06-01-2006, 04:22 AM
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Quota move brings out caste divide in young Indians
By Kamil Zaheer
Modern India likes to boast about its emergence on the world stage and its booming information and pharmaceutical sectors, but the country is still grappling with the ancient Hindu caste system which divides its people
Medical student Karen Puri has abandoned his studies for the past two weeks to sit on a dirty carpet in the Indian capitalâs searing summer heat
Three years ago the upper caste student failed the tough admission test for medical school, passed over in favour of lower caste candidates who scored less marks. A year of gruelling studies later â no parties, no movies, no social life â he finally won a place at a medical college in New Delhi.
But Puriâs frustration turned to anger last month when the government announced a plan to more than double seats for lower caste candidates in government-funded colleges and universities.
âInstead of promoting merit, this government is promoting caste. That is what makes us mad,â said the 21-year-old Puri. Behind him, a large banner reads boldly: âWe want democracy, donât want quota-cracyâ.
The government says it will increase the number of reserved places for lower caste and tribal students in universities, medical colleges, engineering institutes and management colleges from 22.5 percent to 49.5 percent in 2007.
This has sparked widespread outrage among upper-caste students and professionals, particularly doctors, who have launched weeks of nationwide protest and hunger strikes.
In 1990, a similar move to increase quotas in government jobs also led to outrage, and dozens of upper-caste students burnt themselves to death.
Modern India likes to boast about its emergence on the world stage and its booming information and pharmaceutical sectors, but the country is still grappling with the ancient Hindu caste system which divides its people and causes violence.
Reservations for lower castes were introduced after independence from Britain in 1947 in an attempt to address the problem.
The first main beneficiaries were the Dalits, who used to be known as untouchables, who sit at the bottom of the social scale and many traditionally worked as sweepers or cleaners. But the government now wants to extend education quotas to what is known as the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) who might be anything from small farmers and minor landowners to boatmen, cotton weavers and milkmen.
âQuota helpsâ says beneficiaries: Supporters of the quota system say it is needed to help reverse centuries of discrimination. Without a helping hand, the lower castes could never compete. âHad it not been for the quota system, I would never have got a seat in a reputed medical institution,â said Narendra Kumar Verma, a 31-year-old doctor from the Kurmi lower caste community. Verma benefitted from a state-level quota for OBCs and went on to become a doctor in the radio-therapy unit at a state-run hospital in the northern city of Lucknow.
All his life he says he has faced discrimination from upper-caste teachers and students because he came through the quota system.
âThe anti-reservationists often run down people like me...but I am as good any anyone who may have scored higher marks,â Verma, a son of a farmer, said as he moved in a crowded outpatient ward.
But are quotas working and are more needed? Not according to many academics and social scientists.
Research carried out by the elite Indian Institute of Technology schools showed half the seats for tribal and Dalit students remain empty as not enough of them qualify for the minimum admission standards.
It also revealed one in four do not complete their degrees, unable to cope with the exacting curriculum.
The problem, it implies, lies in inadequate primary and secondary schooling which fails to give enough oppportunity to the poor â an issue much tougher and more expensive to address than slapping on quotas on elite higher education institutes. Pratap Bhanu Mehta was one of two members of Prime Minister Manmohan Singhâs National Knowledge Commission who resigned this month in protest at the quota plan.
âAs a society, we focus on reservations largely because it is a way of avoiding doing things that really create access,â he wrote in a letter to Singh, saying the government cared more about âtokenismâ than social justice. reuters
Quota move brings out caste divide in young Indians
By Kamil Zaheer
Modern India likes to boast about its emergence on the world stage and its booming information and pharmaceutical sectors, but the country is still grappling with the ancient Hindu caste system which divides its people
Medical student Karen Puri has abandoned his studies for the past two weeks to sit on a dirty carpet in the Indian capitalâs searing summer heat
Three years ago the upper caste student failed the tough admission test for medical school, passed over in favour of lower caste candidates who scored less marks. A year of gruelling studies later â no parties, no movies, no social life â he finally won a place at a medical college in New Delhi.
But Puriâs frustration turned to anger last month when the government announced a plan to more than double seats for lower caste candidates in government-funded colleges and universities.
âInstead of promoting merit, this government is promoting caste. That is what makes us mad,â said the 21-year-old Puri. Behind him, a large banner reads boldly: âWe want democracy, donât want quota-cracyâ.
The government says it will increase the number of reserved places for lower caste and tribal students in universities, medical colleges, engineering institutes and management colleges from 22.5 percent to 49.5 percent in 2007.
This has sparked widespread outrage among upper-caste students and professionals, particularly doctors, who have launched weeks of nationwide protest and hunger strikes.
In 1990, a similar move to increase quotas in government jobs also led to outrage, and dozens of upper-caste students burnt themselves to death.
Modern India likes to boast about its emergence on the world stage and its booming information and pharmaceutical sectors, but the country is still grappling with the ancient Hindu caste system which divides its people and causes violence.
Reservations for lower castes were introduced after independence from Britain in 1947 in an attempt to address the problem.
The first main beneficiaries were the Dalits, who used to be known as untouchables, who sit at the bottom of the social scale and many traditionally worked as sweepers or cleaners. But the government now wants to extend education quotas to what is known as the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) who might be anything from small farmers and minor landowners to boatmen, cotton weavers and milkmen.
âQuota helpsâ says beneficiaries: Supporters of the quota system say it is needed to help reverse centuries of discrimination. Without a helping hand, the lower castes could never compete. âHad it not been for the quota system, I would never have got a seat in a reputed medical institution,â said Narendra Kumar Verma, a 31-year-old doctor from the Kurmi lower caste community. Verma benefitted from a state-level quota for OBCs and went on to become a doctor in the radio-therapy unit at a state-run hospital in the northern city of Lucknow.
All his life he says he has faced discrimination from upper-caste teachers and students because he came through the quota system.
âThe anti-reservationists often run down people like me...but I am as good any anyone who may have scored higher marks,â Verma, a son of a farmer, said as he moved in a crowded outpatient ward.
But are quotas working and are more needed? Not according to many academics and social scientists.
Research carried out by the elite Indian Institute of Technology schools showed half the seats for tribal and Dalit students remain empty as not enough of them qualify for the minimum admission standards.
It also revealed one in four do not complete their degrees, unable to cope with the exacting curriculum.
The problem, it implies, lies in inadequate primary and secondary schooling which fails to give enough oppportunity to the poor â an issue much tougher and more expensive to address than slapping on quotas on elite higher education institutes. Pratap Bhanu Mehta was one of two members of Prime Minister Manmohan Singhâs National Knowledge Commission who resigned this month in protest at the quota plan.
âAs a society, we focus on reservations largely because it is a way of avoiding doing things that really create access,â he wrote in a letter to Singh, saying the government cared more about âtokenismâ than social justice. reuters