India’s private sector brooks no interference in its recruitment policies. It resists the idea of quotas being introduced. It says it is a fair and equal employer. It says it doesn’t discriminate on the basis of caste, religion or “family background”. And it says it doesn’t turn away adequately qualified candidates. But a study by the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies in collaboration with Princeton University has shown that the situation is exactly to the contrary.
The study—using 548 job advertisements among 4,808 applicants over 66 weeks, across five metros—found that a Dalit had a 60 per cent less chance of being called for an interview, and a Muslim30 per cent less, as against their higher caste peers. The wage earnings too were found to be five to 20 per cent lower, between SCs as compared to upper castes.
Questions: Are claims of “merit” being the only deciding factor in private sector recruitment bogus? Or are studies like these motivated, arriving at preconceived, politically correct conclusions? Are Indian companies practising a perverse form of discrimination? Or should they be free to choose candidates as they feel fit? Should employers use “family background” to screen candidates? And, above all, as the “State” ceases to be the primary source of employment, is the private sector unwittingly helping create a very unequal society through its exclusivist policies?
Also read: CHURUMURI POLL: Quotas in private sector?
churumuri 
Would be intrigued to see the methodology explained… especially since a similar methodology used in the USA (to determine discrimination against “black” names) has been heavily criticized for the conclusions sought to be presented.
The game is somewhat given away by the “Dalit studies” bit at the end. I can imagine the howls of laughter if a an “Indian Institute for Brahmin Superiority” came out with a report saying that there is no caste discrimination in India. So the opposite, I suppose, would also be true.
Besides, we criticize pre-poll surveys as being unscientific for covering about 100,000 people in multiple cities and villages. We are supposed to believe that a sample survey of 550 employers is supposed to be representative of the entire private sector.
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This is all trash..From cradle to grave these people want reservation. What else is left?
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All these study suck…….. better invest man,money and time in developing India Dalits would have been 100 times better. The game is simple it is not so called ” UPPER CASTE” want the dalits to be subjected to discrimination but ithe the so called “OBC” and others with whom currently the power rests want the discrimination to be continued. Else their shop will close as there will be no takers from them.
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Few bostereds are deviding India in the name of caste. Now churmuri is part of this. Its pitty that few crucked parties, and media spread lies and spread communal voilence. Shame churumuri editor for your antinatoinal mentality. I strongly feel that you are the one from left media. People spit on you for your anti national prapogenda.
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Most of of writings in churumuri is anti hindu. Either devide hindus on the basis of caste or support killing hindus by Islamists terrorists. Churumuri is helping Jehadis by publishinng anti hindu articles?
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The study quoted is prima facie appears to use “ American Categories” and approaches to research to Indian situations with out knowing the situation on the ground in India.
First and foremost no private sector company ask the candidate tro provide caste details–
Many person including self –in Southern parts of the country have a single name and it will be very difficult nay impossible to find the “ caste” or religion of the person from that- I do not know weather the researcher/s were even aware of such a situation.
There are many surnames like Chowdhury or Rao in Andhra Pradesh which can indicate any caste from Brahmin to Dalits.
Also, the study presumes that every HR manager /team knows all the surnames / caste names in the country. I can easily provide some hundred caste/surnames which cannot be recognized/ categorized by many experts leave alone executives.
It is very unfortunate that such dubious studies based on American thinking/ practices are blindly done for India and spurious conclusions are drawn. The fact that Princeton is associated with such study does not make it any better!1
It is another of that attempt to denigrate and abuse the caste system in India which is a large social capital– without basis.
It is also interesting to note that American Scholars are interested [ from the fifities] on studies about monorities/caste/oppression of women all divisive issues. That is their aim it seems
rvaidya
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indian institute of dalit studies + princeton university great combo like big mac with paneer tikka it will be nice to visit this insitute were i guess it will full of 35% pass people , an sc or st with 35% pass marks in 2puc gets seat in mbbs and goes to complete mbbs by grace marks and also gets md seat in surgery and gets job as specialist neurosurgen in aiims , goes to become dean and head of insitute sky is limit for sc and st of india
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sc + st = 35% pass marks = sky is limit but only in India and only in corruption filled low salaried govt jobs
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What does Princeton know about Indian caste and Surnames? Its caters to ‘certain’ interests of the Indian society.
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the caste system of India will drive out all the highly skilled competant Indians to greener pastures , where there is high demand of such individuals
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The raw numbers are likely to be right. From that sense it is a disturbing.
But the conclusions and the interpretations peddled by media betray an attempt to create sensation. Not giving any details and not even bothering to ask simple basic questions, and yet tomtoming expedient conclusions betrays a sinister plot. This is psychological operations to play on the ignorance and anxieties of people that would have made a stalin proud.
The media and the intelligencia, for all their pride in skepticism, conveniently forgot to ask or present the most basic question of them all. Is this a test of equals? For example, was this a test of urban kids, with similar schooling and at the same/similar percentile of their graduating classes? It may well have been a test of equals, but we don’t know and the rest of the story gives me know confidence for me to take the answer for granted.
#1. We don’t even know if this study is peer-reviewed for methodology and conclusions. I wonder if anybody in JNU is losing sleep over somebody from Princeton stealing his or her thunder. For you can be sure, Ms. Newman is going to publish. Not only is Ms. Newman going to publish, but we are never going to get to read the reviews and you can be damn sure that none of the critical articles that her paper would receive, if any, is ever going to be tracked by ndtv or churumuri.
#2. Then there are the connexions. Dalit Studies is funded by Christian Aid check DS’s own website. (It will interesting to see if any in America would actually find problem with that, like churumuri found problem with Lenovo and some desi newsdesk). I wonder why CA has a finger in this? Is it because they are going after their key market demographics? Funding DS is not Gods work. But is Church’s work alright.
This is not a question of minorities and fear mongering. These are not hapless minorities whose rights have to be protected from the tyranny of the majority, but well-oiled corporations, with clear agenda, long reach and suave marketing wings that conveniently have a finger on the pressure points of ALL countries. Your next-door minority has none of these – including agenda but he is a convenient statistic and protection for these guys. They wont touch Owaisi because of the neighbourhood Omar. And Owaisi knows how to play this game to the hilt. I think it is called taqiyya.
Just like haliburton would not be caught dead doing impactful work at hosa orleans, CA wouldn’t be caught dead probing the sundry problems of the church in America or analyze the true meaningful changes that have happened in Philippines or Latin America post liberation.There ain’t no harvest there. But, third world, third rate, pagans? Lets go bring “freedom”,”true values” and “true religion”. Git ‘er done.
Meanwhile, I am not going to hold my breath for a surangaNi aNaku from our own intelligencia, on these haliburtons of spirituality- irrespective of what they have already done to NE in terms of language and culture and their hand in the increasing militarization of the minorities. There is also a term for what is happening at NE, that is called hudaibiya. Under any circumstance, militarization of any section of the population is unacceptable, including minorities.
Forget all that, lets get back to dalits now, the intelligencia is not interested in the plight of dalits. The intelligencia will not have a conference where they get in educationists from Princeton, JNU and good old UoM and KU to a conference and actually, meaningfully try to solve the problem of medium of instruction setting aside theories and agenda. Because, it might reveal that, perhaps, lack of basic universal education is A problem. Perhaps needless peddling and grand standing by all and sundry in education is A problem. (medium of instruction for example.) Perhaps it will reveal that somebody already took a bite of the apple in the garden of eden and there is no going back now. This would require looking at the future, difficult job, cooking up stories about past is easier. Lets just stick to that. No Thanks.
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The day is not far when the producers of this country go on strike like the scenario in Atlas Shrugged!
Assuming that SC/STs, Muslims get less opportunity than their so called higher class peers, is it because of their caste/religion? As an employer why should I give preference to a SC/ST candidate who has scored 60% rather than a GM candidate who has scored 80%?
At max, minority status can act as a tie breaker; but not an eligibility criterion.
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TS, brilliant response.
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TS,
Excellent points! Without Dalits and their causes, overnight our JNU types will be on the streets. We certainly don’t want that to happen. Do we? Where will P Sainath get his statistics from?
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Its well known fact that most of these kind of studies are based on the dubious facts of hiding their failures and use such sort of writings to get shiled. How come on can distinguish the caste using names and schools. No company asks for the caste certificate unlike government jobs. Disgusting to see few people use anti upper caste
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It’s well known fact that most of these kind of studies are based on the dubious facts of hiding their failures and use such sort of writings to get shield. How come one can distinguish the caste using names and schools? No company asks for the caste certificate unlike government jobs. Disgusting to see few people use anti upper caste propaganda to get publicity. If accuse some one with anti dalith and anti minority you will be called intellectual. Worse the students are caught in the hands of miscreant political leaders who use people, caste to get political mileage. In private, its skill and effectiveness which matters to get the profit to company. if some one from upper caste who doesn’t have skills and recruited, company is going to loose that part of profit. In this competitive world no company likes to loose the profit. Theory of unequal India is based on caste. Few in India never bothered to provide good education to dalits are eating their pond of fish and denying them opportunity to come up in the life.
Few dalit writers and political leaders developed this nonsense theory as to show that they are the guardians. By doing this these people earn lot of money leave dalits in same condition. Purpose is not to bring up dalits instead see to that put them in same condition, keep talk on about that condition to get publicity and votes.
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TarleSubba analysis seems spot on.
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Let us see the number of Kannadigas in Bangalore and Maharashtrians in Mumbai in various kinds of jobs. Forget caste, regional discrimination in India is tremendous, for the most part. The level of prejudice has to be seen to be believed; I think more than statistics, it is pure prejudice masquearading as recieved wisdom. We are really a prejudiced country-to a degree which is hard to grasp.
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the real reason for social justice should be poverty alleviation not caste based quota system, which only segegrates the society into many sections. The down trodden of India which is said to be 800 million who are striving to get 2 meals a day, the question should be how to raise the these people living standards irrespective of caste and creed , how will be vote bank politicians of India understand these issues , they busy filling there own coffins a classical example is DMK- the name itself suggest such a castist attitude, karunanidhi has lived his life in maja and masthi in name of caste , wake up brethen of India, look towards real leaders like swami vivekannada
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this is absolute hogwash. I have never come across anybody discriminating on the basis of caste or creed. What drives recruitment decisions here is the appropriate skill sets …and the ability to deliver on the job…
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