Entrepreneur Rise In Ashes of India's Caste System

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/world/asia/11caste.html?_r=1&scp=12&sq=India&st=cse

Going off of the topics that both the articles "First Caste Count in 80 Years as Modern Politics Revive Ancient Traditions" and "Critics Slam India's Education Quotas" this article addresses the still apparent issues in India’s Caste System.

The article, beyond its profiling of prominent high-tech entrepreneurs who have risen from families tied into India’s caste system, offers reason into why the Southern and Northern regions have experienced different paths towards prosperity. It explains how the lower-caste members chose to organize their energies against the upper-caste based domination, ultimately leaving one region more equipped for the opportunities that would open. This article provides great insight into the individual and community struggles to grow out of the ancient caste system and the beliefs that allowed them to do so.

After reading this article I quickly tried to tie it into the other two articles on the caste system mentioned in the blog. Both of the articles mention how the caste system is going to go through a count as well as its ties into education. This article however brought many questions to mind? First, as this article suggests, the caste count is a political move of the northern lower-caste political leaders to put in place affirmative action policies towards jobs for those of the lower caste. However, does it really make sense for 50,000 jobs to be placed for those not necessarily qualified? As this article suggests, won’t the more educated south take advantage of those opportunities like they did in the past? The dilemma that this creates transcends into the education debate mentioned in the other article as well. It seems that the belief in education followed by much of southern India during the early 20^th century today is clouted by political ambitions. Although the lower-caste students are getting the opportunity of a higher education, those more qualified are struggling to get in. Ultimately, what I have realized is that it is important to look back at history to see how those before you were able to achieve their goals. The beliefs that the south instilled in its communities-dignity and self reliance-once must again be looked at in order to address this policy issue. It is not up to politicians but rather the entrepreneurs.