Friday, April 11, 2008

Reservations, affirmative actions, bumiputras: where the down-trodden are given a push...

The two boys wore glasses, faint moustaches, thick plaid shirts, clashing ties. They most certainly did not exude confidence as they walked, synchronized but tentative in step, across the campus of St Joseph’s College of Engineering on the outskirts of Chennai.
That is how I knew.
It was confirmed a few minutes into our conversation. Logesh and Srinivasan, both 20, are the first in their families to attend college.
Logesh, the son of a contractor, is a member of the most backward caste, as applicants to college label themselves without shame in these parts. Srinivasan, the son of a shopkeeper, is a member of the forward caste, which forms a minority in this and every other college in Tamil Nadu. More...

See also: Al Muhamasheen, the Untouchables of Yemen..

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