scholarly journals A commentary on the positive discrimination policy of India

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Tameshnie Deane
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Current Position ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Positive Discrimination ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Action Measures ◽  
Past Wrongs

Affirmative action and discriminatory measures are complex and controversial issues. The goal of affirmative action is to speed up the creation of a representative and equitable workforce and to assist those who were historically disadvantaged by unfair discrimination to fulfil their maximum potential. The term invokes emotions that range from fear and rage to satisfaction. Affirmative action has encouraged an ongoing debate regarding the legal, moral and economic questions arising from the preferential treatment of certain groups of people in society. Underlying this debate are various concerns about the notion of reverse discrimination or the unfair disadvantage to individuals who bear no responsibility for past or present discrimination practised by others. This article states the current position with regard to the caste system and the reservation of jobs in the Republic of India in the context of affirmative action and the achievement of equality in the workplace. Its purpose is to highlight the extreme division of opinion about what is socially acceptable, namely, caste. Further, it provides the reader with an understanding of the need for affirmative action in the first place in India, and thereby creates a powerful tool for understanding discrimination and the need for affirmative action measures. Another goal is to provide useful guidelines and information to all persons involved in implementing affirmative action programmes. It serves to show that if affirmative action measures and/or discriminatory measures are not properly thought out then affirmative action becomes burdensome and even more discriminatory, rather than being a means of achieving equality and redressing past wrongs.

The Compromise That Made the Republic and the Nation’s First Statistical Race

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Prewitt
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Social Science ◽  
American History ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The U.S

This chapter demonstrates how assumptions of racial superiority and inferiority tightly bound together statistical races, social science, and public policy. The starting point of this is constitutional language. The U.S. Constitution required a census of the white, the black, and the red races. Without this statistical compromise there would not have been a United States as it is today. In the early censuses slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person, a ratio demanded by slaveholder interests as the price of joining the Union. A deep policy disagreement at the moment of founding the nation was resolved in the creation of a statistical race. Later in American history the reverse frequently occurred. Specific policies—affirmative action, for example—took the shape they did because the statistical races were already at hand.

The Rise of Majorities and Emerging Existential Threats to India and China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Castellino
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
State Building ◽  
National Identities ◽  
Citizenship Rights ◽  
China And India ◽  
Unity In Diversity ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Action Measures ◽  
India And China

Abstract China and India are comparable in size, complexity, and their relatively recent State-building histories. Commencing in 1947 and 1949 respectively, the relatively recent foundations of India and China highlighted a ‘unity in diversity’ message. The significance of this lay as much in ideology as in a pragmatism that was both central and relatively successful in bringing what could be argued as many civilizations into singular modern States. While the messages about diversity have always been contested in some quarters by rival ethno-nationalists, they remained significant in laying the foundations for a strong ‘national’ identity. To the majority populations, Hindu in India and Han in China this called for restraint to any triumphalism or chauvinism; to the minorities, they called for unshakeable loyalty in return for full citizenship rights. In both cases, these messages were backed by constructive affirmative action measures that, irrespective of their efficacy, served to emphasize the ‘unity in diversity’ message, sowing a degree of fealty towards the State over what may have been more prominent and compelling ethno-religious or ethno-linguistic cleavages. In recent years, however, this message has been significantly altered, as political majoritarianism has begun to oust legally or administratively determined minority protections. This article seeks to offer an assessment of the potential impact on this phenomenon on each country, arguing that it has contributed to instability, sowing seeds for the rise of opposing sub-national identities that the founding parents of each State actively sought to counter in their statecraft.

Caste, Democracy and the Politics of Community Formation in India

1993 ◽  
Vol 41 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 49-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subrata K. Mitra
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
The State ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Positive Discrimination ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Law

This chapter examines debates about the survival of caste in India today. It argues that caste is an institution which has both ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ aspects, both ‘primordial’ and instrumental dimensions as, indeed, it probably always had. Mitra rejects the view of modernisation theorists, and of secular Indian intellectuals, who consider that caste is just a hangover from a discredited past. Arguing in favour of an instrumentalist, rather than essentialist, view of caste, he suggests that castes may have a useful role in the formation of identity and, as such, may help in the formation of the nation and state. Castes are resources that actors use to promote their own interests. Caste consciousness destroys those very aspects of the caste system which the essentialist view presented as immutable. The continuation of an essentialist perception of caste serves only to drive a wedge between the state and society. It gives rise to the stigma which prevents the law, bureaucracy and media from doing those things that would help transform castes into social organisations available for the creation of a plural and multi-cultural nation. Mitra develops his argument by focusing on three empirical areas: competitive politics, positive discrimination and the market economy.

scholarly journals АВТОМАТИЗИРОВАННАЯ ОЦЕНКА ПОВЕРХНОСТНОЙ ПОРИСТОСТИ БЕТОННЫХ ИЗДЕЛИЙ

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Dimitriadi
Keyword(s):  
Surface Quality ◽  
Focal Length ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Normative Document ◽  
Surface Porosity ◽  
Photographic Recording ◽  
Calculation Results ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Special Stand

Currently in the territory of the Republic of Belarus the normative document is used in order to evaluate the surface of concrete and reinforced concrete products and constructions [1]. According to this normative document concrete surfaces of the constructions are divided into 7 categories from A1 to A7. The author suggests that the methods for evaluation of the surface quality, specified in [1], are not sufficient. Wherefore, the article reflects the works performed on development of the installation, methods and program to determine the surface porosity of concrete products. It describes the method to determine a particular and integral surface porosity through receipt and processing of the digital image with the developed program. It allows to automate the evaluation process of the surface and significantly speed up it (especially, in case of a great number of pores on the studied surface). The installation for receipt of the sample contrast images was developed, the modes for images photographic recording were selected. This installation for photographic recording used CANON EOS 1100D camera, on a special stand, used to maintain a constancy of focal length and distance to the registered object. VBA based program was developed, it allows to determine the pores size and their distribution, calculate their number and evaluate the form, and also allows to determine particular porosity for concrete diameters and integral porosity. The obtained value of the integral porosity can be used for a clarified calculation of the relative and absolute adhesion value when developing compositions of the release agents. Based on the obtained calculation results it is possible to plot a graph of the pores distribution that formalise and simplifies the aim of the surface quality evaluation. В настоящее время на территории Республики Беларусь при оценке поверхности бетонных и железобетонных изделий и конструкций пользуются нормативным документом [1]. Согласно данному нормативному документу бетонные поверхности конструкций разделены на 7 категорий от А1 до А7. Автором высказано мнение о недостаточности методов оценки качества поверхности, изложенных в [1], в связи с чем в статье отражены выполненные работы по разработке установки, методики и программы для определения поверхностной пористости бетонных изделий. Приведена методика определения частной и интегральной поверхностной пористости посредством получения и обработки цифрового изображения разработанной программой. Она позволяет автоматизировать процесс оценки поверхности и значительно ускорить процесс оценки (особенно в случае большого количества пор на исследуемой поверхности). Разработана установка для получения контрастных изображений образцов, подобраны режимы фоторегистрации изображений. В данной установке для фоторегистрации использовался фотоаппарат CANON EOS 1100D, на специальной стойке, служащей для обеспечения постоянства фокусного расстояния и расстояния до регистрируемого объекта. Разработана программа на основе VBA, позволяющая вычислять: размеры пор, их распределение, подсчитать их количество и оценить форму, также позволяет вычислить частную пористость для конкретных диаметров и интегральную пористость. Полученное значение интегральной пористости может быть использовано для уточненного вычисления величины относительной и абсолютной адгезии при разработке составов разделительных смазок. На основе получаемых результатов вычислений возможно построение графиков распределения пор, что формализует и упрощает задачу оценки качества поверхности.

scholarly journals KEBIJAKAN PENGHAPUSAN VERIFIKASI BEA PEROLEHAN HAK ATAS TANAH DAN BANGUNAN DALAM PENDAFTARAN HAK ATAS TANAH DI KOTA PADANG

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98
Author(s):  
Tri Mardhi Jaya
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Circular Letter ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Legal Consequences

Circular of the Head of the National Land Agency of the Republic of Indonesia Number 5/SE/IV/2013, no longer requires verification of proof of payment of BPHTB payments by the relevant agency, so that contrary to Padang City Regional Regulation Number 1 of 2011 jo. Mayor of Padang Regulation Number 27 of 2016. The question arises, as to the policy arrangement and the legal consequences of the elimination of BPHTB verification in the registration of land rights and registration of the transfer of land rights. Through normative juridical methods, data collection with document studies and interviews, facilitates discussions that are presented through sentence descriptions. The results of the discussion found that the Circular of the Head of the National Land Agency of the Republic of Indonesia Number 5/SE/IV/2013,speed up land services,but contrary to Padang City Regional Regulation Number 1 of 2011 jo. Mayor of Padang Regulation Number 27 of 2016. Therefore, a Joint Circular Letter was issued by the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Finance and Head of the Republic of Indonesia National Land Agency.

scholarly journals Mental illness, harassment and labour laws: Some thoughts on harassment by employees suffering from mental illness

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 538-554
Author(s):  
Moffat Maitele Ndou
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
South African ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Reasonable Accommodation ◽  
Employment Policy ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Action Measures ◽  
The Right ◽  
Do So

Section 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 provides that everyone has the right to fair labour practices. Section 9 of the Constitution prohibits unfair discrimination directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including among others disability. In terms of section 6(1) of the Employment Equity Act (EEA), no person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly, against an employee, in any employment policy or practice, on one or more grounds, including among others disability or on any other arbitrary ground. Section 6(1) applies to employees, which includes applicants; but it is only limited to conduct occurring within the scope of an “employment policy or practice”. In Marsland v New Way Motor & Diesel Engineering (2009) 30 ILJ 169 (LC), the court concluded that discrimination based on the fact that a person suffers from a mental health problem, has the potential to impair the fundamental dignity of that person as a human being, or to affect them in a comparably serious manner. Consequently, discrimination based on mental illness must be treated as a prohibited ground of discrimination. However, as it was pointed out in Hoffmann v South African Airways 2001 (1) SA 1 (CC), it may in some instances be justified to discriminate on the ground of mental illness, if it is proved that the discrimination is based on an inherent requirement of a job. Section 15 of the EEA requires that, when the employer implements affirmative action measures, he/she must make reasonable accommodation for people from designated groups, in order to ensure that they enjoy equal opportunities and are equitably represented in the workforce of a designated employer. Section 1 defines “reasonable accommodation” as “any modification or adjustment to a job or to the working environment that will enable a person from a designated group to have access to or participate or advance in employment”. Section 6(3) of the EEA provides that harassment is a form of discrimination and is prohibited among others on the ground of disability or any other arbitrary ground. Harassment is also a form of misconduct. The employer is required to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment and failure to do so, the employer is liable for such harassment. Where an employee who has a mental illness, commits an act of harassment against another employee, the employer should take into account its duty to reasonably accommodate the offending employee, the duty to take steps to prevent harassment and the fact that it may be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for misconduct which was committed because of mental illness.

scholarly journals Sexual harassment from anti-discriminatory to criminal law regulation with reference to the key reasons for the invisibility of the victims

Temida ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-343
Author(s):  
Nikola Paunovic
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Criminal Offence ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Legal Sanctions ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Criminal Legislation ◽  
Law Regulation

Ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence adopted in 2011 creates an obligation for the Party States to take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that sexual harassment is subject to criminal or other legal sanctions. Bearing in mind that sexual harassment, even before the adoption of this Convention, was prescribed by the anti- discriminatory and labour laws of the Party States, the paper focuses on the analysis of normative regulation of sexual harassment in the criminal legislation of the Republic of Serbia as well as in the comparative legal solutions, with the purpose of discussing the most important controversial issues concerning this new incrimination, giving particular attention to considering key reasons of objective and subjective nature that affect the invisibility of the victims of this criminal offence. Recognizing deficiencies of the criminal law regulation of sexual harassment, above all the widespread zone of punishability, de lege ferenda proposal for a normative reformulation of the essential elements of this criminal offence is provided in the concluding considerations, with the purpose of improving its application in practice.

Gender, Race, and Political Representation in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Piscopo ◽  
Kristin N. Wylie
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Action Measures ◽  
National Legislatures

Women, indigenous peoples, and Afro-descendant populations remain underrepresented in the national legislatures of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin America. The descriptive (or numeric) representation of marginalized groups in national legislatures matters because legislatures make policy, check the president’s authority, and communicate who has full membership in the body politic. The inclusion of women, indigenous peoples, and Afro-descendants in legislatures sends information about the overall depth and quality of the democratic regime. Most legislatures have become more representative of women, primarily due to affirmative action measures designed to raise descriptive representation. As of October 15, 2019, every Latin American country except Guatemala and Venezuela had a statutory quota law for women candidates, resulting in women holding nearly 30% of seats in the region’s legislatures. However, such gains have not come without costs, including rising violence against women candidates and elected officials. Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela also use affirmative action to incorporate indigenous peoples into the national legislature, using reserved seats. However, reserved seats typically elect lower proportions of indigenous peoples relative to their population percentage. Afro-descendants face more barriers, as they must largely win legislative elections without the benefit of affirmative action. Afro-descendants remain excluded from formal politics even in Brazil, where the majority of the population self-identifies as black or brown. Indigenous and Afro-descendant women face barriers that emerge from both their gender and their race/ethnicity.

The Life, Myth, and Commemoration of Benito Juárez

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Benjamin
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Mexican History ◽  
Porfirio Diaz ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Hero Cult ◽  
Mexican Government ◽  
The Republic ◽  
New Generation

Benito Pablo Juárez Garcia (b. San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca, March 21, 1806; d. Mexico City, July 18, 1872) was one of the greatest (and most controversial) statesmen in Mexican history. Born a humble Zapotec Indian, he was orphaned before the age of four, obtained an improbable education, became a lawyer and politician, was a revolutionary reformer, served twice as governor of Oaxaca, and succeeded to the presidency in a time of crisis. His unlikely rise to political prominence in a country with a racial caste system was remarkable. As president he led Liberal Republicans to victory in the War of Reform (1858–1861) as well as in the War of the French Intervention (1862–1867). Juarez and his generals defeated reactionary Conservatives and recalcitrant Catholic bishops in 1858–1861 and defended the republican Constitution of 1857. His defense of the Republic against foreign invasion and the imposition of an Austrian archduke as Emperor of Mexico, from 1862 to 1867, gave Juárez his heroic, even cultic, stature during his lifetime. Although he faced fierce critics and enemies during his lifetime and after his death, Liberal partisans—politicians, journalists, workers, and Juárez himself—created the hero cult and the myth of Juárez. He was hailed as the incorruptible champion of the law, the constitutional republic, and the Mexican nation against powerful Mexican and foreign enemies in life and, even more, in death. General Porfirio Díaz served the Juárez government in war, opposed it in peace, and in 1876–1877, four years after the death of Juárez, became president by means of rebellion and then election. The new president was also from Oaxaca and embraced the Juárez myth to unite the nation and, in time, to create his own myth as the culminating hero in the making of the modern Mexican nation. The apotheosis of Juárez was consecrated in significant commemorative monuments of marble and bronze during the Porfiriato (the age of Porfirio Díaz, 1876–1911). By the first decade of the 20th century, the Juárez myth was more divisive than uniting. The scientific liberals (científicos) supporting the Díaz regime presented Juárista politics as the template for the Díaz dictatorship. A new generation of liberals believed Díaz had abandoned the constitutionalism of Juárez. The Mexican Revolution, led by these liberals, overthrew Díaz in 1911. Revolutionary governments continued the cult of Juárez. Public schools were given Juárez busts, and liberal textbooks introduced the Juárez myth to a new generation. Juárez, Mexico’s greatest symbol of the defense of national sovereignty was popularly and officially celebrated when US troops evacuated Veracruz (after several months of intervention) in November 1914. The same took place upon the expropriation of the foreign oil companies by the Mexican government in 1938. During the 20th century, and at the beginning of the 21st century, the cult of Juárez (the devoted attachment to Juarez) has remained steady. Professional historians and the popular cynicism of official history have undermined, to some extent, the official myth of Juárez (the idealization of Juárez by the state).

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