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"Laws need support from the public or the courts to survive. Affirmative action seems to have neither."
"a majority of Americans oppose the policy. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults said in March that race or ethnicity should not be a factor in college admissions, a Pew Research Center survey found. A majority of Black, Hispanic and Asian respondents opposed the consideration of race or ethnicity."
"Even in liberal states, most voters do not support affirmative action. In 2020, about 57 percent of Californians rejected an amendment to the state’s Constitution that would have let government and public institutions, including public universities, adopt affirmative-action policies. "
So if a majority of blacks and other minorities themselves oppose affirmative action, as the NYT says, doesn't it conclusively show that affirmative action is divisive, anti-merit and demeaning to the marginalised? Why do we insist of having quotas everywhere in India??
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/briefing/affirmative-action-supreme-court.html
One perhaps stupid question though: why do purely means-tested reservations not really exist in India?
First, Rishi Sunak becomes UK PM, shattering their belief that people of colour are always oppressed by the Right.
Next, the SCOTUS will strike down affirmative action and many people of colour will support it, because they believe in meritocracy.
Also came across a person who proudly proclaimed "I faked my OBC certificate" to get in (at a top DU college). This is how rotten the system it. Also disentitles actual beneficiaries from availing benefits.
Thus most people coming into these elite colleges via reservations are no different than the general kids wrt the background. Have also seen multiple instances where people have a different surname for clat and a different one that they use for informal interactions, probably just to avail the benefits that the surname gets them.
Take some IDIA scholars for instance, who get in under reserved categories - are you saying they would be undeserving of a place to study?
https://americankahani.com/lead-stories/indian-american-students-on-the-verge-of-winning-their-case-before-the-supreme-court-on-affirmative-action/
https://www.thequint.com/us-nri-news/asian-americans-indians-fight-affirmative-action-for-blacks-in-us-supreme-court-hearing-on-31-october
However, I can - while acknowledging the need to uplift people from the marginalized castes - oppose reservation because it is probably not the best way to achieve that (and I think the experience of 70 years has clearly shown that, what more stats do you need?)
1. Uplifting people from marginalized castes?
2. How would you implement reform of the system if many of those who stand to lose from abolishing reservations, will probably protest very hard, making it politically very risky?
Literally national bureau of economics research stuff has proven this.
But you saw a rich Dalit once so it has to all be a lie no? Y’all need to read more.
Now that that's out of the way.
Everything exists in a context. There are two types of context, usually:
1. The context of the issue itself. Affirmative action in the US and reservations in India are VERY different.
2. The broader socio-political and legal context of the jurisdictions. US and India contexts for both of these are very different.
Please stop trying to apply developments, positive or negative, in other parts of the world to India.
Also - how do you even define merit? What is merit?
https://www.thestreet.com/technology/elon-musk-and-mark-cuban-clash-over-college-admissions
In about 2-3 months, the SCOTUS (where conservatives are in a majority) is expected to strike down affirmative action as unconstitutional and discriminatory towards Asians.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/15/magazine/affirmative-action-supreme-court.html
2. Your post is disingenuous: Columbia hasn't dumped SAT, they're just taking a holistic view and made it optional, according to that article.
3. Top UK universities like OxBridge have never required an SAT or other standardised testing score. You apply with personal statement and your high school marks, and they conduct an interview. Does that mean they're not merit-driven universities and are rubbish?
There are super rich people who come for "backward classes" but still get to benifit off this system, while there can be poor general kids who get nothing, and i find that unfair.