October 21, 2005
It was meant to herald a digital revolution. But in India, they also put
it to a
different use. The computer is the new 'caste-ing couch' in some
government departments. Sanjay Nandan, an IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, posted
as an observer for the Bihar assembly polls, has reportedly claimed that
Narendra Modi's state has created an excellent 'caste system' — that is, a
software to sort out officers on the basis of their caste. And if there
are more officers like Mr Nandan around (he was reportedly shunted out of
Bihar by the EC for refusing to have Dalits and other members of 'reserved
categories' as part of his staff), the computer is probably being used as a
modern vehicle for propagating age-old prejudices.
The benefits of computer literacy are undeniably many, and can transform
the fortunes of people even in the remotest areas of the country. Yet, will
it really be of
much help in ridding society of its superstitions and its
biases? After all, if anything, the neighbourhood palmist is being
replaced by the numerous online horoscope sites on the internet.
Perhaps what the Union Public Services Commission needs is a psychological
test, set, of course, to a software, that can weed out the likes of Mr
Nandan before they are selected to the elite IAS to let loose their
half-baked notions on the unsuspecting public.
Ctrl+Alt-Dalit
