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Discrimination

Data on Higher Education in Marginalised Communities

Pallid state of reservation in some of India’s elite institutions.  Some of the striking data show 62% unfilled vacancies for SC in the IIMs and 90% for OBC in the IISc, while vacant positions are on average about 38% to 52%, taking Central Universities, IISERs, IIT (non-faculty), IGNOU, and Sanskrit Central Universities into account.  The data confirm that the trend seen earlier in the IIT system extends to many more institutions, highlighting a serious mismatch between the government’s equity-building goals and actual recruitment outcomes

19 March, 2021 Discrimination

Data on Higher education in marginalised communities.

Data on Higher education  in marginalised communities. RTI data showed that SC students constituted only 7.6% and STs were just 1.2%. The reservation policy requires that 15% of seats be allocated to SCs and 7.5% to STs. The Acceptance Rate (refers to the number of students admitted for every 100 applicants) is very low . While General Category (GC) students, which in the case of the IITs predominantly refers to those from privileged, communities, had an acceptance rate of 4.4%, it was 2.9% for SCs and 2.7% for STs. Only 167 of the 5,855 SC applicants and 27 of the…

24 February, 2021 Discrimination

Inter-faith marriages, conversion and the law

Inter-faith marriages, conversion and the law Context: The article analyses the challenges to couples undertaking inter-faith marriages in the backdrop of recent remarks by the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and a Karnataka Minister proposing to ban conversion for the sole purpose of marriage. Special Marriage Act: The Special Marriage Act, 1954 (SMA) was enacted to facilitate the marriage of couples professing different faiths and preferring a civil wedding.   Provisions SMA,1954: Parties to an intended marriage should give notice to the ‘marriage officer’ of the district in which one of them had resided for at least 30…

10 November, 2020 Discrimination

The manacles of caste in sanitation work (Analysis on Manual scavengers)

The manacles of caste in sanitation work By, Dr. Raees Muhammad is the director of Dalit Camera and general secretary of the Nilgiris All India Sanitation Workers Self Respect Trade Union, Tamil Nadu Context While civil society started a movement in the 1990s to abolish dry latrines, the focus now is on manhole deaths and provision of safety equipment to sanitation workers. The movement has been demanding the abolition of the dehumanising practice of the manual removal of human excreta and calls for the introduction of mechanisation for handling waste. Various State governments and the previous Central governments have responded…

22 October, 2020 Discrimination

Love in the time of polarisation

Love in the time of polarisation Context The release of the Tata-owned Tanishq advertisement was followed by a manic backlash with complaints about hurt Hindu sentiment, threats of violence, and its abrupt withdrawal. These threats were not empty; showrooms in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh were visited by goons demanding a written apology. Message and the attack What is the advertisement trying to communicate and what is hurtful about it? An affluent Muslim family is seen organising a baby shower for their Hindu daughter-in-law. In the advertisement, the Muslim mother-in-law arranges a Hindu ritual, affectionately puts her arm around her surprised…

20 October, 2020 Discrimination

Issue of Caste in America and Elsewhere

Issue of Caste in America and Elsewhere GS-PAPER-2 Governance – Caste (Mains and I.V) What is the issue? A lawsuit has been filed in California against Cisco Systems for allowing caste discrimination against a Dalit Indian-origin employee.  In this context, here is an overview of the issue of caste in America and elsewhere, outside the Indian subcontinent. Earlier references to 'caste' in America? In 1913, A K Mozumdar, an immigrant from Bengal to Washington, applied to become an American citizen. US citizenship at the time was determined by race, and given only to whites. Mozumdar argued that as a “high-caste Hindu”…

10 July, 2020 Discrimination

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