Dissecting The Myths Of Merit And Meritocracy PART-III

By Narendra Kumar Arya 

15 January, 2013 

Countercurrents.org:

All Debates on Merit Lead Towards Affirmative Actions:-

The bone of content in the whole process of Merit vs. Demerit is provision or implementation of affirmative action programmes and policies , seeking to curtail the sharp inequalities, discrimination and exploitative conditions and monopolistic ownership of resources of society and power structured to suit the interests of a minority elite , abusively hostile to the notion of social possession of society and social justice with judicious participation in all organs of state and society , at large.

The deepening participation of people from all sections and strata of society does not weaken or makes institutions incompetent, inefficient and unproductive to use the fashionable lingo imported from and displaying overpowering effect of economics ; rather it makes the diverse ,supplies much needed ‘big genetic pool' of diversified creativity and non-traditional insights. Ultimately boosting cohesion-quotient and as a result become more pertinent, sustainable and socially –correct. There are more than 150 policies and guidelines in the most business-minded society of USA regarding implementation of affirmative action's in American institutions.MIT which has been emulated by desi IITs, is legendry and one of the best institution in science and technology around the globe and it pleasantly offers its 45% seats to ethnically diverse groups of African-Americans, Asians, American- Indians, Hispanics etc same is the case of Christian Medical College, Vellore , a leader in medical services with excellence in India for decades and choosing more than 50% of its medical and paramedical from ‘lower' labelled castes. These are the groups and communities which are beleaguered as source of De-merit.

Merit as a social idea has far too greater appeal across societies but here we shall be more concerned and concentrated on the idea of merit as it prevails in Indian society but nevertheless its theoretical inferences would have global appeal. The supporters of merit point out that the backwards, Dalits and tribal as the main antidotes of assumed merit. No matter you tell them that these ethnically chalked out communities have as good meritorious people as in the assumed group of meritorious they won't listen to. They don't resort to rational and logical thought process, the psychological dimensions of such rigid behaviour has its own explanation of such social pathology.

Summing Up:-

Once we debunk merit as not entirely followed in normal daily lives of democracies nor the truest measure of intelligence and inherent mental faculties of people; we could resort to reverse logic if all societies and communities are not inferior in mental predispositions and intellectual potential why most of the backward castes, Dalits, tribals and women are absent from power arena and fulcrum and decision making bodies ? Why prosperity and wealth and even the basic indicators of human development are missing from the lives of these marginalities? Scope for such questioning automatically leads and signals on the persistence of a system which is severely abused, leveraged to petty ends, lopsided to power elite and malfunctioning , operating to satisfy and preserve the interests of specific identities only, known across the globe differently.

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