Word: castee
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The rush of prosperity spawned entirely new political forces as the expectations of the formerly destitute rose along with their incomes. The Hindu nationalists have managed to ride that social wave, as have parties and movements representing untouchables, farmers and groups like the Yadavs, a low-caste group in north...
Another volatile force tearing at India's fragile unity is the politics of caste. Two months ago, Singh opened that pandora's box by announcing that he was setting aside 27% of government jobs for Indians who belong to 3,000 designated "backward castes." The Prime Minister took the initiative...
What has made these two men so remarkable is that they, along with scores of others across northern India, have become martyrs over the past three weeks, in most cases by setting themselves on fire. Chaturvedi and 38 others died, while Goswami and at least 126 others were hospitalized. All...
Students like Goswami and Chaturvedi, however, saw the tactic as a cynical stunt aimed at winning Singh a new constituency among the lower-caste voters. At stake are an estimated 50,000 government jobs that until now were open to upper-caste students. The competitive university system produces far more...
Another key factor animating the students' rage is a sense of betrayal. There is a widespread belief that Singh, who enjoyed a large following among students because he stressed honest, "value-based politics," compromised those principles by setting aside the jobs for lower castes. Though Singh does have a history...