I think democracies, in general, get the kind of governments the people deserve. I say 'in general' because what is generally meant by 'democracy' is the government elected based just on a simple majority –  and not on a proportional representation – but that is a column for another time.

I have written before on the curse that is the caste 'system' in India. What is so outrageous is that caste-based discrimination is still practiced in Tamilnadu - one of the first places in India that woke up to fight this unacceptable 'practice'. The fight was led by 'Periyar' E.V.Ramasamy and was quite effective - up to a point.

As someone who is against not just caste-based discrimination, but the evil of caste system itself, I find it distressing to follow the rather heated arguments around the 'reservation' issue where quotas to the underprivileged sections of society are involved.

It was very amusing to watch the ruckus around the treatment of Shilpa Shetty in the TV reality show Celebrity Big Brother. Even more amusing is the reaction in India.

I cannot possibly hope to compete against the mighty voices opposing the 'quota'. (For the record, I don't support it blindly, either.) But the sheer variety of arguments against the quota issue is amazing, if not scary. Consider this from RSS chief K S Sudershan:
‘Quotas an attempt to divide Hindus’

I was born a Hindu, but that is as far as I am willing to go in choosing my identity on the basis of religion.

 
There is enough noise, I mean, news, on the so-called OBC Reservation issue...
Indian Express Full Coverage > OBC Reservation
Rediff.com The Reservation Issue

I came across this interesting article by one Dr. Santosh Helekar, who seems to conclude that the Aryan invasion theory may be valid, after all! More importantly, there is the implication that the casteist tendencies might have had a racist origin - more specifically, Indo-European.

Many Indians try to explain away or shrug off, when asked about the caste system.