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

Vol. 26, No. 2 Equal by Law, Unequal by Caste 315economic status of Dalit students is still significantly lower than that ofother students. As a result of reservations, these students are able tosecure better career opportunities than they would have in the absence ofreservation policies.2. RESERVATIONS UNMASKED:UNDER-ENFORCEMENT OF RESERVATION POLICIESThe few who have been able to avail themselves of the benefit ofreservations must still wage a hard-fought battle to overcome the stigmaof their “untouchable” status. Caste-based occupational distribution isreinforced in reserved government employment. 329 The National HumanRights Commission reports that Dalits occupy 65.57 percent of the totalgovernment posts for safai karmacharis (sweepers) and only 16.7percent of non-sweeper posts. 330 Dalits are also discriminated againstwhen being considered for promotions. 331 Reservations in highereducation continue to be met with a great deal of resistance leading tounder-enforcement. 332 In the country’s 256 universities andapproximately 11,000 colleges funded by the University GrantsCommission (an apex body of the Government of India), Dalits and tribalcommunity members comprise only 2 percent of the teaching positions—about 75 thousand teaching positions reserved for these communitiesremain vacant. 333Dalit students also continue to face discrimination in highereducation and are limited in their employment opportunities upongraduation. In September 2006, amidst anti-reservation protests,allegations of caste-based discrimination and intimidation surfaced at theAll-India Institute of Medical Sciences (“AIIMS”), India’s premiermedical institute. In written complaints submitted to the director of theInstitute, two first-year Dalit students complained of casteist remarks andvarious forms of harassment and intimidation from senior “upper-caste”329 See NHRC REPORT, supra note 110, at 137.330 Id.331 Recently, the government moved to create quotas for promotions for scheduled castes and otherbackward castes. While the Supreme Court upheld the move, it required that governmentalauthorities prove that these groups were poorly represented in government positions, that quotasbe capped at 50 percent, and that prosperous lower-caste employees be excluded from the plan.Majumder, supra note 315.332 NHRC REPORT, supra note 110, at 139.333 Id.