Politics of Inclusion Castes, Minorities, and Affirmative Action

Politics of Inclusion Castes, Minorities, and Affirmative Action Book Description

When we think of disadvantage and exclusion in India, we think almost invariably of caste-based exclusion. Disadvantage and deprivation are not restricted to a single group in India. Yet, successive governments, public policy, and academia have paid little attention to the under-representation of religious minorities in the educational, political, and administrative domains compared to the question of representation of disadvantaged castes.

Zoya Hasan examines the distinctiveness as well as divergence in state policy towards different types of disadvantaged groups, even as official policy remained less sensitive to the backwardness of minorities. She analyses the policies and debates surrounding the contrasting strategies of inclusion for lower castes and minorities. Unlike existing literature on the subject, this book focuses on a comparison of the experiences of different disadvantaged groups, rather than only caste groups. It draws attention to the issues of relative disadvantage and the multiple and overlapping dimensions of disadvantage.

While acknowledging the need for giving due recognition to historical discrimination, Hasan argues, in view of the comparative evidence on under-representation of various disadvantaged groups, that disadvantage of presently excluded groups should also qualify for affirmative action.

This book will interest students and scholars of Indian politics, sociology, and history.

With impressive analytical clarity and historical depth, this wonderful book illuminates the complex political debates about affirmative action in India. Hasan shows how a necessary and laudable focus on caste has ledto a neglect of other inequalities and, hence, to a very unbalanced and underinclusive set of policies. Martha Nussbaum, University of Chicago

This book deals with one of the most topical issues of Indian politics and societyassess[es] the impact of positive discrimination on the caste system, [and] include[s] religious minorities in the analysisIt is bound to become a reference study. Christophe Jaffrelot, CNRS, France and Centre dtudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI-Sciences Po), Paris

[This book] provides acritique of thecontemporary failures of the Indian state to address the political under-representation and socioeconomic disadvantages ofminorities. Hasan combines a powerful critique of existing public policies with a clear vision of how the state could address multiple axes of disadvantage. Amrita Basu, Amherst College

In the midst of what has been called the second democratic revolution and the vast literature it has inspired, Hasan has broken new ground in this comparative studyThis is a distinctive and commendable work of major importance. Achin Vanaik, University of Delhi

Deliverable Countries: This product ships to India, Sri Lanka.

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