Businessmen and society have a strangely contradictory relationship. The economic activity they generate can be an agent of social transformation and progress — a quick look at the changes in Indian society in the last two decades would be one indicator. Yet, businessmen in themselves are rarely conscious promoters of social progress. This is hardly unexpected. Business inherently seeks a stable environment in which to flourish, so businessmen tend not to...
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Will counting caste help to reduce inequality? by Nandini Sundar
More thought needs to be given to the kind of data generated and its practical implications. Yesterday when the census enumerator visited, I asked him how he felt about the current debate on counting caste in the census: “Not comfortable at all”, he said, “I don't even like asking whether someone is SC/ST or Other, leave alone what their caste is.” But, he added, “caste is an inescapable reality of...
More »NHRC annoyed over bureaucratic delay in changing village name by Vinay Kumar
What is there in a name? A lot, if one goes by the efforts of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in getting the name of a Rajasthan village changed as even after more than six decades of independence, it still carries a derogatory caste-based connotation for the villagers. A dusty village in Dausa district of Rajasthan, known as “Kuwan Ka Vas,” had its name changed by the revenue officials...
More »Tribals, Dalits still at the bottom in most indicators by Aarti Dhar
Indigenous groups and Dalits continue to be at the bottom in most indicators of well-being, the Muslims and the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) occupy the middle rung, while forward caste Hindus and other minority Religions are at the top. The “Human Development in India: Challenges for a Society in Transition” survey has found this. These patterns are seen in a variety of indicators, including household incomes, poverty rates, landownership and agricultural...
More »Politics of Women's Reservation Bill by Vidya Subrahmaniam
Not a quota within quota but a commitment to social justice and a proactive offer to field women from the subaltern strata. That is the way to silence the opponents of the Bill. Fourteen years and one small victory later, the Women's Reservation Bill has again begun to look iffy. In all this time, a lot many things could have been done independent of the fate of the Bill. Those in...
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