Reimagining Merit in India

Abstract

Abstract India’s pernicious caste system severely constrains the educational and career outcomes of its former untouchable castes and the tribal communities, which together account for nearly a quarter of the country’s population. It renders millions inferior and apparently “meritless.” Despite seven decades of development, caste inequalities have remained entrenched partly because India failed to address the cognitive dimensions of discrimination. Although affirmative action has improved economic and social well-being of these groups, it suffers from design and implementation defects. As the beneficiaries are selected on the basis of identity, affirmative action ends up perpetuating social identities instead of attenuating them. In its current form, affirmative action is more akin to distributing fish than to teaching how to fish. Several new approaches rooted in social psychology and cognitive neuroscience focus on merit as an individual effort rather than a group trait. Some markers of merit are more unambiguous, including nurturing and celebrating individual merit in sports, math, chess, music, and so on. Additionally, target groups are encouraged to focus on STEM as well as entrepreneurship.

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