Invocations of merit mask privileged-caste nepotism and opposition to reservation.

Evidence

‘Merit’ is the weapon of choice for an Indian elite that has dominated a system by allegedly divine authorisation, and denied knowledge—of certain kinds—to the subordinated castes for thousands of years. Now that it is being challenged, there have been passionate privileged-caste protests against the policy of reservation in government jobs and student quotas in universities. The presumption is that ‘merit’ exists in an ahistorical social vacuum and that the advantages that come from privileged-caste social networking and the establishment’s entrenched hostility towards the subordinated castes are not factors that deserve consideration. In truth, ‘merit’ has become a euphemism for nepotism. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 74

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

Related

• Merit discourse masks accumulated caste privilege as ahistorical neutrality (similarity 0.90)
• Merit arguments mask entrenched caste privilege rather than reflecting fair competition (similarity 0.87)
• Merit selection transforms rather than removes politics from judicial selection (similarity 0.84)
• Ambedkar’s safeguards for Untouchables were diluted by privileged-caste committee members. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Assimilated Dalits serve as scapegoats for privileged-caste crimes #expands (0.70) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 430
• Upper castes donate to anti-untouchability causes to evade caste reform #expands (0.60)
• Graded inequality makes every caste level invested in preserving the hierarchy #expands (0.55) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 132
• Untouchability is the root cause of Dalit poverty and national backwardness #expands (0.50) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 330