The March 17th, 2009 Hindu reports three caste related news items. Each one is about demand for official recognition of a caste in expectation of government benefits. Each and every caste and perhaps even sub-castes have associations to promote their interests. Some even have political parties. This is the state of caste all over India, not just in Tamil Nadu. Even the Brahmins want to get in on the act. Of course they have an association (duh!) and a couple of years ago they demanded reservation. Recently one section of the Scheduled Castes (SC) in Tamil Nadu demanded and got a part of the SC reservation set aside for their sub-caste.
My point is not that the system of reservation is bad or that it must be eliminated. It is just that there must be a way to make sure the benefits reach the intended citizens without making caste lines even more indelible. We must develop a system that takes social conditions into account without perpetuating caste identity. A system that takes into account factors such as the occupation of parents, place of residence, family assets, and other variables that identify the broken people without having to identify their castes is by far superior to the present system that motivates a never ending subdivision of our populous into smaller and smaller caste units.
Alright, here are the links and a small summary of the three news items:
http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/17/stories/2009031752740300.htm
People belonging to the Kuruman community at Tirupattur and surrounding areas want Scheduled Tribe status. So, they held a dharna (protest) led by Mr.Sivalingam, president, Kuruman Pazhankudinar Makkal Sangam, an association of the Kuruman community.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/17/stories/2009031752980300.htm
The Irulas of Tamil nadu have decided to boycott the election to the Villupuram Lok Sabha constituency to protest non issuance of community certificates for long. They have an association called The Pazhangudi Irular Padhukappu Iyakkam.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/17/stories/2009031753480300.htm
Badagas of Udagamandalam demand that their community is included in the list of Scheduled Tribes. They have three associations, Tribal Solidarity, Nakkubetta Nala Sangam and Adivasi Makkal Awareness Forum. They want to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections if their demand is not met.
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2 comments:
Agreed. But the very edifice of so called "Indian Democracy" lies in this caste system.
You say,"We must develop a system that takes social conditions into account without perpetuating caste identity." Suggest how this can be accomplished.
Tribalism is encoded in our genes. Caste politics is just a manifestation of this. Only universal education and widespread incidence of cross marriages can rescue us from this.
One way to promote social justice without perpetuating caste is to base affirmative action on some combination of occupation, family educational history, and family income.
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