Khyam Bishwakarma The term "affirmative action" has been widely discussed in Nepal as a strategy to mainstream the marginalized people such as Dalits. Such discussions have focused on the socio-political structure of Nepal where the underlying causes of marginalization are supposed to have germinated. While it is largely true that Dalits at the bottom layer of social structure are treated as untouchable caste groups and hence suffer from socio-political discrimination, they have also become what Karl Polanyi (1946) calls "the victims of acute social dislocation" due to the recent development practices backed by neoliberal policies and globalization. Dalits as occupational caste groups would earn their livelihood from their indigenous skills on metal-works, carpentry, leather-works, and needlework. However, these occupations have been facing challenges due to the availability of imported goods…

Anand Teltumbde Indian society is characterized by the continuum of caste hierarchy for over two millennia. In the source model of Hindu society, this hierarchy is kinked separating people into savarna and avarna (non-varna); touchable caste Hindus and the untouchable Dalits. Besides Dalits, who constituted the lowermost rung of the Hindu society and accounted for 16 percent of total population, there is a tribal community accounting for 7.5 percent, which traditionally lived in forests away from the caste society. Although the tribals did not suffer caste-based exclusion like Dalits, they were physically and culturally secluded from the mainstream. Both these communities, Dalits as the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and tribals as the Scheduled Tribes (STs), have been the focus of the positive discrimination (PD) policies in India. In the 1990s, these…

Alpa Shah This presentation will reflect on insights from the Indian case of adivasi rights to explore the relationship between ethnicity and socio-economic concerns. It will suggest that while the focus on indigenous or ethnic rights must be celebrated in particular moments in time, we equally need to reflect on and call attention to the limitations of struggles based on such rights. Drawing on more than a decade of field research in Jharkhand, Eastern India the presentation will address adivasi rights activism and the Maoist movement in India.

Anjoo Sharan Upadhyaya The Indian Constitution promises equality to women in all spheres and makes specific statements reaffirming its commitment towards non-discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, class, sex, age etc. There are various institutions that have since been setup to promote this promise and also there exists a rich tradition of decrees and judgments enhancing the scope of this promise. However because of the variations in complex inequalities and social conditions, India poses completely different levels of challenges. In this paper I propose to highlight some of the efforts made to enhance the participation, equality and non-discrimination of women in India. I will also delineate the resultant gains made in the direction of participatory citizenship and inclusive politics vis-à-vis women. I propose to examine India’s electoral affirmative action…

Ajay Gudavarthy The “politics of recognition” that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) have set into motion has its own set of terms and dynamics that contrast well with that of the dalits’ political discourse. The politics of OBCs have now brought into the public domain issues that are likely to change the very terms of discourse in which the debate on reservations was carried out in the past. They emphasise the need de-stigmatise the discourse of reservations before de-stigmatising those availing the benefits of affirmative action policies.

Glenn C Loury When choosing which students to admit, employees to hire, candidates to slate, or firms to patronize, the social identity of those selected can be a matter of great importance. As a consequence, regulations intended to achieve more diversity in the ranks of the chosen -- policies going under the rubric of "affirmative action," or "positive discrimination" -- have been promulgated in many societies throughout the world. Affirmative action policies regulate the allocation of scarce positions in education, employment, or business contracting so as to increase the representation in those positions of persons belonging to certain population subgroups. Such policies are highly controversial. Consider a few examples. In nations with sharp sectarian divisions -- Lebanon, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iraq – political stability can hinge on maintaining ethnic balance in…