There are many reasons for discriminating against someone, some legitimate, most of which however, are unacceptable in all cases. The United States and every other country in the world has experienced its share of discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, income, education, age, sexual orientation, gender, and so on and so forth. For the most part, institutional and defacto discrimination has been stamped out in this country.

Invariably, discrimination persists in the hearts and minds of many Americans but as a whole this country has made great strides, allowing most Americans to achieve any objective they commit themselves to. Such is not the case in the world’s largest democracy, where the caste system continues to dominate the cultural landscape, if not in law, then certainly in fact. Created centuries ago…the caste system stratified Indian society; dividing people based open the professions of their ancestors.

The caste system has 4 principle social divisions: High atop this caste system are the priests (the Brahmans), followed by the warrior and ruling caste (the Kshatriyas), followed by the merchants (the Vaisyas) and then the laborers (the Sudras), who are subdivided into the clean or unclean. The unclean are known as the untouchables (or Dalits). Traditionally, the untouchables weren’t even allowed to communicate, socialize, or even touch members of the other castes.

Though this stratification of Indian society was declared illegal following independence, old prejudices die hard. So much for judging people based on the content of their character. But if Robert Byrd can become a leader in the Democratic party, then there’s hope for anyone. The Indian government, to its credit, has gone to great lengths to eradicate the last vestiges of this mindless and unduly discriminatory practice. Today, the descendents of these “untouchables” make up 16% of the Indian population, representing millions of people. Since untouchables still face discrimination in employment, the government has embraced an affirmative action style approach, instituting quotas for public sector jobs, as well as college admissions. The concept is noble, but the approach serves only to stratify society even further.

Nonetheless, Indians in the so-called higher castes object to any efforts to balance society, perhaps someone should tell these people that the mere fact that they were born into a higher caste does not in any way reflect their ability and is devoid of merit. Students in the capitol of New Delhi, have actually taken to the streets in protest, they actually support a continuation of this meritless and illogical act of prejudice, based on someone’s past job?

For all its progress, India will remain backward as long as vestiges of this cast system linger. Even so, it is questionable to argue that a quota system is the best way to address this situation in public sector hiring and school admissions. A more acceptable solution would be to admit students or hire individuals based solely upon their ability, how revolutionary. Since castes can be identified by their family names, such identifiers should not be used. Potential applicants could be assigned a random number and evaluated solely upon their accomplishments, abilities and education. There are no easy solutions, but a cultural awakening needs to take place on the Indian subcontinent and soon!
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-05-07-caste-barriers_x.htm