Merit arguments mask entrenched caste privilege rather than reflecting fair competition

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

• XREF: Connects to George Orwell’s insight that egalitarian slogans often mask class power, and to contemporary debates about affirmative action framed as ‘merit’ in US context. — connects to: Merit selection transforms rather than removes politics from judicial selection — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 439
• SEED: Essay angle: how ‘meritocracy’ language functions as ideology across caste and race systems — the ahistorical-vacuum presumption as a shared rhetorical move.