India- United States Scholarly Dialogue on Affirmative Action...

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India- United States Scholarly Dialogue on Affirmative Action 29- 30 September 2007 Venue: Institute of Social Sciences 8 Nelson Mandela Road New Delhi- 110070 The Institute of Social Sciences organized a two- day programme on India- United States Scholarly Dialogue on Affirmative Action in collaboration with the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard University, Cambridge, and African American Policy Forum, New York on 29- 30 September 2007. There were 7 participants from the United States and 35 participants from Delhi and other parts of India. A preliminary concept paper on the theme of the dialogue was circulated among all the participants. Dr. George Mathew, Director, Institute of Social Sciences welcomed the participants. The opening session was chaired by Dr. Gowher Rizvi, Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation. Prof. Kimberle Crenshaw, Professor of Law, Columbia University and University of California at Los Angeles made the opening remarks and presented the outline of the agenda. The dialogue was organized into four thematic sessions and the concluding session. In addition there was a special session addressed by Prof. Sukhdeo Throat, Chairman, University Grants Commission, New Delhi. Three thematic sessions were organized on the first day. Thematic session 1 addressed the contemporary political and social contexts of the affirmative action debate. The session was chaired by Dr. Ashish Nandy, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. In this session there were two speakers. Dr. Ravinder Kaur, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi gave the background and history of affirmative action programmes in India. This was followed by the presentation by Kimberle Crenshaw. He provided the origin and development of affirmative action in the United States. This was followed by the comments of the Discussant Mr. Jebra Ram Muchahary, Indian Confideration of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. There was a lively discussion after this. The thematic session 2 was devoted to the target groups and their characteristics and justification. The session was chaired by Prof. Neera Chandhoke, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. Prof. Devon Carbado, Professor of Law, University of California, Los Angeles spoke about the target groups in the United States and described the methods and interventions followed to help them. Prof. Satish Deshpande, Department of Sociology, University of Delhi spoke on the present status of reservation/ quota system in India. He also reviewed the debate among politicians and scholarly community on these matters. Prof. Nandu Ram, Jawaharlal Nehru University made detailed comments as a Discussant. During the thematic session 3 the focus was on the new issues emerging in each country for establishing and evaluating affirmative action programmes. Prof. T.K. Oommen, Formerly Professor of Sociology, Jawaharlal Nehru University chaired the session. Prof. Zoya Hasan, Member, National Commission for Minorities in India and Prof. Kimberle Crenshaw were the two main speakers. They both highlighted the problems of deprivation faced by the minorities and marginalised groups in the two countries. Mr. Sanjay Kumar of the Deshkal Society, New Delhi was the Discussant. There were a series of questions and answers after the presentations. The third session was followed by a special meeting addressed by Prof. Sukhdeo Thorat, He elaborated on the economic dimensions of social exclusion and inclusive policies. In the evening there was reception and dinner at the Institute of Social Sciences garden. Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, Honourable Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Steel was the Chief Guest. He spoke on the history and achievements of the affirmative action programmes in India. He also highlighted major limitations of the programme. The next day, 30 September, opened with the thematic session 4. Mr. K.B. Saxena, former Secretary, Government of India was in the chair. Prof. Luke Hariss, Associate Professor of American Politics and Constitutional Law, Vassar College, New York and Prof. B.S. Baviskar, Institute of Social Sciences were the two speakers. Mr. Prakash Louis, Bihar Social Institute was the Discussant. There was a lively discussion about the relative achievements and failures of the affirmative action programme in the two countries. In the end there was the concluding session, which was devoted to the discussion of the future strategies and projects to be followed by the participants in the two countries. The discussion was moderated by Bruce Jackan, George Mathew and Kimberle Crenshaw. Every participant expressed his/ her views on the future collaborative programme between the two countries. Indian participants emphasized the importance of observing equality in the planning and implementation of future collaborative projects. Considering that this was the first attempt to bring the scholars from the two countries on a single platform to discuss the vital issue of affirmative action, the dialogue made a significant advance in pursuing the complex issue in the two countries.