Markets and caste - 1

Well, the civil society maintains caste. The mainstream maintains caste. The communists maintain caste. All of them are very vocal about equality; a farce it is. Their voices keep on echoing and echoing but equality actually never reach to untouchables. The discrimination plays a paramount role in their lives despite all the sophisticated charade put on by others. Is it going to be different in case of markets? The free market system on which the capitalism the dominant economic system of the world rests. Is it going to be fare to the fifth stratum? Before we seek the answer to this trivial question let us see how the limited affirmative action has worked in India. This is an interference of the state in its own sector on behalf of the fifth stratum. This intervention underlines the point that the state has been the biggest ally of untouchables despite all its limitations. The implication of state policies in favor of untouchables has been somewhat defective but it has provided relief even if to a limited number of people.


The Constitution of India provides for 15 percent reservations of seats in Parliament and state legislative assemblies for people belonging to scheduled caste category or the fifth stratum for a period of 10 years, which is eventually extended at the end of every tenth year. These reservations have been extended in education and government jobs also which are also renewed every tenth year. These reservations are a matter of rightfully growing resentments in a righteous way among the righteous upper castes. They act nothing but in righteous way always. We know that such resentments are always justified in a dharmic way with a little bit of arguments thrown about meritocracy. The main aim is to maintain dharma. The traditional monopolists who talk about open competition and try to maintain their hegemony; suddenly they remember the virtue of open competition. These reservations were given for the wrongs done in the past. These facilities were actually provided as a compensation for the thousands of years of social, economic and educational deprivation of these people. These deprivations actually crippled these people social, politically, religiously, economically and mentally. The society actually goes on to deprive these people actively. These reservations were, initially, provided for ten years in the hope that within this time span the untouchables would catch up with the mainstream and become independent. However such grossly unrealistic hopes were belied because even one man cannot come up in ten years and it was a question of millions of people. Thus there was need to extend them ever since. This may not last forever but political compulsions and a need to show liberal face of India to international community contribute in their continuation. One additional factor for their continuation is that they provide a kind of safety valve to satisfy the aspirations of educated untouchables, which avoids a possible social tension and a resultant violence. This threat to peace has been perceived in the scriptures also. The development of a community having millions of members is a long drawn out affair and cannot be done in a small time frame of ten years.