In India, calls for a caste census grow as more seek to benefit from affirmative action policies
- Supporters say an accurate count of the OBCs, or ‘other backward castes’, will help increase representation through affirmative-action policies
- But critics say the focus should be on an overhaul of policies to ensure equality and a census could further harden caste identities
The 32-year-old, who runs a YouTube channel called The Mooknayak, or “leader of the voiceless”, belongs to the “untouchable” caste of Dalits.
As a reporter with a leading international media agency in India’s capital, she found that editors were from the upper castes “while the marginalised castes, if they are represented at all, occupy the lowest rung of the journalistic hierarchy”.
Kotwal resigned after two years in her job, claiming that her editor “didn’t clear my story ideas, criticised my work and belittled me in front of the entire staff just because of my caste”.
“India’s class system is a direct result of the millennia-old caste system, and unless there are targeted policies to rectify the inequalities caused by the caste system, the situation will not change,” Kotwal said.