Rohit Chopra, in his excellent blog Anti-History/In Another Life, talks about the short shrift that the humanities are given in academia. The post, though old, makes many interesting points that tie in with some recent posts on education in the Indian blogosphere (how I hate that word!)

He says:

 It has always surprised me why Indians (in both India and the US) are among the most virulent critics of pro-diversity, egalitarian, and affirmative action initatives in the American academy. I suspect it has something to do with the caste privilege of many of these Indians, which they refuse to see as privilege. That guilt and anxiety is possibly projected on to the American academic system. The egalitarian initiatives of the American academy also call into question the idea of ‘meritocracy’ held dear by many privileged Indians. It is a deeply cherished myth among these Indians that their achievements are a reflection of their ability to best others in a competitive environment where all participate on equal ground. This is based on a wilful ignorance of the massive inequalities of Indian life, and differential levels of opportunity and access among caste, religious, and economic groups.

No wonder, then, that the meritocrats advocate a radical neoliberal reform of the educational sector, seeking to reduce it to a marketplace of products and services. The Indian system of reservations, which is often cynically manipulated by politicians, is surely worthy of critique, as Pratap Bhanu Mehta and others have noted. But the claim of meritocracy which is marshalled by privileged Indians and the neoliberals is patently spurious, no more than a self-congratulatory article of faith.