Article

2007-12-30 India-Pakistan

Reversal of Fortune Isolates India's Brahmins

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Posted by john frum 2007-12-30 07:32|| || Front Page|| [9 views ] Top

#1 From his makeshift home where he sleeps with a blanket on a desk most nights, Mr. Parameswaran still applies for government jobs. He pulls out his latest application form and shows a visitor where he always gets stuck: the three squares where he has to write the abbreviation indicating his caste.

Why is it considered necessary to put a "caste" designation on a job application?

"I want government work," he says, shaking the application, "but they have no jobs for Brahmins."

Do Brahmins, in general, prefer government work? Or is it just a personal preference on his part?

Posted by mrp 2007-12-30 09:20|| 2007-12-30 09:20|| Front Page Top

#2 Why is it considered necessary to put a "caste" designation on a job application?

Because of the reservation quota (affirmative action) system

KR Narayan (a Dalit or untouchable) used this quota to get his son into college, ahead of classmates with better grades.

At the time he was President of India

Posted by john frum 2007-12-30 09:32|| 2007-12-30 09:32|| Front Page Top

#3 Indeed a lot of the religious/caste violence you see in India is all about politicians using this quota to reward their supporters.

The quotas provide the patronage they use to keep a hold on the political machinery.. they can dole out jobs, college places etc

Posted by john frum 2007-12-30 09:37|| 2007-12-30 09:37|| Front Page Top

#4 And the NREGS rural employment system is the latest plum to be divided amongst myriad castes... that is why "tribals" are fighting for "SC" rather than "Dalit" status, why "Christian Tribals" are fighting with "Hindu Tribals" for SC sub caste places.. why there are Muslim, Christian and Sikh "Dalits"... there are billions of dollars up for grabs....

Posted by john frum 2007-12-30 09:43|| 2007-12-30 09:43|| Front Page Top

#5 Do Brahmins, in general, prefer government work? Or is it just a personal preference on his part?

There is a well known stereotype of the Brahmin preference for a Government job... the Brahmin clerk with the fingernail of his little finger grown long... the better to open letters and files ... a status symbol to others (he obviously doesn't perform manual work)

Government jobs are no longer so highly favored... a job in the private sector..in IT, is now the prize... which is why there is a campaign to extend the affirmative action into the private sector as mandatory quotas rather than incentives to private industry

Posted by john frum 2007-12-30 09:55|| 2007-12-30 09:55|| Front Page Top

#6 which is why there is a campaign to extend the affirmative action into the private sector as mandatory quotas rather than incentives to private industry

That's interesting. What kind of carrots are currently offered to private-sector employers for adopting affirmative action policies?

Posted by mrp 2007-12-30 10:28|| 2007-12-30 10:28|| Front Page Top

#7 Tax concessions by various State Governments...

Posted by john frum 2007-12-30 10:48|| 2007-12-30 10:48|| Front Page Top

#8 Hint: Changing the order of the preference of the castes is *not* the same as changing the caste system...

Posted by Seafarious 2007-12-30 12:34|| 2007-12-30 12:34|| Front Page Top

#9 they can thank the "Brahmin" of Boston, Jahn Karry, for the term to be a term of derision in the U.S.

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2007-12-30 12:38|| 2007-12-30 12:38|| Front Page Top

#10 The long little finger fingernail is fairly common affectation amoung SE Asian Chinese as a mark of someone who doesn't do manual work.

BTW John, I am reading Dalrymple's The Last Mughal, which is about Delphi during the Indian Mutiny. It describes how the mutiny started largely because the British didn't appreciate the importance of ritual purity to high caste Hindus.

But as the mutiny progresses, it becomes a startlingly modern tale. Change the dates, places and people and it could be Iraq 2005/6 as jihadis flood in to fill the vacuum caused by the mutiny/war and the British set up FOBs to retake the cities in street level fighting.

Posted by phil_b 2007-12-30 13:40|| 2007-12-30 13:40|| Front Page Top

#11 That should have been 'Delhi'.

Posted by phil_b 2007-12-30 13:41|| 2007-12-30 13:41|| Front Page Top

#12 Rats. I'd rather enjoy reading about Delphi during the Indian Mutiny.

;-)

Posted by Seafarious 2007-12-30 13:42|| 2007-12-30 13:42|| Front Page Top

#13 #10: "But as the mutiny progresses, it becomes a startlingly modern tale. Change the dates, places and people and it could be Iraq 2005/6 as jihadis flood in to fill the vacuum caused by the mutiny/war and the British set up FOBs to retake the cities in street level fighting."

Everything old is new again, phil.

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2007-12-30 13:44|| http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]">[http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/] 2007-12-30 13:44|| Front Page Top

#14 September...

Communal trouble brewing up in Kandhmal District

October....

Communal tension in Kandhamal

Kui tribals up in arms in Kandhamal district

Despite promises from the Chief Minister and officials, Kui tribals of Kandhamal district are continuing their agitation, seeking action against persons who instigated dalits of the district to categorise them as tribals.

'Kui' tribals monopolize the Scheduled Tribe Affirmative Action quotas. The 'Pana' want a piece of that quota rather than their own Dalit quota (probably a lot of other Dalits around) so they claim tribal status.

December....

Christians move to camps to avoid Hindu attacks

and

Maoist whiff in Kandhamal violence

Posted by john frum 2007-12-30 17:40|| 2007-12-30 17:40|| Front Page Top

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