Caste in South Asia

1. Read: Scheduled Caste, Unscheduled Change – Shashi Tharoor
   India- From Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond (on Course Reserves)
2. Watch the documentary “India Untouched – Stories of a people apart”
   Full documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=lgDGmYdhZvU (110 minutes) - It is a
   bit long and it is OK to fast forward through parts of it. But make sure that you notice how it is practiced by
   different religions and in urban and rural areas and how/why upper caste members complain about the
   Affirmative Action program.
   Questions:
3. How has treatment of and opportunities for Dalit communities (based on the experience of Charlis) changed
   over time? How have they not changed (based on the documentary)?
4. The Indian government has made untouchability and caste-based discrimination illegal. Even though many
   members of lower castes communities have benefited, discrimination persists. What more do you think can (or
   must) be done to eliminate the problem of untouchability and caste-based discrimination?
5. Upper caste Indians often argue against ‘affirmative action’ (reservations, as they are called in India) and call
   them unfair.
   Do you think that caste-based reservations are unfair to upper castes? Why/Why not?
   Do you think that the reservation system can be modified to address criticisms in an effective manner? If yes,
   how? If no, why not?

Sample Solution