WEBVTT

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[sil.]

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The Indian government offers its citizens a form
which is more precious than a birth certificate.

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It\'s the caste certificate. Since 1993,

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belonging to a certified backward caste is no longer
just a mark of shame, it can also be a blessing.

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Indeed, India guarantees
equal opportunities,

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the lower the rank of a caste, the greater the
opportunities provided by the state in terms of politics,

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education and employment.

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And this system of affirmative action
or reservation as it is called,

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now affects all of the lower caste,
representing close to three quarters

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of the entire Indian population.

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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All men are born equal in the eyes of the law.
For some countries, for most of which is France,

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this principle of equality prevents the
state from recognizing national diversity.

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Thus, French citizens are officially
viewed without race, ethnic

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or religious distinctions.

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In the Indian system, the opposite is true,
not only does the Constitution recognize

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differences between citizens, it in fact primes
cast equality over individually equality.

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[sil.]

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But is it possible to fight for social justice based
on the caste system by its very nature unfair,

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that\'s the challenge facing India.

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Where the lower caste end,
an higher caste begin.

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Once defined by the sacred Hindu texts the
boundaries resist government classification.

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For affirmative action policy requirements,
the government has had to create

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at the very core of its democracy, an extraordinarily
precise system for classifying mankind.

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The Indian Anthropological
Service is completing

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a tremendous task that was begun over
20 years ago that of establishing

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an official list of the 4,635 castes,
communities and tribes of India.

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[sil.]

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Is it right to favor one sector of the
population over the other in order to repair

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histories injustices. Wherever affirmative action
measures have been taken across the world,

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they have proven controversial and the
debate is even more inflamed in India

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where the reforms have been far-reaching.
The quotas were set very high.

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Close to a quarter of the seats in Parliament,
half of the admissions to higher education

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and half of the government jobs available are
reserved for Indians that are officially classified

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as lower caste.

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[sil.]

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Representatives of each caste that believes itself to
be an overlooked during the initial classification,

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must now convince the National Commission
on backward caste to revise its decision,

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the stakes are high. If they are found to be low
enough, they are added to the official list of

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India\'s backward castes and will be allowed
to benefit from preferential treatment.

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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No, no, no.

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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Uh… Traditional Indian society also
hierarchical society, which means that

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inequality is not only existed in
fact, but they were considered

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right, proper, and desirable. For instance,
inequalities between men and women were considered

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right, proper, and desirable. It\'s not just a
matter of fact, it\'s also a matter of values.

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Inequalities between castes or even
inequalities between landlords and the landless

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were considered right, proper, and
desirable. And this was justified

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by the theory of varnas in Hindu society.
But I want to point out that

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this was not unique to India.
This is true of all pre-modern,

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pre-industrial, pre-capitalist society.
This was certainly the case in France,

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it was the case in England. Even into
the 19th century and even today,

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there is a Church of England Hymn, which
says, \'The rich man in his castle,

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the poor man at his gate, God
made them high and lowly,

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and ordered their estate.\' This is
the hierarchical vision of society

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which Americans don\'t understand, but Europeans
surely if they read their own history will understand

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that quite well. Except that in
India, this hierarchical vision

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or design of society was carried
much further than it was in Europe.

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So that… that… that obviously
comes into direct conflict

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with the democratic values of equality.

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Hello and welcome to The Quota Question

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our special show on the Supreme Court verdict this
week on OBC reservations for higher education.

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A verdict that could change the face
of higher education in this country.

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The Supreme Court has held that \'27% quota for
OBCs in central Higher Education Institute

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is legal and valid.\' This means that our
total reservation has now gone up to 49.5%.

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I\'m going to ask you a
question on reservations.

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We have abolished untouchability and outlawed
backwardness, but it remains in our hearts.

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We have… we\'re living in an invisible
apartheid? Precisely and the thing is

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they have remained backward even after 60 years of reservation.
Because we have to understand reservation has failed the country

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as far as the upliftment of the section is
concerned. The people who are poor, have been poor

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ever since the country become independent because the
reservation that totally sidesteps the basic problem.

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As long as it concerned

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only societies outcasts, the Untouchables and
tribes affirmative action was largely seen as fair,

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but since 1993 when the policy
was broadened to include

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the huge category of backward castes, which
encompasses over half of the country\'s population,

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those (inaudible) against the quotas
have been polarized. India has become

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a testing ground for social policies for the struggle
against inequality and for democracy itself.

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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To go down the caste ladder, this
is an unheard goal in a society

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that has traditionally been focused towards the top
of the hierarchy and yet has rallied the Gujjar,

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a caste of seven million in Rajasthan alone.
The Gujjars are asking the government

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to be downgraded to the lowest official
category that of the untouchables

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caste and tribes, which has
the most rewarding quotas.

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Among other things, they would receive
a guarantee of seats in Parliament.

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There is some real pressure on the government,
protesters have been killed by the police.

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Meanwhile, faced with the Gujjar\'s demands, other
castes are pushing to protect their quotas.

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The situation could well
degenerate into a cast war.

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[non-English narration]

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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The Rajasthan Government has appointed
a retired judge Justice Chopra

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to look into the Gujjar\'s case.
His mission is to determine

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the exact position of the Gujjars
on the caste ladder. A field survey

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combined with a wide investigation is underway.
It will have the judge visiting 150 villages

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and taking 35,000 depositions
over the course of six months.

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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How does one appease the Gujjars, the
category that they wish to be downgraded

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to that of tribes has an official
definition. There are five criteria

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to be met; geographic isolation,
socioeconomic backwardness,

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distinct culture, primitive lifestyle
and the timidity of the people.

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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For the Gujjars, of whom the great
majority of rural and illiterate,

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the benefits of the affirmative
action programs are indirect.

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Affirmative action was conceived
as a means to level society.

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In practice, it has also turned out to be an
impressive motto for political mobilization.

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Thanks to quotas, (inaudible) Gujjars
have finally found a voice in place

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in India\'s democracy.

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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Jayanthi Natarajanji, there were 2,000… 2,400
back… so-called backward caste 60 years ago,

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now there are 4,000 of them, the numbers are
still growing. Justice Raveendran says,

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\'When more and more people aspire for backwardness
instead of forwardness, the country itself stagnates.

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Is there going to be any shift in that? Are
you going to be willing to review the caste?

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See, this is an attractive argument on television and
it\'s a very attractive argument for people to see…

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It was made by the judge… This is what the judge
said. No, Rajdeep let me… let me finish it.

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I know that this is what the judge said and this is what
I have to say, that as long as people remain backward,

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as long as the criteria for backwardness applies
to them, it is our duty to pull them up.

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Okay. And I don\'t see any dilution of this
government\'s commitment to that. Okay ma\'am…

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And even if people call it a political vote
bank, well, we have to go to the people.

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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Jobs in India Civil Service, a largest
bureaucracy in the world, a much sought-after.

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Since private companies employ barely
half as many people as the government.

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For the great majority of the
workforce, the shining India

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of the economic boom with its great multinational
companies and English language call centers

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is a dream that lies far out of reach.
The state\'s (inaudible) remains huge

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and a government job is the only
real chance for social mobility.

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But the path to equality is long,
only 10% of lower caste Indians

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have the equivalent of a high school diploma
and only 2% graduate from university.

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[sil.]

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The Gujjar\'s crisis is India\'s
most serious caste conflict

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of the last 15 years and it is being followed
closely. How much weight will electoral concerns have

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upon the government\'s final decision?
Village Councils, ministries

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and the media are all concerned
of a spiraling crisis.

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Because downgrading the Gujjars would upset the
system\'s delicate balance and set of endless wrangling.

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[non-English narration]

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After six months of inquiry, J.
Chopra goes to

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the offices of Rajasthan\'s government to present
his report to the Prime Minister Mrs. Raje.

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[sil.]

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At the head of a state

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with a population of 60 million Mrs.
Vasundhara Raje won her election.

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Thanks to an unholy alliance of lower and upper class.
She got the Gujjar vote by promising them quotas.

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[music]

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Today, ending months of negotiations, the state
government has refused to accept their demand.

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The report says, \'Gujjars do not
qualify on the following grounds;

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geographical isolation, economic
backwardness, cultural primitiveness,

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forest dwellers and shyness of the tribe.

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Rajasthan goes to polls next year and the reservation
issue is already snowballing into a political crisis.

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What\'s making matter worse for Vasundhara
Raje is a reminder from the Gujjars

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that it was the BJP that\'s promised
(inaudible). At the time of independence,

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people felt that we will have development,
economic development and we will have democracy.

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And both of these will eradicate caste,

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but democracy has not eradicated caste,
democracy has not led to the removal of caste.

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In fact, democracy has in many important
ways led to a strengthening of caste

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and the use of caste identities for
the mobilization of political support

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is not unique to India. I mean,
if you look at American politics

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and the part played by ethnic
identities, the Italians, Irish,

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the Jews, the (inaudible) they do play an important part in
the mobilization of political support in the United States,

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but once again it is done
on a much larger scale

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and with much greater intensity
in India than elsewhere.

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[sil.]

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Has affirmative action become a dangerous
Pandora\'s box? Quotas have become

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central to every political parties platform.
Sometimes promising to broaden the program

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to the private sector, sometimes promising to
broaden those eligible. Muslims, Christians,

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the poor Brahmins and also the middle caste
who have so much electoral influence.

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[music]

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[sil.]

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The Indian affirmative action policy by allowing
the lower caste to hope for a better future

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by encouraging them to speak up by
uniting them behind a common cause

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has provoked a tremendous
political awakening.

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[music]

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A gradual and irreversible power shift is underway.
The down (inaudible) of the Hindu system

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have become a force to be reckoned with. Nowadays,
a majority of members of the Indian parliament

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come from low or untouchables castes.

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[music]