http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4998274.stm
Last Updated: Saturday, 20 May 2006, 02:19 GMT 03:19 UK
Furore reflects India's caste complexities
By Sanjoy Majumder
BBC News, Delhi
The proposal is bitterly opposed by students at top
universities
A plan to set aside places at some of India's best-known
professional colleges for low-caste Indians has bitterly divided the country.
Angry students at elite institutions across the country have
been taking to the streets in protest and doctors at major hospitals have gone
on strike to show solidarity.
Business leaders and teachers have joined the students in
decrying the move saying that it would lead to a drop in academic standards.
But the move also has the support of millions of low-caste
Indians who have faced years of social discrimination and are poorly
represented in leading professions.
In recent years, low-caste Hindus - who form a significant
percentage of the population - have also grown politically influential,
particularly in north India.
It is one reason that no political party - from left-leaning
socialist parties to centre-right parties such as the Congress and the BJP -
can afford to ignore them.
Historic divide
The caste system in India is centuries old and derives from
ancient Hinduism.
A complex social order which assigned people a place in the
social hierarchy based on their occupation, it has remained entrenched in
modern India - particularly in the villages.
Lower castes have become politically influential in
recent years
The very bottom of the social hierarchy is made up of Dalits
- once known as untouchables - while the top consists of Brahmins, once the
priestly class.
Despite laws banning discrimination, caste violence continues
to occur at regular intervals across many parts of the country.
It is also not limited to Hindus - the caste system exists
among other religious groups such as Muslims and Sikhs.
However, many argue that over the years their political
influence has grown leading to some emancipation.
One of India's leading sociologists, MN Srinivasan, has
argued that urbanisation and industrialisation have helped to break down caste
barriers to some extent as people moved out of traditional occupations.
More significantly, he argues, many Dalits and tribals were
represented in local government bodies after the constitution was amended to
set aside a percentage of seats for them.
Increasing quotas
At present, 22.5% of places in government-funded academic
institutions are set aside for Dalits and listed tribes who make up roughly 25%
of the population.
Social and economic divides still exist across India
Similar "quotas" exist in parliament, state assemblies and
local government bodies, as well as government jobs.
The government now wants to set aside an additional 27% of
college places for low-caste Indians known as Other Backward Castes (OBCs) as
well as some other disadvantaged groups.
The OBCs are placed higher than the Dalits in the caste
hierarchy although they do not enjoy any affirmative action benefits except in
government jobs - a move that was introduced in 1990 amid violent protests.
But the move has invited a backlash from many who say it will
only lead to a lowering of standards at the institutes.
Those opposed to extending them benefits say that the system
only benefits those members of the lower castes who are already economically
independent or socially powerful.
Sociologist Dipankar Gupta believes the concept of caste has
outlived its utility in modern India.
"For the most part, reservations have become a kind of holy
cow in public circles.
"Nobody dare question its relevance, and, what is worse, many
are more than willing to extend reservations to cover other groups by arguing
that they had been victims of some kind of historic injustice," he says.
Cultural capital
But others argue that poverty is not the only issue.
"You must take into account social and cultural deprivation,"
says political analyst Yogendra Yadav.
Many have been left out of India's economic development
"Along with economic capital, the absence of cultural capital
can make a huge difference to people's ability to compete," he adds.
The reason that the issue has taken such an emotive turn is
explained in part by the fact that admission into elite professional colleges
in India is highly sought and heavily competitive.
Less than 1% of the hundreds of thousands of Indians who
apply to get into the colleges every year are successful.
There are only seven Indian Institutes of Technologies, the
country's most prestigious engineering colleges, many of whose graduates have
flooded Silicon Valley and are leading the country's information technology
boom.
And there are a total of 242 medical colleges for the
country's billion-strong population.
One proposal being discussed is increasing the numbers so
that more people can get in.
But college administrators question whether that will be
possible without a massive increase in infrastructure, including quality
teaching staff.
Some like Yogendra Yadav believe the only way out is to also
bring poor upper-caste and other such groups under the affirmative action
umbrella.
Whatever the outcome, the debate illustrates the deep social
divisions that still exist in modern-day India.
While the country is one of the world's fastest growing
economies, it has still to win the battle over some of its deep-rooted problems.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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