Caste in Stone‪.‬

Abstract: In 1948, India laid the groundwork for the world's oldest system of affirmative action: a concerted effort to give preferences in employment and education to selected disadvantaged ethnic groups, with the hope that they would integrate into society at large. Today, a half-century later, affirmative action in the Indian context can be labelled only a colossal failure. The principal beneficiaries of the policies have been the elites among the lower castes; particularly in rural areas, discrimination against the lower castes continues unabated. Moreover, India's affirmative action policies have made caste identities more salient when the intent was to diminish stratification by caste.