http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1130507
Sunday, October 28, 2007 11:54:00 PM Tackling prejudice We find it difficult to accept that we discriminate against certain classes and castes in today's India because we believe that we have moved away from the old tyrannies of an unfair and unjust tradition. But of course this is not true — prejudice and discrimination continue to exist and thrive, even among the educated sections of society. A study carried out by the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies and an American Ivy League academy, Prince University, has tried to demonstrate how such discrimination works in the job market. The study has found that an upper caste applicant is called for an interview more often than a Dalit or a Muslim with similar educational qualifications. This does not in any way take away from the determination and sincerity of purpose to promote equality of opportunity as enshrined in the Constitution. It only goes to show that the climb is still steep before we can arrive at a level playing field for all irrespective of caste and creed. The study also reaffirms what has been palpable since the 1991 economic reforms. The upper class castes which had dominated the government services have moved to greener pastures in the booming private sector, and those below in the undeclared social hierarchy like Dalits are looking to get placed in the government. It has been noted that this is also because of the existence of quotas for Dalits in government services. In a growing free market economy, many such prejudices will probably become impractical as employment grows. Yet, marginalised sections should not have to wait for a long time for their turn to come. Most advocates of social justice harp on reservations in the government as well as in the private sector to right the existing wrong. But would such an approach work or perpetuate old divisions? The debate still goes on, as seen in the recent controversies on reservations in the private sector and in educational institutions. An enlightened way out of the problem is to adopt the notion of diversity in the work force. It has been seen that the principle of diversity is a better strategy than that of the quotas. The principle of diversity is a recognition that people from different backgrounds add to the quality and strength of a work force. Here is where the country's captains of industry can contribute more than officially-administered quotas. The latter have their place, but can only help so far — indeed, they could create a culture of entitlement which is difficult to shed. The idea should be to help all marginalised sections of society — this is a task in which all, the government and the private sector, have to participate if discrimination has to be removed. -- Subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a BLANK email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
