Affirmatively Active

Affirmative action is a hot topic in the states. Its effectiveness questionable, its motives controversial, its practice unstable… I fully admit to being completely detached from the political process even when I’m in the country, so I cannot speak intelligently about whether it’s a good idea or how it should be carried out. On the other hand, I can provide and Indian precedent that may shed some light on the subject.

Most people know that when India declared independence in 1947, the caste system that had dictated the inner workings of daily life was legally abolished. Legally, but certainly not in practice. A system of discrimination that has controlled the way a society has functioned for 5000 years doesn’t disappear overnight. Naturally, some prejudices and practices are left over from the caste system, affecting business, economics, politics, marriages, and virtually all other ways of life. One example of these leftovers is the people from disadvantaged castes that have a lot of catching up to do before they are on the same level as the average person. In India, these people are said to be from Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.

Examples of this in action is that spaces in government-funded schools are reserved for SCST students and are only filled by other students if no SCST students are available to take those places. In government jobs, a certain percentage of positions must be filled by SCST employees. A certain portion of representatives in parliament must be from SCST.

Here’s the kicker: this has been going on for over 50 years, since India’s independence. That’s at least a generation, two in some cases. Originally, it was only supposed to be in effect for 10 years following independence. The problem is that in order for it to stop being in effect, it must be voted out by the democratic government. And if representatives in parliament ever did something as stupid as denying concessions for the majority of their constituents, their political popularity would be on the same scale as a Nazi candidate in Poland. I see two more reasons for why it has needed to continue, despite all evidence that it should be finished by now and everybody should be on the same level. One is that caste differences and discriminations are so ingrained in the social network of India that they can’t be removed. The other is that SCST advantages are pissing off everybody else, creating new bases for discrimination. Who’s the say that the some won’t happen with American affirmative action packages? In my mind, and shown by the experiences of the Indian attempt, affirmative action fixes the symptoms, not the problem.