Annotated Source Caste

I read an interesting research paper a few weeks ago that explores a growing participation of low-caste Dalit (this is another name for the untouchables, it means "oppressed")women in politics. Many of these women are refusing to identify themselves as Dalit despite the separatist pride in the label. This refusal may seem counterintuitive to their cause as a part of the BSP party. The BSP has mobilized lower castes for equality and empowerment. Further complicating their choice is the government program, scheduled caste, which provides aid to lower-caste individuals. The article asks the question, how does the activism of low caste women affect female political participation? This has yielded the startling revelation that these women view their political participation as unrestricted by caste.

This case study provides an interesting insight into women political participation. It is interesting to observe that although the Indian government has outlawed caste, it still uses a system called scheduled caste to allocate resources to low caste individuals. Despite their good intentions, label oriented welfare may be a significant factor in the resilience of the caste system and failure to attain equality. Exploring how these government policies have unintentionally hindered equality could be a fascinating. It would have been interesting if the article explored the women’s material sacrifice and effect to their health (not benefiting from the affirmative action programs) in refusing the Dalit name.

Inquiry Conference- Part Two

Today I attended the cross cultural education research. It was so interesting to hear different students present their research. It certainly has made me think about what I will present next semester. I especially enjoyed the presentation on the dropout prevention program in Page, Arizona. Page is right outside the Navajo reservation. I grew up in Arizona, so this research really interested me. Arizona has some of the lowest test scores in the nation and survives on an extremely low budget and it was wonderful to see someone take an interest in how to improve our system. Additionally, some of my cousins are Navajo. It was so disheartening to see how the terrible effects of our ancestor's legislation against the Native Americans continues today. Many of these high school kids are bussed over from the rez before the sun is up and return after dark. Homework become infinitely more difficult, especially since some of the homes do not have access to electricity and water. The students researched how to prevent kids from dropping out in high school. They used a participatory approach. Although I will not be researching domestically, this served as a reminder that there are people around me everyday that need help. I don't need to travel around the world to find them. If the United States has such a large population in need, there are millions more in worse situations. Sure all men are created equal, but not all are born into equal circumstances or even really have a chance to change.