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From: seshadri@t12tst.UUCP (Raghavan Seshadri)
Newsgroups: net.nlang.india
Subject: Re: In defense of caste-based reservation (Loooong!)
Message-ID: <343@t12tst.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 3-May-85 13:44:04 EDT
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Posted: Fri May  3 13:44:04 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 6-May-85 00:16:06 EDT
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Summary: Bapa Rao's observations

It seems to me that Bapa Rao's observations (which,I must admit are rather
well put and have a certain plausibility in a purely theoretical sense
... might appeal to the arm chair spinner of theories) can be summarised
as follows (My comments are within brackets) :

1.Your own personal beliefs and conduct however noble are of no importance
compared to the historical position of the social group you happened to be
born in ---[ The best defence of caste organization of society I have ever seen.
A person who believes this should love the caste system].

2.Persons who profess to be concerned about merit,competence and talent are
merely aggrieved over lost caste privileges and their arguments can be ignored
as insincere.[I would think that any argument needs to be met on its own
grounds and its validity has nothing to do with the emotional or psychological
state of its proponent but for someone who believes in point 1 (see above) this
may not be obvious]

3.A majority driven to frenzy by a charismatic thug is capable of great atro-
-cities and the solution is to perpetrate non-violent but very real injustices
upon huge segments of minorities.----[The problem of harijans who have been
oppressed in the past of course needs to be tackled systematically and
vigorously.  The speed and felicity with which under-privileged people are 
brought into the mainstream will determine the success of our society.But
undermining sensible concepts like merit and talent is not the answer.Education,financial help,economic development,social propaganda and religious reform are
the steps that will really work in the long term.Counter-oppression,appealing
only to revenge, has given rise to a whole generation of cheap politicians who
will never give up their power base in caste oriented politics.Would you like to live in a society where incompetence rules and nobody knows what he is doing ? Witness Amin's Uganda.]

.
e
-term solutions
-- 
Raghu Seshadri