Affirmative Action: Perspectives from the United States, India and Brazil‪.‬

Introduction This is a critical time for affirmative action policies. While we are aware of the pending US Supreme Court decision in the cases of Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger involving the University of Michigan, few realize that the governments of India and Brazil are confronted with similar legal issues. Although the application of affirmative action policies differs in the three countries, the challenges and opposition encountered by each country are remarkably similar. Each government conceived their policies originally as a vehicle to rectify the historical injustices encountered as a result of racial or caste status. Now those same countries are experiencing Supreme Court challenges to their legality. For this reason, a comparison of the experiences in the three countries is very enlightening.