Caste-based affirmative action prevalent in India
The plight of Dalits is unfortunately deplorable, but it is not like the Indian government has done nothing to rectify the conditions of untouchables. Caste-based affirmative action is a norm in India'with more than half of government jobs and educational slots such as professional schools in medicine and engineering and many seats in most state legislatures'reserved for members of the untouchables and other oppressed castes.
Caste-based preferences (i.e., caste-based affirmative action) in India were established 50 years ago when India gained its independence from Britain. Then, it was believed that caste-based discrimination was so pervasive that only a concerted, affirmative government effort could erase caste bonds.
The origins of affirmative action in the United States may be traced to India. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta King went to India as guests of Prime Minister Nehru in efforts to study and learn more about Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy and techniques of nonviolence from Feb. 2 through March 10, 1959. Dr. King studied Satyagraha, Gandhi's principle of nonviolent persuasion, and was determined to use Satyagraha as his main instrument of social protest
Dr. King, in speaking about caste-based affirmative action, spoke approvingly of Prime Minister Nehru's 'preferential' policies for the Untouchables caste as India's way of 'atoning for the centuries of injustice.'
Americans should unite proudly, stop worrying
In the last month and a half, I've seen it all. I've seen two of the tallest three buildings in America collapse, killing thousands of innocent New Yorkers. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani estimated that 10,000 children in New York are now missing a parent. I've seen our Capitol shut down due to an act of bioterrorism, and I've seen a man calling for the death of all Americans.
While this is happening, I've seen the local school board ban the Pledge of Allegiance; I've seen the local city council debate over whether to include the word 'prayers' in a resolution saying our 'thoughts and prayers,' as it may offend an atheist. I've seen a college town many Madisonites look at with envy, Berkeley, ban U.S. flags from fire trucks so as not to offend anyone.
As an American, I've seen enough. The national motto in our country is 'In God We Trust.' This isn't some right-wing, conservative buzzword; it's our motto as American citizens. It is engraved in stone on the Capitol, and is on all the currency we carry. It's time we stop worrying, both as a community and a nation, about offending a small minority of people who choose not to believe in God. As Americans they have every right not to believe in God, but nowhere do they have a right to not be offended. So let's show our support, and show it proudly; and at a time when people have been killed by the thousands, let's stop worrying about hurting someone's feelings.
