sunil@ut-ngp.UUCP (Sunil Trivedi) (04/25/85)
{From Raghunath Ramakrishnan}
>> I disagree with the premise that anything can justify a policy which
>>differentiates between individuals on the basis of birth.
{From Sri Rajeev}
>I could not agree with you more: I believe strongly in equality. Unfortunately,
>we have such a "policy" active in India that discriminates by birth:
>the caste system. I find it reprehensible, but it is a fact of life, and
>it has to be dealt with. That is why I support reservation, which
>mitigates some of the ill-effects of caste prejudices.
>From the point of view of objective justice it is unfair, because the
>lower castes are still oppressed. How many upper-caste people would trade
>in their upper-castehood to gain (along with the stigma) the reservation
>benefits of lower-castehood? Not many, I'm sure.
Looking back on my birth certificate, I see that my caste is clearly marked.
What if no cast references were included on any document? Would that retard
the caste system? The upper castes members may publically state that they
are against the caste system, but how many would "give up" their caste names
and the status that go with them? Since the upper castes would be reluctant,
then the lower castes should be encouraged to "become upper castes." This
could be accomplished by not only adopting surnames of the upper castes but
by also calling themselves members of those castes. Maybe special schools,
like those set up for preparing for IIT entrance exams, could be set up to
help these "new upper caste members" adjust to their new castes by giving
them knowledge of the traditions of the castes. As the "original upper castes"
try to scrutinize the "newcomers", the schools could teach them how to best
support their new caste status in front of others. As conversion to Islam
and Christianity helped many lower caste members to "rise" socially, perhaps
"conversion" to a higher caste would be an excellent alternative to those
still trapped in the Hindu caste system.
>If there were no caste system, there would be no need for reservations:
>therefore it is caste that is wrong, not reservation.
The above procedure would seemingly reduce the power of the caste system as
it would encourage the disappearance of the lower castes and the swelling
of the upper castes, which in turn would cause a leaning towards a criterion
based on economic factors rather than social factors.
{From Bapa Rao}
> Hmm.. I wonder about all that stuff about Harijan professionals being
> incompetent, licensed to kill, and so on. I find it mighty suspicious that
> it is invariably the upper caste people, who resent the new "privileged"
> status of the Harijan, that say such things.
If the upper-castes want to be distinct from the "new upper-casters",
then I guess they could "acquire" lower-caste status and "reap the
benefits" that the lower-castes are getting.
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