Question

Name at least 3 forms of inequality and describe their effects on the real-life, be they negative (oppression) or positive (privilege).

Answer 1

Forms of inequality are following -

Wealth Inequality - The most common and well know disparity, between have and the have nots. Ranging anywhere between 40-50% of the population of the nation, those below the poverty line (an ever changing parameter depending on the government's mood), sometimes don't even have access to facilities that the rest of us take for granted, like three meals a day and access to basic sanitation. We all know about the rich, so that's that.

Caste Inequality : Not so prevalent in the large cities (though those looking to marry out of caste may attest that this is not the case), but widely practised in semi urban and rural India, where the upper caste often rides rough shod over the lower castes. Of late, due the government's affirmative action programs, a new kind of lower caste has sprung up, the Brahmins of yore are finding it very difficult to make ends meet given how they have been sidelined in a whole host of growth options like education and employment. All in all, a sorry state of affairs.

Skin colour Inequality : If you are fair, it's hunky dory, if you are dark, you are screwed. We see it in fairness ads everywhere, fairness, it seems is the key to a whole new life of success ranging from better intelligence to better social acceptance, all because you have less melanin in your skin. Though this is changing, it's still subtly present, even among educated Indians.

Shape of your eyes: Peculiar only to how our compatriots from the north east are viewed. Apparently just because their eyes are shaped differently, they are lesser than us and not real Indians. It's shame really because I think they are some of the most friendly and hardworking bunch of Indians that I've come across.