uncomfortable by uncovering more of the ills and consequence of this oppressive hierarchical structure afflicting our society.
kiran,
thanks, again.
chetan,
thank you very much..about the tone: it's the subject that decides the tone actually..perhaps, we'll discuss it at greater length some other day.
And a point to note is that if it is caste hierarchy that is preventing those from lower castes from access to jobs etc. then the whole logic of the "creamy layer" falls apart.
Now I happen to regard quotas with some - okay, I'll be honest, a lot of - suspicion. But if we are to use this policy, what is the logic of excluding the "creamy layer"? The whole logic of the quota system like the affirmative action is that it is a "trickle down" policy: it is designed to benefit the relatively well-off among the groups which are targeted. The hope is that over time, the benefits will also reach others. Excluding the very people who can benefit from it seems idiotic.
Andre Beteille, in the lecture I have already alluded to in another comment, pointed that votaries of affirmative action in the US were very clear - right from the outset - that the beneficiaries were going to be the relatively better-off blacks (or rather, African-Americans to use the latest terminology).
Btw, can someone enlighten me as to where this curious phrase "creamy layer" originated from? Is it our collective tribute to "fair skin"?
'Creamy layer' possibly comes from the layer on top of heated milk:
http://www.thehindu.com/seta/2008/04/03/stories/2008040350131800.htm
The layer stays when milk is converted to yogurt and gives more butter when churned in to butter milk. Children seem to like this part and often mothers ( in villages)have to prevent them from eating it.
From http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/24/stories/2006102401041300.htm
"The creamy layer concept was first introduced by the Supreme Court in the Mandal judgment delivered in November 1992 to indicate an elite group among the Other Backward Classes. The court asked the government to exclude the `creamy layer' from the purview of quotas to ensure that only the neediest among the OBCs benefited by reservation."
I just came across an EPW article through this post:
http://www.indiadevelopmentblog.com/2008/04/epw-article-indias-common-people-who.html
in India Development blog. I am still reading the EPW article and it seems to me that it may be of interest to some of the readers of this blog.
Hi Kufr,
Good to see some one supporting the reservation.
Do you know what this YFE is ?
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