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Scoop.it!
Despite the country’s claims to be a sleek 21st-century meritocracy, the habits of centuries of discrimination and social exclusion are not so easily shaken.
India is modernizing at a rapid pace, but some old class problems rooted in the caste system are still visible. This is part of a large series called "Breaking Caste" with some excellent videos, articles and personal vignettes to humanize the struggles of those at the bottom of the social hierarchy. 
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Scoop.it!
From
cdkn
We stress the importance of germplasm. Wild and extant varieties have traits tolerant to high temperature, elevated CO2 etc. These might have been discarded in the past due to low yield potential but can be made use of today as parents for the breeding of tolerant varieties to climate change. There is a need to revisit gene banks with a view to searching for unique traits required for climate change. In this search, indigenous knowledge and farmer’s wisdom have immense value.
Cam E's curator insight,
April 1, 2014 11:10 AM
I really like the idea behind India's innovation to combat climate change. They're looking to the past and using the more ancient techniques and knowledge which has existed on the Earth in the past, rather than creating an entirely new species of crop which we would not know the long-term effect of. |
This was a very sad story to read. It's a shame that many Dalit students feel ostracized at elite Indian institutions, so much so some go as far as to commit suicide. This is a terrible personal loss for the families and neighbors of the students. But it also is unfortunate news for the country as a whole. India's economic and social growth likely depends on moving beyond old views on class and cate.
This is interesting in that it's not some silent discrimination, but an extremely overt one where many of these people are being told to their faces that they will not be allowed to pass. My greatest respect goes out to those who fight the hardest for what they want and they must keep trying to achieve it, but sadly those in a position of power in the society were direct barriers to their progress, causing their hope to be lost and the Dalit students to commit suicide.
Even though the caste system was abolished, the habits of discrimination are still incredibly prevalent. Discrimination towards people from rural backgrounds at the country's elite colleges has had such an impact that dozens of students from what would have been lower castes are committing suicide. Professors look down on these students, refusing to offer aid and even changing grades so they fail. The aboriginal students that fail face lifetimes of debt and are worried about disappointing their family, so sometimes they take their own lives instead.
Centuries of the caste system have imprinted itself into the Indian people. Since India has only been free of it for a generation, older people continue to discriminate.