Caste bias plagues civil services, says former IAS officer

LUCKNOW: Seven decades of Independence and several laws on equality later, caste system is still omnipresent in the Indian society and the civil services is not untouched by it, former IAS officer Raghav Chandra said.
The former IAS officerturned-author was speaking to TOI on Saturday on the sidelines of Metaphor Festival, where a book reading of his Kali’s Daughter was organised.The compelling novel chronicles the life of Deepika Thakur, a Dalit woman who is the first member of her family to crack the Indian Civil Services and the ordeal she goes through during her growing up years because of caste prejudices.
“Casteism stills plagues our society and the civil services is just a micro-picture... When I was posted as secretary of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, there were several complaints against non-tribal officers harassing their tribal colleagues... The bias was prevalent in other commissions,” Chandra said.
The former IAS recalled how during his posting in key departments such as revenue and urban development, he came across hundreds and thousands of Dalits who were victims of caste bias. “When I was a collector at Khandwa and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, there were many instances of Dalit exploitation. All land issues are basically related to caste. One of the reasons our agriculture sector is so backward is casteism,” said Chandra, an alumnus of La Martiniere, Lucknow.
Asked if reservation is a historical legacy or a blunder, he said: “The Supreme Court has excluded the creamy layer within the SC/ST community from quota benefits. The Centre has already asked the court to review this judgment.”