Goanet meets in Goa: December 27, 12 noon and January 7, 4 pm (meeting point: Kala Academy canteen). See you there! ------------------------------
On Sat, 20 Dec 2003, Mervyn Lobo wrote: > Godfrey Gonsalves, > In my opinion, the caste system was created, and is > now maintained, only by people who will benefit from > the idea. > > Take two four year olds and plunk them in front of a > PC. They will attack the computer with equal glee, > absorbing info/knowledge like sponges. > > The idea that one of them was pre-ordained to become a > priest and the other chosen, by the grace of God, to > clean my toilet is a concept that only an Indian can > understand. > > Mervyn Hi Mervyn, The problem is that things are not so black-and-white any more. (Had this been so, it would have been easy to appeal to reason and logic.) Over-simplifications don't take the debate forward. Many in this part of the world still perceive that accidents of birth determined how much access -- to educational opportunity, jobs, computers... and general opportunities in life -- one gets. Efforts to change the situation through affirmative-action of sorts have not changed the situation for the vast majority. Needless to say, the caste system -- in diverse forms -- also thrives within Catholicism in Goa, despite not having ritual sanction. Of course, such realities are not something "only an Indian can understand". In the other countries of our adoption, these trends come up in the form of bias based on colour, race, religion, class, ethnicity, whatever. FN ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
