equal by law, unequal by caste - International Dalit Solidarity Network

312 Wisconsin International Law JournalProblems of enforcement and reach are, however, effectivelysidelined in the anti-reservations debate. Reservations are now at thecenter of a storm of critique that projects reservations as undermining“meritocratic ideals” and reinforcing caste-based divisions. There hasalso been widespread public opposition to reservations for Dalits in localgovernment bodies (often leading to violence) and in highly covetedgovernment jobs and seats in higher education because of the economicsecurity these jobs are perceived to offer. 315 While reservations to statelegislatures and the lower house of parliament have ensured greater Dalitrepresentation in political bodies, these reservations have not necessarilytranslated to greater protection of Dalit rights. Finally, the alreadylimited reach of reservations is increasingly undermined by economicliberalization and its attendant outsourcing of public sector jobs to theprivate sector where reservations, for the time being at least, cannotreach.1. THE (LIMITED) REACH OF RESERVATIONSIt is not incorrect to say that for some things are getting better.Dalits have achieved positions of economic and political prominenceunimaginable prior to independence. Thanks in large part to greateropportunities created by reservations, Dalits are now engineers andsurgeons and feature prominently on the political landscape. 316 Theexpanding power base of Dalit and “low-caste” political parties, theelection of Dalit and “low-caste” chief ministers to state governments,and even the appointment of a Dalit as president of India in July 1997 allsignal the increasing political prominence of Dalits, but cumulativelyhave yet to yield any significant benefit for the majority of Dalits.Indeed, one could argue, as sociologist Jogdand does, that thereservations have really only provided “individual social mobility at theexpense of group stagnation,” in that gains at the singular level are onlyloosely tending towards the uplifting of Dalits as a whole. 317315 Sanjoy Majumder, Indian Court Upholds Caste Quotas, BBC NEWS, Oct. 19, 2006,http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6067504.stm (last visited Aug. 16, 2008).316 See Chandrabhan Prasad, Of Outcaste and Lower Caste, ATROCITY NEWS,http://atrocitynews.wordpress.com/2007/01/15/an-article-from-pioneeer/ (last visited Aug. 16,2008).317 See P.G. Jogdand, Reservation Policy and the Empowerment of Dalits, in DALITS IN MODERNINDIA: VISION AND VALUES, supra note 24, at 315, 331-32.