India is a secular country and the biggest democracy. – I tend to
disagree to both this statements, but it always depends, as a good consulting
firm would always condition.
To me a democracy is a system, where the population is ruling its
own society through representatives which represent the interest of the
population. But today I don’t want to indulge this topic; it’s just to grab
your attention.
Secularism requires disconnect of religion from state affairs or the
public education. Beyond dispute the founding fathers of India had a secular
country in mind, when the drafted the constitution of India. But even the
liberal authors could not resist letting some religious articles find their way
into the constitution. The directive that asks states to protect cows from
slaughter is for sure one article which strictly follows the conservative Hindu
religion. Some States in India go to the extend to completely forbid the
consumption of beef, and one can be jailed for eating a beef steak. Allowing a
Muslim man to divorce his wife with only oral proclamation, or a Muslim man to
have multiple wife’s is another paragraph which a secular system would not
tolerate in the constitution. You will find more protective elements towards
religious rituals, in the legal system of India, if you want to dig further.
Having an offspring from the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) as our leader,
does not really help to change my mind. For those not familiar with the
political influence in India, RSS is an ultra-conservative Hindu nationalist
(non-governmental) organization with high influence on today’s ruling party;
BJP.
The Cast system basically consists of two angles:
1.
The class (Varna), which refers
to social responsibility and belonging, namely Brahmins (Priest, Teacher or
Doctors), Kshatriyas (Warriors), Vaishyas (Merchant and Landowner) and Shudras
(Servants). Then there is the Dalits, which are historically excluded from the
system. The Dalits have many more names such as Untouchables, Other Backward
Class (OBC), Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes (SC’s and ST’s)
2.
The caste (Jati), which defines
in which occupation stratosphere one is born in and is also quite often
represented in the family name. I immediately correlate this system of name
giving, to the German speaking community where we have names like Bauer
(Farmer), Müller (Mill Operator)
or even my own name Blaser (Glass Blower).
Even though considered as very backward by the western world, I
personally have changed my mind over time. It looks to me like any other system
in western societies, only that they never gave it such distinctive categories
and names, which in turn looks a little unorganized, if one might say so.
Please think about this statement for some time! The only question remains, how
much freedom to choose is required in a social system and how much should this
freedom be promoted.
In India this question has been addressed by the Reservation System,
which is addressed to enable and promote the OBC, SC’s and ST’s. The government
has introduced quotas in several areas, which result in the entry of this
underprivileged people into positions which they would otherwise not have
access to.
The Indian Parliament for example is hosting 15% SC’s and 9% ST’s.
The allocation is made as per the proportion of the state population.
It is also ruled that the Government Position would fall into the
quota system, 15% Scheduled Castes, 8% Scheduled Tribes and 27% for Other
Backward Classes, which makes it a staggering 50% total for constitutional
reservation percentage.
Some states even go as high as 70%, even though the Supreme Court
has put a cap of 50% maximum.
Similar situation occur in Public Government Schools and Colleges
and are debated for all kind of Universities as well.
As much as I appreciate the support for the underprivileged, there
are many concerns coming with it.
I would like to know your view of my interpretation and your idea on
how to tackle the challenges we currently face in India?
Jai Ho India!!
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