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Article: Caste in stone.
- Article from:
- Harvard International Review
- Article date:
- September 22, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Harvard International Relations Council, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Abstract:
In 1948, India laid the groundwork for the world's oldest system of affirmative action: a concerted effort to give preferences in employment and education to selected disadvantaged ethnic groups, with the hope that they would integrate into society at large. Today, a half-century later, affirmative action in the Indian context can be labelled only a colossal failure. The principal beneficiaries of the policies have been the elites among the lower castes; particularly in rural areas, discrimination against the lower castes continues unabated. Moreover, India's affirmative action policies have made caste identities more salient when the intent was to ...