I would completely disagree that 'reservations' should be expanded to include religious converts. In fact I believe that the government should work towards the goal of eliminating the concept completely. By scanning news articles one can often find articles about one group or another requesting 'scheduled' tribe or caste status. This underlies a fundamental conceptual error in the manner in which these laws are applied. In India there are more than 45,000 self-identifying sub-groups (will find resource and post). In fact it is easy to list many such sub-groups that feel oppressed in some way. Muslims, Christians and sometimes Sikhs feel threatened by majority violence and have been subjected to horrendous massacres in the past(Godhra, Anti-Sikh riots,etc). South Indians feel marginalized by the use of Hindi as an official language, since the south Indian languages are derived from the 'Dravidian' Tamil rather than the 'Aryan' Sanskrit. In general it is harder for 'dark'-skinned individuals to succeed in highly visual enterprises like the entertainment industry. Even some Brahmin groups are marginalized, such as Tamil Brahmins. Although highly successful academically they are routinely singled out in 'hate' campaigns and have essentially no political representation in their state.

I agree that, in general, groups that are considered 'untouchable' by their local community suffer excessive cultural oppression. However you cannot operate under the assumption that there is a single group identifiable as 'Dalit.' While performing volunteer Medical checkups in various disadvantaged communities in India I have come upon a few observations. In urban areas 'caste' and 'religious' identity is far less delineating than economic success. In rural areas, however, caste-based discrimination is still prevalent. Often high-caste villagers would try to monopolize my time and advise me against performing checkups on low-caste villagers. There are many 'Dalit' castes in these villages most commonly based on their occupation... i.e. Scavengers, 'Rat-Eaters' etc. However what I have noticed is that the most violent hatred and oppression is not between the high-castes and rest, but between 'Shudra' castes and the various Dalit castes. The Tribals are a completely different story. Many of these groups are fiercly independent, highly superstitious and do not desire integration into mainstream society. Based on these concepts below I have listed several key problems in the identification of 'Dalit' groups for positive discrimination.

1. Non-existent documentation of individual 'caste' status. It is impossible to guarantee that a high caste will not change their name, appearance and or religion to take advantage of 'reservation' quotas in highly selective government sponsored programs such as Universities, etc. I was born into a 'Brahmin' family for example. I could easily pretend to convert to Christianity and assume the status of an oppressed Dalit with a new Identity.

2. Rural disadvantage. 'Dalit' groups that emigrate to cities have better access to education and are not usually discriminated against by 'caste.' With a flat reservation system Urban dalits would have a huge advantage over their rural brethren.

3. Tribal Independence. Many tribal groups will refuse educational initiatives and have little interest in using the 'reservation' system for social enhancement.

4. Inherent unfairness. Is it fair that the children of well-off Urban Dalit intelligentsia should have advantages over slum-dwelling 'upper castes?'

5. Grouping of antagonistic entities. The various Shudra, Dalit and Tribal castes are commonly 'Scheduled.' These groups often have little common interest and often harbour enmity to each other. It is common, in fact, for the lowest Dalits to ally themselves with upper-castes against the Shudras in village disputes. It is also common for villagers as a whole to ally against tribal groups in territorial disputes. You mentioned that seperation on religion would 'create' animosity. The fact is that animosity between these groups already exists and is part of extremely complex social networks.

6. Anti-Hindu politics. Unfortunately the reality of politics must be taken into consideration. 'Caste' Hindus do consist of the majority of the country. Deliberately antagonizing the majority in a Democracy like India will not lead to a constructive solution. In fact it may lead to a strengthening of the 'Hindu' right-wing which would cause more problems. As a Humanist I believe the the only constructive philosophy is to build bonds, not to create divisions.

7. Creation of a Dalit 'elite' at the expense of the general 'Dalit' and oppressed populations. 'Enlightened' members of oppressed communities would naturally pass on these benefits to their children. This is a good thing, of course. However the aim of policy should be to spread this 'englightenment,' and I fear that many who no longer require 'Scheduled' status will maintain it at the expense of those who do. This is especially try with a 'flat' reservation rate.

My solution.

1. 'Positive' discrimination still can serve as a vital instrument in raising the oppressed. However it needs to be instituted on solely an economic basis to maintain egalitarianism and prevent secterianism.

2. Even in this case 'reservations' should be confined to non-competetive institutions and programs. Perhaps it can be expanded to low-skilled labour as well. Such institutions should include universal, secular primary and secondary education, job-training programs, adult literacy education. Public sector jobs such as infrastructure building and Railway workers. Perhaps even require private-sector companies to provide reservations in low-skilled labor.

3. As it is currently, reservation for competitive programs is rife with potential for exploitation and misuse. In addition it will create a culture of animosity whereby any 'Dalit' or 'Shudra' could be viewed suspiciously even if they were to gain their position entirely by merit. Rather than reservations a system of 'affirmative action' similar to that in the United States should be instituted for College Admisisons and skilled labor positions. This essentially means that all applicants are considered for admissions based on the circumstances of their individual lives. For example all else being equal, an impoverished slum dweller who had to work for food during his youth would be given preference over a middle class youth who was able to concentrate fully on his studies.

4. Individual institutions should be held accountable for providing solid evidence that they have made effort to take into account individual life circumstances. In the private sector corporations should classify jobs as 'unskilled' or 'skilled.' Unskilled jobs should be provided preferentially to the disadvantaged. The corporation should also be required to provide a certain amount of free training and education to the disadvantaged so that they can qualify as skilled workers. If the Government forces corporations to hire based on something other than merit they will lose global competitiveness which will be a strain to the entire economy.

5. I agree with the textbook problem. However it should not be up to only 'Dalit' intellectuals. Perhaps the most culturally relevant subject is history. A history textbook series should be written by top academics from around the world, including the various comminities of India. This series should aim to provide an egalitarian view of history with the aim of inter-community harmony. It should be frank about the 'negative' aspects of culture, such as caste and communalism. However it should also emphasize the positive aspects such as tolerance. It should emphasize subcontinental history but also stress the trials, tribulations and triumph of humankind world-wide.

6. Through universal secular primary school we should stress the independence of the individual to expunge the concept of being born into a particular caste. It may be difficult to completely eliminate the ideas of the caste system in short order. However by educating children of all castes and creeds together in school we can build bonds that transcend lines. Perhaps the first transition should be towards emphasizing that merit is not inhereted, but earned.

7. Emphasize the study of religion only as a science and not a belief system. The core values of primary and secondary education should be Humanist and Secular. The government should require private schools to submit their curricula for evaluation. Religious private schools should be required to teach tolerance for all humanity.

Ultimately I believe any idea of discrimination, even so called 'positive' discrimination is inherently divisive. It should be treated as a necessary evil in order to lift the disadvantaged. However it should be instituted as a means and not a solution. Though you may disagree with me on these concepts, I don't think you can disagree that the only acceptable final solution is an open, pluralistic, tolerant, meritocratic and secular society.