<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Asymmetric Dialog of Civilizations
Rajiv Malhotra
EXCERPT:
Colonizers heavily sponsored scholars to research and represent their colonized subjects. For instance, the British Census of India was one such process to represent India in British categories, while superficially pretending to use Indian categories. This became the basis for re-engineering India's society to fit into rigid 'castes', a representation that has continued after independence and has become the center of India's politics today. The 'essentializing' of caste in the representation means that it is deemed an inherent and unchangeable quality that Hindus are frozen into forever. <b>(Traditionally, jatis and varnas were independent of one another, and had mobility.) </b>The more flexible language of describing certain communities as socially underprivileged, and implementing affirmative action programs strictly based on economic means, would have de-essentialized the jati, and over a period of time reduced its significance. 'Dalit' as a category by birth is self-perpetuating, unproductive and divisive, and the consequence of adopting a colonial representation system.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Rajiv Malhotra
EXCERPT:
Colonizers heavily sponsored scholars to research and represent their colonized subjects. For instance, the British Census of India was one such process to represent India in British categories, while superficially pretending to use Indian categories. This became the basis for re-engineering India's society to fit into rigid 'castes', a representation that has continued after independence and has become the center of India's politics today. The 'essentializing' of caste in the representation means that it is deemed an inherent and unchangeable quality that Hindus are frozen into forever. <b>(Traditionally, jatis and varnas were independent of one another, and had mobility.) </b>The more flexible language of describing certain communities as socially underprivileged, and implementing affirmative action programs strictly based on economic means, would have de-essentialized the jati, and over a period of time reduced its significance. 'Dalit' as a category by birth is self-perpetuating, unproductive and divisive, and the consequence of adopting a colonial representation system.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->