Affirmative action policies have been a matter of intense debate. India has one of the largest programs for affirmative action in the form of reservations across educational institutions and government jobs for its socially disadvantaged groups – the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) and the Other Backward Classes (OBC). Further, it has various policies aimed at positive discrimination for women.
Arguments against –
- ‘Affirmative action policies’ go against the principle of equality.
- It overrules merit as the number 1 criteria.
- Issues with targeting – Its benefits have been cornered by a few elites among these groups.
- These policies have prevented assimilation.
Arguments for –
1. It doesn’t violate the principle of equality before the law which states that unequal can’t be treated equally.
2. The reasons for Affirmative action policies are to rectify systematic discrimination and institutionalized inequality.
3. The framers of the constitution have provided such policies not on the grounds of religion or caste but on factors of social, political and economic marginalization.
It is a well-known fact that Affirmative Action has helped in the empowerment of these groups.
1. Many individuals from these backward classes have achieved great heights because of reservations. Eg. Speaker Mira Kumar, our Current President R. Kovind to name a few are all aided by the reservation policy in their initial career.
2. They have become more aware of their rights and are now more assertive wrt their demands from the government. Eg. The Patidar.
3. This has, in turn, strengthened our democracy. Many regional parties represent their interests. They have emerged as strong pressure groups. Eg. The Bahujan Samaj Party.
Despite the success stories, it cannot be denied that there is indeed a targeting problem. Improper certification process and lack of scrutiny. At the same time, the lack of creamy layer among SC/ST prevents these benefits to reach the ones that are actually marginalized.
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In terms of the content, the attempt is very good.
Points are decent and quite informative.
But work n your presentation style.
Underline the important points.
Highlight your subheadings prominently.
Sir few questions
if i write sub headings first and the explain it further do i require to underline further and is my flow of answer is good and how to improve the flow of answer from intro to body to conclusion
Yes, you have to underline the content as well.
See, the subheading is a major part of your answer hence you have to make it stand out of the content. Hence you have to highlight them with either making a box around them or underlining them.
When we say that underline important points in your answer then we mean that you have to underline the important keywords and points in the answer. This is done to make it highlighted to the examiner that you have covered important aspects of the topic.
The flow depends on how well you have placed your content and what is the synergy between different subheadings. I mean you will not discuss way forward in the middle part of the main body. You will always discuss it in the last part. Similarly, the natural flow of the answer says that you have to introduce the topic and demand of the question in a short intro.
Then in the main body, you will answer the main demand, whether it is regarding any analysis or your viewpoint or a question on the static portion of the syllabus.
Then, if the nature of the question permits, then you will have to give way forward in the end. Even when the question is not demanding it implicitly, then also you have to mention them.
End the answer with a proper subheading. If the answer has many parts and you do not have much space or time left then only you should inculcate your way forwards in your conclusion.
Otherwise, the conclusion and way forwards should remain separate.
The proper conclusion should be an optimistic and balanced one