Disagreeing with statements such as “justice for all and appeasement of none,” Varsha Ayyar, social activist, warns that it is a “dangerous” view that needs to be addressed seriously, as history shows preferential treatment of disadvantaged sections has been in existence for long.
Delivering the first of the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Lecture Series on “Ambedkar and reservations” at the Goa Art and Literary Festival at International Centre Goa on Saturday, Ms. Ayyar, Assistant Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Studies, Mumbai, advocated reservations as a powerful affirmative weapon to address the problems emerging from over-representation of some sections in high-paying jobs and other lucrative openings.
For social reform Calling reservations a policy framework aimed at bringing about basic changes in social composition and ending social exclusion and discrimination, she lamented attempts to position it against merit.
She said reservation was not an anti-poverty scheme or redistribution of resources programme, but an affirmative action.
“Caste is a complicated problem and it does play a very, very important role. It cannot be eradicated by dropping names and inter-caste marriages. Over-representation of some sections and under-representation of minorities and underprivileged castes is indeed an issue and needs to be addressed,” she said.
Giving examples, she said over-representation of the deprived sections was as high as 93 per cent in unorganised low-paying jobs. On the contrary, she wondered who were still over-represented in the media and other private sector such as information technology, which claimed to neither practise discrimination nor support reservation.
To a question, she rejected the contention that the British reinforced the caste system. “They extensively documented it,” she said thanking them for that.
“Hostile techno-class” To another question, she said the “techno-class” had been increasingly hostile to the idea of reservation, but it was an open fact that the private sector, particularly the IT industry, practised discrimination.
She said Dalit activism in literature was alive and kicking, but the mainstream traditional media were not sufficiently covering it. Hence, Dalit writers were taking to social media.
Ms. Ayyar went on to accuse the mainstream media of ignoring issues of Dalits, and raised the question of under-representation of these sections in them.
Albertina Almeida, social activist and lawyer, said that despite a perception to the contrary, untouchability and caste-consciousness were prevalent in Goa.
Correction
>>The report, “ >Reservation a historical reality, says activist ” (Dec. 7, 2014), gave the name of the person who delivered the first of the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar lecture series as Varha Ayyar . It should have been Varsha Ayyar .
