Affirmative action in India is multi-fold. One, there is punishment for insult/discrimination based on caste (in public view, as per law). The law is very powerful, feared and sometimes misused. Two, there is a quota system in education and jobs, for some castes in the society. Three, once in a job that comes under affirmative action category, there is further affirmative action to move the person up through the ranks.
Now, the resentments on this affirmative action (Ambedkar, who is highlighted in the passage, originally wrote that the AA will be for a period of 5 years, but has since been used as a vote bank tool) are plenty and some, IMV, are justified.
One is that the current and previous generations, have seen very limited caste discriminations. Sure, events happen in a country as big and varied as India, but generally, caste based discriminations have been subdued, and mostly pushed back to silent and invisible forms (social interactions, marriages, friendships, etc). The current and previous generation kids, have hardly seen any caste based discrimination due to various reasons. It also helps that a section of political leaders are from the backward and other castes.
What this brings about is the feeling of unfair punishment. A kid who is in high school now, who has friends from all walks of life, of many castes and religions (In my schooling, with high school ending in 2003, I never once bothered about caste and religion, as it was never a point of discussion) will write an exam for bagging a seat in a good college or university. Then he will discover, that the same friend who has been with him for all these years, has a similar lifestyle as him, goes everywhere he goes, does everything he does, is eligible for a seat with a lower cut-off score, buoyed by additional mandatory allotment of seats.
From the perspective of the kid, he works hard and sincerely, only to be snubbed because his forefathers have insulted some castes in their days.
What would you tell him?
Two, the benefits of AA have not percolated throughout the society. Those who have benefitted from the initial steps, have risen to wealth and power, and continue to get the benefits, while those who really need help, often do not get it.
Also, after 200 years of British occupation, India was left penniless. Couple that with decades of socialist policies, wealth generation was low and slow. This results in a huge section of population being poor. And this includes all castes and creeds.
I often see negative and insulting remarks on Brahmins (considered the "highest" caste), and often they are blamed for all evils of caste discrimination (whereas, discrimination has been in the society from all sections and even within castes). However, presently, a majority of brahmins are poor or middle class.
In this scenario, the only escape those who do not belong to the AA castes, is to move abroad in search of better opportunities.
All this caste based drama in SV and elsewhere is the result of that feeling of unfair punishment.
Now, the resentments on this affirmative action (Ambedkar, who is highlighted in the passage, originally wrote that the AA will be for a period of 5 years, but has since been used as a vote bank tool) are plenty and some, IMV, are justified.
One is that the current and previous generations, have seen very limited caste discriminations. Sure, events happen in a country as big and varied as India, but generally, caste based discriminations have been subdued, and mostly pushed back to silent and invisible forms (social interactions, marriages, friendships, etc). The current and previous generation kids, have hardly seen any caste based discrimination due to various reasons. It also helps that a section of political leaders are from the backward and other castes.
What this brings about is the feeling of unfair punishment. A kid who is in high school now, who has friends from all walks of life, of many castes and religions (In my schooling, with high school ending in 2003, I never once bothered about caste and religion, as it was never a point of discussion) will write an exam for bagging a seat in a good college or university. Then he will discover, that the same friend who has been with him for all these years, has a similar lifestyle as him, goes everywhere he goes, does everything he does, is eligible for a seat with a lower cut-off score, buoyed by additional mandatory allotment of seats.
From the perspective of the kid, he works hard and sincerely, only to be snubbed because his forefathers have insulted some castes in their days.
What would you tell him?
Two, the benefits of AA have not percolated throughout the society. Those who have benefitted from the initial steps, have risen to wealth and power, and continue to get the benefits, while those who really need help, often do not get it.
Also, after 200 years of British occupation, India was left penniless. Couple that with decades of socialist policies, wealth generation was low and slow. This results in a huge section of population being poor. And this includes all castes and creeds.
I often see negative and insulting remarks on Brahmins (considered the "highest" caste), and often they are blamed for all evils of caste discrimination (whereas, discrimination has been in the society from all sections and even within castes). However, presently, a majority of brahmins are poor or middle class.
In this scenario, the only escape those who do not belong to the AA castes, is to move abroad in search of better opportunities.
All this caste based drama in SV and elsewhere is the result of that feeling of unfair punishment.