Caste and affirmative action in India
Andy Mukherjee:
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opened a Pandora's box last week by asking businesses to "voluntarily" commit to greater diversity in their workforce.
The captains of industry were spooked, seeing in the apparently gentle appeal a precursor to pernicious caste-based reservations of jobs.
The fear isn't irrational. Singh's coalition government, upon coming to power in May 2004, stated clearly in its work program that it "is very sensitive to the issue of affirmative action, including reservations, in the private sector."
The reason Indian industry hasn't yet been slapped with state-mandated job quotas is that such a move, as the attorney general has advised the government, is legally untenable.
"India Inc. will seek judicial intervention if the government forces it to offer jobs based on caste and not on merit," the Economic Times, an Indian daily newspaper, reported April 21, citing corporate sources it didn't name.
A constitutional amendment, which would take care of the legal challenge, will need the support of two-thirds of parliament; Singh's Congress Party may not be able to carry the change without roping in the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition grouping that refuses to back the proposal.
So the government's strategy appears to be to somehow hoodwink the private sector into self-imposing a caste-based quota regime by thrusting on it a completely distorted interpretation of affirmative action in the U.S.
The caste system is India's 3,000-year-old curse.
In its purest form, it categorized all Hindus, according to their family occupation, into four groups: priests, warriors, merchants and artisans/peasants. The Brahmins - or the priests - were at the apex of the pyramid, while menial laborers and those born in hunting-gathering tribal communities were, in the eyes of the four main castes, simply "untouchables."
In the 1930s, Mahatma Gandhi fought this brutal social, economic and cultural ostracism of a large section of society. In 1950, two years after Gandhi's death, the writers of independent India's Constitution adopted a policy of reserving jobs in the government and seats in state-funded educational institutes for the "scheduled castes and tribes," as the people marginalized by the caste system were then known.
The idea was to integrate them with the mainstream in 10 years. Since then, the quotas, set at 22.5 percent, have been renewed every 10 years. In 1990, amid violent nationwide protests, a further 27 percent of government jobs were reserved, this time for the artisan-peasant communities, which were recognized as "other backward castes."
The government now has a twofold agenda.
On the one hand, it wants to extend the 22.5 percent quota for the scheduled castes to the private sector, and, on the other, it wants the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management and all federally funded universities to retain 27 percent of seats - over and above their present 22.5 percent quotas - for the other backward castes.
It's undeniable that more people must benefit from India's economic growth. The danger lies in using caste to make growth more inclusive. A worse folly is for politicians to pretend that caste-based quotas would encourage diversity.
"I urge you to assess at a firm level the diversity in your employee profile and commit yourself voluntarily to making it more broad-based and representative," Singh told businessmen at a conference in New Delhi on April 18.
Caste-based quotas are the antithesis of affirmative action.
India has to obliterate caste-based identities from the national consciousness. It shouldn't be the country's goal to make lower-caste Hindus more prosperous while they continue to be identified as members of a distinct group.
Indian businessmen oppose quotas on the grounds that introducing factors other than "merit" in the hiring process will hurt their competitiveness just when they are beginning to make a mark on a global scale. Those who support reservations say concerns about the dilution of quality are overstated.
They cite the example of the Indian Institutes of Technology, which are among the world's most exclusive engineering schools and yet have lived with 22.5 percent reservation without damage to their credibility.
The point there is that the IITs have protected their standing with the help of a tailor-made quota system. They have the flexibility of not filling reserved seats if suitable candidates aren't available even after lowering the entry barrier and providing extra coaching to the students. This has an implicit cost, which is borne by the taxpayer.
In the private-sector labor market, this cost will be carried by investors and show up as erosion of national competitiveness. Even if the process is voluntary, as it is in the U.S., companies are bound to get embroiled in expensive litigation.
The price may still be worth paying for the sake of putting a long-neglected section of society on a faster track to a dignified life.
A much bigger worry is that once employers start discriminating, Indians will, instead of forgetting about their own and their coworkers' castes, become more conscious of it, and this awareness will reinforce old prejudices.
The curse of caste will live on.
India and China again
'Backward caste' deal for students fires Indian middle class
No way! India Inc opposes quotas
‘CII is against mandatory job quotas’
We need merit-based competence to survive in competitive markets’
Turning point in India's caste war
posted by Adam Lawson @ 10:03 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Man is a social animal . And he forms communities to work with , marry ,socialise .
In the pre-agricultural economy of forest ,communities are tribes .
In agricultural economies of village, communities are the traditional castes (like you see in India) . Favourable conditions in agricuture through history made castes a widely practiced phenomenon in the subcontinent . Even religious conversion has failed to remove the caste system .Caste clearly follows a different dynamic which has nothing to do with religion .
In industrial economies of city based, communities are a new “cosmopolitan caste”.
These three kinds of economies 1) tribal ,2) village(traditional caste) and 3)city (cosmopolitan caste) have fashioned the modern nation as it exists today .Most modern nations are have come into existence during the Industrial revolution .
Modern nations all over the world have had to grapple with the problem of how to assimilate those left behind in the forests and villages in pre-agricultural or agricultural economies . In India due to poor economy growth the problems are vastly more acute .
We cannot wish away the existence of these pre-agricultural tribes or agricutural castes and exclude them from our industrial cosmopolitan caste.
Forest covers are disappearing. The very habitat of the tribal in endangered .
And its tough to compete with the developed countries Industrial technology based agriculture with India’s traditional pre-industrial agriculture . Take for example today 57 of the Indian population is engaged in non- machine aided agrarian activities, this translates into an Indian food worker producing enough food for himself and a surplus for another Indian.We are still importing food from time to time. Contrast this to US, where less than two percent of American population is engaged in machine aided agriculture or related activities. An American farmer produces enough food for 50 people including himself, with even more left over for export. Therefore the American farmer is very productive and very rich by comparison.
Agriculture needs water. Water table is receding in India. Today 70 per cent of irrigation needs and 80 per cent of domestic water supplies in India are met through pumping up groundwater through tube wells. But this massively deployed private response to public failure can only be temporary. Water tables are plummeting and aquifers are running dry. Estimates show that 15 per cent of aquifers are already critical and the number is projected to rise to 60 per cent in just twenty years .
For more read http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/apr/28water.htm
With each passing generation inherits ,the share of the agricultural land of each subsequent generation becomes less and less . When each person has a very small plot of land you cannot have advantages of scale .
Traditional means of incomes are drying up in forests and villages .
Farmers have been commiting suicide . Naxalites philosophies are attracting a greater following in some jungles. Situation is grim . There remains a large part of population simply unequipped with skill set required to compete in the industrial/service world . We have a tragedy of enormous proportions staring in our face .
Castes are a form of social stratification from the agriculture economy era . Some castes have been able to make the shift to industrial economy to become a member of the new cosmopolitan caste to a greater extent than others .
Castes in India are endogamous . Majority of indians still marry within their castes .The sense of traditional caste is weak for the new cosmopolitan castes in urban Indians as they work in industries in these cities .In their case a more cosmopolitan anglacised sense of community has replaced the pre-industrial traditional caste system. This is simply the industrial version of the traditional caste system .Members of this new cosmopolitan caste also practice endogamy . They marry their own kind . And prefer to work ,live and socialise with their own kind . It is an unacknowledged caste in the sense they see themselves above the caste system . “Caste no bar” if you belong to this cosmopolitan caste . Looking through the matrimonial advertisements in news papers or surf through matrimonial sites on the web . You will see right away that those who consider themselves diehard cosmopolitan is miniscule .Most people still retain that weak link to the traditional caste system when it comes to important decisions like marriage .
What needs to be kept in mind that people prefer to work with their own castes . For example for his medical needs someone from the cosmopolitan caste is not likely to see a general practioner who has poor english skills. In the same way someone who is a say from a tribal village is unlikely to be comfortable with a general practioner who is a english speaking westernised dandy. Where possible people go to physicians who they consider as one of their own, some one who speak their language and understand their lifestyle .
You see this same division in private sector as well. If you are corporate entity and your company has predominantly members from the Cosmopolitan caste you are likely to reject someone who does not seem to reflect your cosmopolitan culture,especially for the important high profile,high visibilty appointments . Companies call this “cultural fit”.
Will Azimbhai Premji announce that the next owner of Wipro will not be his son? Will he make that decision on merit ? Why did Ratan Tata succeed Bharat Ratna JRD Tata ? Was he the most accomplished person in the Tata empire ? So you see the cosmopolitan caste reserves the topmost creamy posts to one of their own in a very similar way like the traditional caste system .These posts are very much “Reserved” . If the english speaking members of the cosmopolitan caste fails entrance exams , group discussion, interviews all of which are often conducted in English , then there are always management quotas ,governing body quotas ,NRI quotas ,paid seats within India or paid seats abroad all of which can be accessed with money or influence .
Owners or management recruiters from each caste almost always recruit people from their own castes .Some one of their own kind . If you do not have enough members of your own caste as recruiters whether it is government or private jobs the entry points into the industrial economy drastically come down. Each caste has its ‘Creamy’ layer .Some castes have very thick layers of cream . Some castes have a thinner layer compared to their size. Thick or thin…. this creamy layer is its entry point into the industrial world .
This problem is by no means peculiar to India .What is different is the sheer magnitude of the problem .
Governments all over the world use “affirmative action” to remedy this serious problem.
Reservations and quotas are a form of Affirmative action.
What is affirmative action ?
Affirmative action is a policy or a program aimed at increasing the representation of members of groups that have traditionally been discriminated against. This typically focuses on education,employment, government contracts ,health care or social welfare.
Just look at how it is practiced in the following countries :
American President Lyndon Johnson said "You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line in a race and then say, 'you are free to compete with all the others', and still justly believe that you have been completely fair."
In USA : American President Lyndon Johnson brought in affirmative action by an “excecutive order” . The order aims "to correct the effects of past and present discrimination".
The order specifically requires certain organizations accepting federal funds to take affirmative action to increase employment of members of preferred racial or ethnic groups and women. Any organization with fifty or more employees and an aggregate revenue exceeding $50,000 from a single federal contract during a twelve month period must have a written affirmative action plan. This plan must include goals and timetables for achieving full utilization of women and members of racial minorities, in quotas based on an analysis of the current workforce compared to the availability in the general labor pool of women and members of racial minorities.
Regarding Native Americans there are today more than 563 federally recognized tribal governments in the United States. The United States recognizes the right of these tribes to self-government and supports their tribal sovereignty and self-determination. These tribes possess the right to form their own government, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal), to tax, to establish membership, to license and regulate activities, to zone and to exclude persons from tribal territories. The recognition confers benefits, including the right to label arts and crafts as Native American and they can apply for grants that are specifically reserved for Native Americans.
In Japan : there is an informal policy to provide employment and long term welfare (which is usually not available to general public) to Burakumin (untouchables).
In Brazil :Brazilian Universities (State or Federal) have created systems of preferred admissions (quotas) for racial minorities (blacks and native Brazilians), the poor and the handicapped. There are also quotas for the disabled in the civil public services.
In Malaysia :there are laws called bumiputra laws which are a form of affirmative action meant to provide more opportunity for the majority ethnic Malay population versus the historical financial dominance of the Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indian populations.
In New Zealand :individuals of Maori or other Polynesian descent are often afforded preferential access to university courses, and scholarships.
In South Africa : there is a the Employment Equity Act aims to promote and achieve equity in the workplace, by encouraging equal opportunity amongst all workers. It includes efforts to identify reasons for inequalities and change the employment rates of previously underrepresented groups for a more equitable job market.
In UK: according to the Good Friday Agreement the law requires that the Police Service of Northern Ireland recruit equal numbers of Catholics and non Catholics.
In Indonesia: affirmative action programs give natives preference over Han Chinese who have immigrated into the country.
In Macedonia :minorities, most notably Albanians, are allocated quotas for access to state universities, as well as in civil public services.
In China : there is a quota for minority representatives in the National Assembly in Beijing, as well as other realms of government.
In the European Union: there is an antiracism directive which concerns the application of the principle of equality without regard to race or ethnic origin. This anti-racism directive, is to be implemented in national law of the member states.
In Germany :there are programs stating that if men and women had equal qualifications, women had to be preferred for a job. The anti-discrimination law which is yet to pass, aims at improving the protection of minorities.
Belgium government :proposed in January 2006 a measure that will make some job opportunities available exclusively to immigrants, disabled and elderly people.
Much of the developed world does believe that social justice can be done by reservation/quotas for those that are discriminated against.
Dalit issues of India have already been linked with human rights issue in International forum like the UN .
To repeat what past American President Lyndon Johnson said "You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line in a race and then say, 'you are free to compete with all the others', and still justly believe that you have been completely fair."
How do you justify what Indian Govt. is doing now with Lyndon Johnson's quote?
The recent reservation law is going to start the under-previleged in an unequal race without any preperation! The main aim for any govt. should be improvent of lifestyle and education for the people in question. Only then they will be able to perform at par with the mainstream people.
The affirmative action by this govt. or any govt. which rules India can not be justified by any theory. The politicians of India are from a diffrent caste (taking refence from your blog). Add to your list another class, a political class. It comes from the very ancient history where a kingdom has always been passed from one generation to the other! So will the kingdom of India be passed from Nehru to their legacies.
What fools we Indians are!
I dont know how can you justify the action of the indian government, when rural, poor deprieved class doesnt have the access to the so called affirmative actions. According to my personal opinion(i dont have any statistics to show) may be 5-20% people from the deprieved class can access the reservation system. I am from rural background. I have studied in a government kannada medium school in our village. I was the only person from our batch to get into engineering and today i am working ina IT firm. Some of my friends even used to walk 6 - 8 km to reach the school. Majority of them studied till 10th and some of them left the school in between. I dont know whether the reservation system has helped them in anyway. The reservation system has been misused by the people who are in cities who are not so under preveleged. There is no meaning if a person makes use of reservation facility in every step of his academic career and professional career and his son also takes advantage of the system. And regarding tatas, azim premzis or mallyas. They are business families. Ofcourse their son inheritate the top positions in the company. Its something like property owned by you inherited by your son. Why didnt you take the case of narayan murthy? This issue deals more with ownership than anything else. Its same in the other part of the world also.Take the case of Wallmart. Its a family business.
Dont try to apply the things everywhere, where it cant be applied.
Nice Posting Keep on update like this
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