Under the impetus of “reservations” -an elaborate government policy of affirmative action- over the past six decades hundreds of thousands of Indian untouchables -individuals ranked extremely low... Show moreUnder the impetus of “reservations” -an elaborate government policy of affirmative action- over the past six decades hundreds of thousands of Indian untouchables -individuals ranked extremely low in the Hindu caste hierarchy- have managed to secure highly valued civil service jobs. The question explored in this study is why these untouchable bureaucrats are not much inclined -as those who introduced reservations had hoped and anticipated they would- to use their new-found positions of power and influence to extend special help to untouchable clients outside bureaucracy. In an effort to account for this puzzling phenomenon of unrepresentative bureaucracy the author conducted prolonged ethnographic fieldwork in a dust-level rural development bureaucracy in north India. He introduces the reader to a complex and vibrant local universe in which an array of actors, factors and considerations conspire to simultaneously limit untouchable bureaucrats’ opportunities and motives for acting as active representatives of untouchable interests and constrain untouchable clients’ possibilities for claiming special treatment. Affirmative action in civil service recruitment, it is concluded, seems to be of doubtful use as a social engineering tool, at least in the case of stigmatized ethnic minority groups in patronage democracies. Show less
This thesis focuses on the incidence and risk factors for nephropathy in diabetic and non-diabetic Surinamese South Asians. The Surinamese South Asians, originally descended from the North-East... Show moreThis thesis focuses on the incidence and risk factors for nephropathy in diabetic and non-diabetic Surinamese South Asians. The Surinamese South Asians, originally descended from the North-East India. Due to the former colonial bounds with the Netherlands, a relatively young South Asian migrant population settled in the Netherlands. South Asians have a high prevalence of central obesity and an eight-fold higher prevalence for type 2 diabetes mellitus. We found the following conclusions: 1.Surinamese South Asian persons have a nearly 40-fold higher risk for end-stage diabetic nephropathy in comparison to Dutch European persons. 2.There was no familial predisposition for diabetic nephropathy among South Asian families. 3.South Asian type 2 diabetic patients have a three-fold higher risk for diabetic nephropathy and faster progression of renal insufficiency in comparison to Dutch European patients. 4.Central obesity is an early and independent risk factor for increased albuminuria in normoglycemic South Asian subjects. We assume that the nearly 40-fold higher risk of end-stage diabetic nephropathy in South Asian migrants is primarily caused by central obesity which leads to: a. Early renal injury in the pre-diabetic state. b. Eight-times higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. b. More diabetic nephropathy and faster decline in renal function. Show less
