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21 - Encountering Reservation and the Reimagining of Caste

from IV - Social Geography in the Indian Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Aparajita De
Edited by
Ashok K. Dutt ,
Vandana Wadhwa ,
Baleshwar Thakur  and
Frank J. Costa
Aparajita De
Affiliation:
University of Delhi, India
Ashok K. Dutt
Affiliation:
Professor Emeritus in Geography, Planning and Urban Studies, University of Akron, USA
Vandana Wadhwa
Affiliation:
Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environment at Boston University, Massachusetts
Baleshwar Thakur
Affiliation:
Former Head of the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi,
Frank J. Costa
Affiliation:
Professor Emeritus in Geography, Planning, Urban Studies and Public Administration at the University of Akron, USA.
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Summary

On an early August morning in 2006 while I was rushing from the Metro Station to the Department for the weekly discussion with my tutorial group, I caught a fleeting glimpse of a few students in front of the Faculty of Arts on a 72-hour hunger strike protesting against Mandal II. On entering the D-School campus I noticed that, despite being 8:30 in the morning, groups of students had gathered around J. P.'s tea stall and Ambarda's canteen and were engaged in heated discussions. By this time I should have expected a few surprises at the Department because waiting for me were my students, all of whom had turned up and that too much before the scheduled time of 9 a.m. One of them asked:

‘Since the tutorial is for the course on Urban Social Problems may we discuss some of the social problems that we are facing today?’ And well what is that problem? ‘Of course, the future of India! With this reservation thing will India have any future? Will any of us have any future for that matter? What is the use of studying? It is all meaningless. Even if I do well there is no guarantee that I might get through the M.Phil [Master of Philosophy] course or any other. Come to think of it, it hardly matters how you fare in the exams. I guess at least some lucky ones are free of it. But supposing I do get through these courses, what then? Will I get a job? I have no future. I wish I was born anything but a Kayastha… I mean where are we heading?’

Type
Chapter
Information
Facets of Social Geography
International and Indian Perspectives
 , pp. 400 - 415
Publisher: Foundation Books
Print publication year: 2012

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  • Encountering Reservation and the Reimagining of Caste
  • Edited by Ashok K. Dutt, Professor Emeritus in Geography, Planning and Urban Studies, University of Akron, USA, Vandana Wadhwa, Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environment at Boston University, Massachusetts, Baleshwar Thakur, Former Head of the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi,, Frank J. Costa, Professor Emeritus in Geography, Planning, Urban Studies and Public Administration at the University of Akron, USA.
  • Book: Facets of Social Geography
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9788175969360.023
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  • Encountering Reservation and the Reimagining of Caste
  • Edited by Ashok K. Dutt, Professor Emeritus in Geography, Planning and Urban Studies, University of Akron, USA, Vandana Wadhwa, Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environment at Boston University, Massachusetts, Baleshwar Thakur, Former Head of the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi,, Frank J. Costa, Professor Emeritus in Geography, Planning, Urban Studies and Public Administration at the University of Akron, USA.
  • Book: Facets of Social Geography
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9788175969360.023
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

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  • Encountering Reservation and the Reimagining of Caste
  • Edited by Ashok K. Dutt, Professor Emeritus in Geography, Planning and Urban Studies, University of Akron, USA, Vandana Wadhwa, Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environment at Boston University, Massachusetts, Baleshwar Thakur, Former Head of the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi,, Frank J. Costa, Professor Emeritus in Geography, Planning, Urban Studies and Public Administration at the University of Akron, USA.
  • Book: Facets of Social Geography
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9788175969360.023
Available formats
×