The caste system represents a complex structure of social stratification which is perceived as a cultural feature unique to India. The people placed at the bottom of the system are considered impure and traditionally were assigned to perform the demeaning work for the superior castes. The Indian constitution adopted affirmative action guaranteeing proportional representation in different spheres, including public services, to remedy historical disadvantages endured by the lowest castes. The nature of Dalit representation in the bureaucracy indicates that the policy does not guarantee the annihilation of caste and casteism after recruitment into the public services. Drawing on Indian government data on foreign services and the arguments advanced by parliamentarians on the nature of Scheduled Caste representation in the services, this article aims to unravel the (dis)appearance of caste in foreign services, which is mediated through the putative logic of ‘merit’, ‘competence’ and ‘national interest’.
The recently delivered court rulings on reservation provoke the question about the future and (ir) relevance of the policy to accomplish social justice in a liberalized market economy wherein formal state jobs are scantily available, higher education is increasingly privatized and the creation of the EWS category appears to undermine the logic of affirmative action. The moment urges us to reflect on whether we need a new policy framework to achieve the goal of social justice in the changed political economy. Any reflection on the future of reservations should not be ahistorical and detached from the past and changes in contemporary political economy.
