Digital Scrapbook Entry #5 India

Current event: http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/06/affirmative-action

Past event:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit

" Indian Scheduled Classes - Then and Now"

         In the context of traditional Hindu society Dalit status has been historically associated with occupations regarded as ritually impure such as any involving leather work, butchering, removal of rubbish, dead animals, and human waste. Dalits worked as manual laborers cleaning streets, latrines, and sewers. Engaging in these activities was considered to be polluting to the individual and this pollution was considered contagious. As a result, Dalits were commonly segregated and banned from full participation in Hindu social life. For example, they could not enter a temple or a school, and were required to stay outside the village. Complicated rules were often observed to prevent accidental contact between Dalits and other castes.  So in olden times Dalits often remained excluded from local religious and other life.

         India’s experiment with affirmative action is the world’s oldest. Known locally as “reservation” policy it is an elaborate quota system for public jobs and places in publicly funded colleges.  For example the Indian Institutes of Technology and in most elected assemblies have a quota system. The quotas are filled by members of designated disadvantaged groups called scheduled classes. Instead of trying to find out whether this practice helps the scheduled classes politicians focus on extending it to new blocks of voters. By the late 1980s after a commission of inquiry extended the quotas to lowly but non-“scheduled” Hindu castes, known collectively as the OBCs for “Other Backward Classes”, some 27% of the population. Only 2% of all jobs in India are affected by these quotas since most jobs are casual in India as opposed to formal.  Discrimination against Dalits still exists in rural areas in everyday matters such as access to eating places, schools, temples and water sources but it has largely disappeared in urban areas and in the public Hindu. In rural India, however, caste origins are more readily apparent and Dalits often remain excluded from local religious life, though there is some evidence to suggest that the severity of discrimination against Dalits and other scheduled classes is fast diminishing.

        There are many more opportunities for the scheduled classes today, than before. But the caste system is not disappearing in India. Affirmative action has the opposite effect from causing the caste system to disappear since by identifying oneself with and emphasizing that one is a member of a scheduled class one can obtain government jobs and entrance to better schools. The effect of is to lower standards in order to guarantee that jobs will go to schedule classes in order to fulfill quotas. This lowers the quality of the work force or student body. It also creates resentment among the classes which are denied jobs or school entrances in favor of the scheduled classes. As a result instead of eliminating the caste system current government policies in India tend to expand and in entrench the caste system.

Citations:

• http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/60892000/jpg/_60892492_dalit_scavenger_afp.jpg
• http://www.unwomensouthasia.org/assets/Dalit-Women-in-Varanasi-.jpg

Current Event Article:

Indian Resevation 

Jun 29th 2013, 3:56 BY A.R. | DELHI : economist

Link: http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/06/affirmative-action

Ancient Article:

Dalits
Wikipedia

Link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit

Trade between U.S and China 1 minute Video.

Thoughts and Reflection: Women in Ancient China

Women In Ancient China 

      Within Taoism, women as yin were considered more or less equal to men who were yang.  Women were able to seek spiritual fulfillment outside their family duties. Some women joined convents, others gathered with men to discuss philosophy and religion, and a few become Taoist priests.  Buddhism also granted women areas of empowerment. Women went on pilgrimages to Buddhist temples, retreated to nunneries, sometimes gave public lectures, and led temples groups. 

According  to the Confucian structure of society, women at every level were to occupy a position lower than men. Most Confucians accepted the inferiority  of women to men as natural and proper. 

Confucian teaching called the NeoConfucianism made the position of women even worse. NeoConfucian beliefs led to foot binding, insistence that women not remarry, and the selling of unwanted daughters.  

State of the Union Address: Han Dynasty

Rose McCully
Ms. Mitchell
History
11/31/14

                                                       State of the Union Address

                I’m here to announce the creation of a peaceful, unified and prosperous China.

          The Mandate of heaven should only be given to those who would rule the best.  The Mandate of Heaven does not require noble birth to be bestowed since I am a man from a peasant background.  I Liu Bang have been given the Mandate of heaven, because Qin had lost the trust and faith of the people due to the harshness of their legalistic rule. Many of the legalistic laws were an alternative to morality, a more reliable means of ensuring a disciplined and cohesive society. Many of my people became convinced that the brutality of the Qin was unacceptable and decided that it was time to revolt against the Qin. The fact that Qin ruler was overthrown can be taken by itself as an indication that the ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven.

         I am establishing my own dynasty called the Han Dynasty and I’m naming it after the Han River. In this this dynasty new changes and beginnings will arise. I will reestablish some of the vassal kingdoms and feudal states in regions distant from the capital which is Chang-an. Peasant discontent will be appeased by lessening demands for taxes and forced labor. And I also recognize that an educated bureaucracy is necessary for governing so vast an empire. I will make sure that the ban of Confucian classics and other Zhou literature will be lifted.  I will be open for a revival of the intellectual life that had been suppressed under the Qin.  The dynasty that was full of legalist principles will now be tempered by a Confucian claim on the ethical basis of the government. Only

talented men will be chosen for government service through an examination system based on the Confucian classics, and they will be promoted by merit.  The examinations will be open to all Chinese except merchants.

          I’m going to establish a Pax Sinica all over China to maintain peace and prosperity to this country.  The creation of irrigation and water conservation will be made possible; improvements in the making of farming tool will contribute greatly to an increase in agricultural production which will help the boost of the Han economy.  I have contacted people from the West through the Silk Road which will enable my people to trade goods with them. The world of arts, science and literature will rise in popularity and new inventions will be made in this dynasty for our future generations. The teachings of Confucius will emphasize a lot about respect, especially to parents and elders. The teachings and beliefs of Confucius which Qin overlooked will help me improve my dynasty with a system of ruling the land by morals and ethics.