Protective Discrimination In Indian Higher Education

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2014 in the subject Law - Public Law / Constitutional Law / Basic Rights, grade: NA, Bangalore University / Central College (National Law School of India University Bangalore), course: Ph.D., language: English, abstract: The Indian constitution provided the state to make special provisions for the upliftment of backward classes. Since then, the topic has become debatable. These special provisions promulgated at different space and time have evolved as a preferential policy. The constitutional objective behind this policy is to ensure social justice for disadvantaged sections of people. Unfortunately the political motif has overshadowed the constitutional intent. The notion of justice is essentially apolitical; however, there has been criticism, oppositions and prolonged protests in this regard. These development are not conducive to Indian polity. The preferential policy should contribute to overcome the backwardness rather to create backwardness or hamper advancements of other classes of citizens. This work attempts to perform a cost –benefit, what if analysis in the light of preceding chapters. It also explores complementarities of legal doctrines in India and US. The common area of concerns were identified through covering and addressing questions before law and ideas worth accommodating from US part. Some doctrines are also developed in this regard.

If India has emerge as a prominent economic power in the 21st centaury, the SCs, the STs, the OBCs and other minorities have to be equally equipped as any sector of the society. A holistic approach recognising diversity in the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multilingual society like ours can be entrusted to ensure nondiscrimination and equal access to opportunities. Reservation' although an effective measure can be taken as variety of measures designed to end the oppressive discrimination. A level playing field has to be created to not only facilitate empowerment for downtrodden but also social harmony for all in the segments. This book has been organized into twelve chapters and delves deep into the problem of social inequality and protective discrimination as a remedy to the profound evil existin in our society.

In India, two critical aspects of public policy — social justice and higher education — have witnessed unprecedented expansion in recent years. While several programmes have been designed by the State to equalise access to higher education and implement formal inclusion, discrimination based on caste, tribe, gender, and rural location continues to exist. Focusing on the concrete experiences of these programmes, this book explores the difficulties and dilemmas that follow formal inclusion, and seeks to redress the disproportionate emphasis on principles rather than practice in the quest for equal access to higher education in India. Offering new perspectives on the debates on social mobility and merit, this volume examines a broad spectrum of educational courses, ranging from engineering, medicine and sciences to social work, humanities and the social sciences that cover all levels of higher education from undergraduate degrees to post-doctoral research. It points to various sources of social exclusion by studying a cross-section of national, elite, subaltern, and sub-regional institutions across the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Closely involved with the implementation and evaluation of affirmative action programmes, the contributors to the volume highlight the paradoxical ‘sectionalisation’ of reserved candidates, the daunting challenge of combating discrimination. Understanding the need to look beyond formal inclusion to enable substantive change, this important volume will be essential reading for scholars and teachers of sociology, education, social work, economics, public administration, and political science, besides being of great interest to policymakers and organisations concerned with education and discrimination.

This book illuminates the experiences of a set of students and faculty who are members of the Dalit caste – commonly known as the ‘untouchables’ – and are relatively ‘successful’ in that they attend or are academics at a prestigious university. The book provides a background to the study, exploring the role of caste and its enduring influence on social relations in all aspects of life. The book also contains a critical account of the current experiences of Dalit students and faculty in one elite university setting – the University of Shah Jahan (pseudonym). Drawing on a set of in-depth semi-structured interviews, the empirical study that is at the centre of this book explores the perceptions of staff and students in relation to the Quota policy and their experiences of living, working and studying in this elite setting. The data chapters are organised in such a way as to first explore the faculty views. The experiences of students are then examined with a focus on the way in which their caste is still an everyday part of how they are sometimes ‘othered’. Also, a focus on female Dalit experiences attempts to capture the interconnecting aspects of abject discrimination in their university life. Faces of Discrimination in Higher Education in India explores: critical exploration of the Quota System policy and related social justice issues; faculty voices: Quota, caste and discrimination; students’ perceptions and experiences of the Quota policy; being a ‘female Dalit’ student; positioning caste relations and the Quota policy: a critical analysis. This study will be of interest to educational sociologists examining policies in education and analysts of multicultural and South Asian studies. It will also steer pertinent discussions on equality and human rights issues.

Contributed seminar articles with reference to India.

The unprecedented expansion of higher education in India and the proliferation of providers in turn have posed enormous challenges to equity, quality and financing of the sector. The India Higher Education Report 2015 traces the evolution of higher education and discusses the key role of committees and commissions whose reports and recommendations form the backdrop of contemporary developments. Authoritative and comprehensive, the volume examines a range of themes including equity, financing, employment, quality, and governance. It also engages with new and recent data as well as current issues and debates. The volume will be an important resource for academics, policy makers, civil society organisations, media and those concerned with higher education. It will also be useful to scholars and researchers of public policy, sociology and economics.

This book illuminates the experiences of a set of students and faculty who are members of the Dalit caste – commonly known as the ‘untouchables’ – and are relatively ‘successful’ in that they attend or are academics at a prestigious university. The book provides a background to the study, exploring the role of caste and its enduring influence on social relations in all aspects of life. The book also contains a critical account of the current experiences of Dalit students and faculty in one elite university setting – the University of Shah Jahan (pseudonym). Drawing on a set of in-depth semi-structured interviews, the empirical study that is at the centre of this book explores the perceptions of staff and students in relation to the Quota policy and their experiences of living, working and studying in this elite setting. The data chapters are organised in such a way as to first explore the faculty views. The experiences of students are then examined with a focus on the way in which their caste is still an everyday part of how they are sometimes ‘othered’. Also, a focus on female Dalit experiences attempts to capture the interconnecting aspects of abject discrimination in their university life. Faces of Discrimination in Higher Education in India explores: critical exploration of the Quota System policy and related social justice issues; faculty voices: Quota, caste and discrimination; students’ perceptions and experiences of the Quota policy; being a ‘female Dalit’ student; positioning caste relations and the Quota policy: a critical analysis. This study will be of interest to educational sociologists examining policies in education and analysts of multicultural and South Asian studies. It will also steer pertinent discussions on equality and human rights issues.